INTRAMOLECULAR DYNAMICS FOR THE ORGANIC CHEMIST

Rigorous experimental evaluation of any new conceptual model is required before it can be incorporated into the overall paradigm of the scientific community. But once the model is accepted, a dangerous thing can happen. One can easily forget that the conceptual structure is just a model, and that it might not have applicability outside the domain in which the original tests were conducted. In this Account I will examine the possibility that undue reverence for existing models might have misled us as organic chemists into thinking about our reactions in ways that are incorrect, or at least incomplete. © 1992, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.