1. "Notvery unexpected finding is a discovery, the big discoveries will always be unexpected findings." (Bavelas, 1987, p.312)
Yes, many great scientific discoveries received hostile reception before they were accepted. For example, when Bruno stated they were not at the center of the universe, no one believed in that idea. For another example, an intense debate on the safety of Genetically Modified (GM) foods is taking place in China. Many people choose not to eat GM food because they don't know who's idea is true. They don't know who's right because they don't understand what those scientists are talking about. Genetic engineering is too new and people are not ready to understand it.
I agree that we should not rush to reject novel ideas, even though they seem wrong and unexpected at the beginning. But a failure to accept does not mean that we reject it. We just need more time to be ready to understand it.
2. " the 'ugly duckling' could not be seen as a swan because no one knew what swans were; therefore, ugly or not, he must be a duckling."
In this section, the author reveals the disadvantage of categorizing new observations before knowing more about it. Rushing to put a new idea into a category may hinder our imagination and lead us to make a false judgment. The "ugly duckling" could not be seen as a swan not because no one knew what swans were, but because their imagination was limited by thinking he must be a duckling. There is an experiment about mindset. If we put several bees in an open-ended bottle and lay the bottle on its side with the base toward a bright light, we will find that the bees will keep on flying to the bottom of the bottle towards the light till they die of exhaustion or hunger. If we put flies in that bottle, all of them will find their way out no matter which directions the bottom of the bottle towards. That is because bees keep locating the light source, they never think to fly toward the darker side. If we categorize a new idea at the very beginning, we are already expecting some outcome from it. But how could we expect an outcome if we don't even know it?
3. In terms of Jennifer's example of an awkward interpersonal situation, I encountered several times, but I never felt awkward. Most of the time, I was trying to be a good listener, and I would express my agreement if I heard some good points. The interesting thing was that once I expressed my agreement to the third person ( whom I don't know), I would be suddenly engaged in their conversation. I found people can chat with each other without knowing each other's names. Everyone is unique. We should not expect others can fully understand and share our own feelings, but we all can recognize one important signal ---smile, it means " you are welcome. " No one will refuse it. However, I still totally agree with Bavelas that we should greet and introduce each other initially.
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