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I don't quite understand. How can some academics after hundreds of years of research on, say, Plato, still come up with novel, publishable interpretations, ideas, readings, solutions to these texts?

Plato is a good example for this, I think. But i am generally confused how this works, and how people can still come up with new ideas all the time.

Doesn't it get more difficult after some time?

Jo McBride
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    How to come up with research ideas? – ff524 May 23 '16 at 23:43
  • thank you! this is interesting. However, here I am asking something more general, I am wondering how this work in general, I am not looking for practical advice, I am just baffled how this is possible at all. Esp. in fields like Classics. – Jo McBride May 23 '16 at 23:45
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    Perhaps looking at how academics do it will help you understand how it is possible. – ff524 May 23 '16 at 23:46
  • sure! its highly relevant, and I am reading it right now. but so far the advice is very 'practical': be curious, be challenged, know your field - it's interesting, but not what I try to get at. i just don't understand how a field can not be depleted after some time. – Jo McBride May 23 '16 at 23:51
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    maybe my question here is too broad or difficult to answer. – Jo McBride May 23 '16 at 23:51
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    Sayings like "the deeper you look at anything, the more holes you find," etc. are true. The deeper you understand a variety of fields, the more synergy you can find, the more novel applications of concepts from Field A can be pushed into Field B. Your question isn't too broad or difficult to answer; you're simply questioning how civilization and technological/scientific/social development occur. – Sergio Gucci May 23 '16 at 23:57
  • Adding on to @JoMcBride, this question has too many good answers in which no single answer can be correct as to be accepted as final. – Ébe Isaac May 24 '16 at 04:41
  • Actually that part is pretty easy, especially in the humanities. If you read the papers/books of leaders in a field you'll naturally develop your own ideas and theories. – TheMathemagician May 24 '16 at 08:43
  • It's actually not that difficult in the sciences (philosophy I can't speak to). Imagine all of knowledge as a sphere. Scientists operate at the edge of the sphere, constantly hacking away to make it larger. The steps are small. Few if any research papers conclude with a definitive answer; rather they suggest (and encourage) more work, often plainly spelled out in the conclusions. – HEITZ May 24 '16 at 22:11

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