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the transient nature of theories

From Kelly (1963):

"If it were a static world that we lived in, our thinking about it might be static too. But new things keep happening and our predictions keep turning out in expected or unexpected ways. Each day's experience calls for the consolidation of some aspects of our outlook, revision of some, and outright abandonment of others." [p. 14] I'm calling for the abandonment of the pursuit of a generic learning theory.

"A scientist formulates a theory --- a body of constructs with a focus and a range of convenience. If he is a good scientist he immediately starts putting it to test. it is almost certain that, as soon as he starts testing, he will also have to start changing it in the light of the outcomes. Any theory, then, tends to be transient. And the more practical it is and the more useful it appears to be, the more vulnerable it is to new evidence. Our own theory, particularly if it proves to be practical, will also have to be considered expendable in the light of tomorrow's outlooks and discoveries. At best it is an ad interim theory." [p. 14]
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