A lesson from the "hard" sciences

“[W]e need to take the approach that all of our serious and well-intentioned efforts are steps along the way toward better understanding. There is a saying in the hard sciences that a negative result is also a result, because it indicates a direction not to follow”

I just read this line in Stanley Porter's new book, Inking the Deal (Baylor, 2010), p. 162, and it occurred to me that this is the perfect disclaimer to cite in the preface to my thesis when it is finally published! Of course, I happen to think I am right about my major claims concerning Paul's divine-Christology, but such feigned vacillation can't hurt one's image!