I really liked this post, because I have been on both sides of the coin here: that is to say, I have been the person who thought a theory was irrelevant because its assumptions were too extreme, and I have been the person trying to apply the core insights of the theory, and been criticized because the situation to which I was applying it did not meet various assumptions. I was confused each time, and I am pretty sure I have even been on both sides of the same theory at least once.
It is practically inevitable that either side is the correct answer depending on the situation, and possible that I was closer to correct than the person I was disagreeing with. But then, I was confused each time; the simpler explanation by far is that I was confused about the theories under discussion.
When I am trying to learn about a particular theory or field, I now set as the first priority the historical context for its development. This is very reliable for communicating the underlying intuitions, and also can be counted on to describe the real-life situations that inspired them or to which they were applied.
I really liked this post, because I have been on both sides of the coin here: that is to say, I have been the person who thought a theory was irrelevant because its assumptions were too extreme, and I have been the person trying to apply the core insights of the theory, and been criticized because the situation to which I was applying it did not meet various assumptions. I was confused each time, and I am pretty sure I have even been on both sides of the same theory at least once.
It is practically inevitable that either side is the correct answer depending on the situation, and possible that I was closer to correct than the person I was disagreeing with. But then, I was confused each time; the simpler explanation by far is that I was confused about the theories under discussion.
When I am trying to learn about a particular theory or field, I now set as the first priority the historical context for its development. This is very reliable for communicating the underlying intuitions, and also can be counted on to describe the real-life situations that inspired them or to which they were applied.