Pursuitworthiness between daring conservatism and procrastination: Wheeler and the path towards black holes

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.