One topic I emphasized in my freshman class this semester is that a lot of misleading headlines and confusion have resulted from misunderstanding or deliberately misconstruing how science works. Publications challenging accepted conclusions are part of the scientific process. But only when those challenges are found persuasive by a significant portion of the scientific community should one treat them as potentially correct. That’s how science, and indeed all scholarship, works: challenges are offered, new ideas floated, but they are also then scrutinized, and most will not prove viable when subjected to such scrutiny.
I thought of this when I read this post on Jesus Creed, which includes this wonderful illustration of this point:
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In