HSP 124-02
Albion College
Fall 02021
Discussion Questions for Wegener essay
1. If you were Wegener's wife receiving the letter saying "Doesn't the east coast of South America fit exactly against the west coast of Africa, as if they had once been joined? This is an idea I'll have to pursue." How would you respond? Would you call him crazy and call it a coincidence and just to come home? Would you have believed his theory or even predicted that his theory would become a huge discovery?

2. Do you think Wegener recognized his discovery's historical importance?
3. Creativity has to play a big part in Wegener's imagination. Being able to puzzle the continents together is not something that people do when they see a map. There are a lot of arguments today that creativity in children/people are not as strong as we would hope for it to be. Do you think our society damages or helps to promote creativity?

4. How common do you think it is for people to have the correct idea but no reasonable justification to back it up? How were his claims so accurate despite having so little proof?

5. Is it ironic that an astronomer by training ended up having the base idea for a monumental geological claim? Did it hurt his credibility?
6.  Did Wegener's background as a climatologist drive his ideas about continental drift?

7. Mendeleev felt compelled to rebut every attack against his work whereas Wegener just worked to prove his theory. Which method of handling criticism do you think was most effective in solidifying their ideas?

8. How do you think Wegener's interdisciplinary approach affected his work?

9. Why do you think the response to Wegener's proposal was so vitriolic, especially compared to the non-response to Frank Taylor's theory?

10. Wegener's book went unnoticed for several years until it was translated into other languages. How often does the language barrier hinder the spread of scientific ideas?