But then, Copernicus came along with the heliocentric model which, in its simplest initial form, made worse prediction than the tuned-up Ptolemaic model. But the burden of knowledge was dissolved in an instant. Improving the Copernican model meant shifting orbital paths from perfect circles to ellipses. It had nothing to do with the epicycles and perihelions of the Ptolemaic model and none of that burdensome knowledge was necessary to expand the frontier anew.
disagree here. it does not make it easier. to show why a new model is right or superior means having to understand the old models well enough to show it's wrong or suboptimal. hence knowledge.
disagree here. it does not make it easier. to show why a new model is right or superior means having to understand the old models well enough to show it's wrong or suboptimal. hence knowledge.