Comments on: The greatest lie that textbooks teach is that the hard part is coming up with an answer https://www.isegoria.net/2026/01/the-greatest-lie-that-textbooks-teach-is-that-the-hard-part-is-coming-up-with-an-answer/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:57:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: McChuck https://www.isegoria.net/2026/01/the-greatest-lie-that-textbooks-teach-is-that-the-hard-part-is-coming-up-with-an-answer/comment-page-1/#comment-3760867 McChuck Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:45:26 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=53848#comment-3760867 I wanted to know how Relativity worked. Along the way, I realized that was the wrong question. So I came up with and eventually solved my own question:

“What causes motion?”

https://vixra.org/abs/2509.0012

]]> By: Adept https://www.isegoria.net/2026/01/the-greatest-lie-that-textbooks-teach-is-that-the-hard-part-is-coming-up-with-an-answer/comment-page-1/#comment-3760862 Adept Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:12:07 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=53848#comment-3760862

“No, the hard part is usually coming up with a worthwhile question.”

Oh man, this is not even close.

Worthwhile questions are a dime a dozen.

The hard part is the transmission step: Selling the solution. One must be a shameless self-marketer, and also psychologically sturdy — perhaps even truly aggressive — for this always seems to invite conflict with dour critics, bureaucratic red tape wielders, opportunistic scammers, and the schoolmarmish gatekeepers of the status quo whose first reaction is always “what do you mean you solved that problem? Are you licensed to solve that problem!?”

The world’s most common type of great-problem-solver is the man who languishes in obscurity because he’s a poor self-marketer or don’t have the stomach for conflict or controversy.

This also, in part, explains why high-IQ/high-social-conformity nations seem to punch below their weight, why the best scientists always seem to have a chip on one shoulder, and why the greatest inventors always seem to be the greatest marketers and salesmen.

]]> By: Bill https://www.isegoria.net/2026/01/the-greatest-lie-that-textbooks-teach-is-that-the-hard-part-is-coming-up-with-an-answer/comment-page-1/#comment-3760861 Bill Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=53848#comment-3760861 “…so many people who do well in school never amount to anything.”

I have the feeling that this is by design.

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