This paper follows the story of how John A. Wheeler became the enthusiastic baptizer and popularizer of black holes, after he overcame his own initial resistance and protracted skepticism about earlier results. However, the present work is not only historical, since its aim is to suggest as well that the notion of pursuitworthiness can but benefit from a close confrontation with actual heuristic paths, examined in their complexity. This specific case, moreover, may suggest some historical-critical insights on the current situation at the most speculative frontiers of theoretical physics.

中文翻译：

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大胆保守主义和拖延之间的追求：惠勒和通向黑洞的道路。

本文讲述了约翰·A·惠勒 (John A. Wheeler) 在克服了自己最初的阻力和对早期结果的长期怀疑之后，如何成为黑洞的热情洗礼者和普及者的故事。然而，目前的工作不仅是历史性的，因为它的目的也是表明追求价值的概念只能从与实际启发式路径的密切对抗中获益，并检查其复杂性。此外，这个具体案例可能会在理论物理学最具思辨性的前沿提出一些关于当前情况的历史批判性见解。