Odd Man Theory.

Have you ever heard of the Odd Man Theory? A novel called Andromeda Strain written by Michael Crichton is a story that tells of how a group of scientists with very advanced knowledge of micro biology set up in an underground germ warfare laboratory in a desperate attempt to neutralize an alien microbe captured by a satellite and brought to earth. The microbe is killing people left and right turning the blood to dust and this team is given the task of saving earth from certain death. Amongst this group of scientists is, of all people, a pediatrician! This guy knows nothing about microbes. is not a research scientist and is puzzled by the decision to include him in this intellectual group. Well, as it turns out, guess who discovers the answer to the problem? the pediatrician, a baby doctor!

The fact that this a book of fiction may prompt others to think that this theory is little more than a convenient fabrication for the purpose of entertainment that perhaps it’s not likely in the real world. That would be a mistake. There are a lot of people who are aware of this principle, agree that it does operate but when asked are unable to shed light on its origins. My limited understanding of the underlying principle is that those who are trained within a common paradigm or scientific philosophy think along the same lines. Others who are trained differently, think differently and are thus more likely to come up with novel solutions. The scientific community is rich with examples of how ideas that should not work but actually did, and contradicted accepted thinking. So the “Out of the box” thinking is more likely to occur from the “. . . odd man. . . ” who takes a different perspective and who doesn’t know he’s not supposed to ask certain questions.

1 comment August 26th, 2008