Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Good tests and experiments provide useful information. Sometimes the information isn’t what we want to hear, but we need to keep the two separate.

In France recently, tests were performed to learn if roadways could generate electrical energy from the sun. They learned that roadways were not a good place for solar panels.

1. People were disappointed in the result.
2. The experiment was a success.
3. Sometimes we confuse the result of an experiment with the experiment itself.

A good test or experiment provides useful information. The above test was a good one as it showed that at this place, at this time, with current technology roadways are not good for solar panels.

Hence, 2. above. And 1. above.

3. above is common. Let us keep the experiment and the (often-desired) result separate.