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How important is unpublished folklore in research? Tidbits of wisdom which can't be proven or explicitly states, but yet so useful.

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How about making it a big list, community wiki? As stated, I don't think it has a good answer since the question already has its own answer, which says "yet so useful". – timur Feb 27 '11 at 18:13
I dunno, I really feel that this one is too far off topic. It's not about physics. – David Zaslavsky♦ Feb 27 '11 at 18:38

closed as off topic by David Zaslavsky♦ Feb 27 '11 at 18:37

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The credo "It has to be beautiful" could perhaps be classified as 'physics folklore' (defined as the customs and traditions in physics). But even such a subjective 'tidbit of wisdom' doesn't go unpublished. There is no 'hidden folklore' in physics, everything of (potential) value gets openly discussed and criticized.

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