A Science Breakthrough Too Good to Be True? It Probably Isn’t

Views: 1433

November 27, 2024

5 min read

The more exciting, transformative, and revolutionary a science result appears, especially coming out of nowhere, the more likely it is to be dead wrong. So, approach science headlines with a healthy amount of skepticism and patience

By Paul Sutter

Astronomers originally speculated that an alien megastructure could explain Tabby’s Star dimming events.

Dotted Zebra/Alamy Stock Photo

In 2014 astronomers announced a whopper of a discovery: primordial waves from the earliest moments of the big bang. The South Pole telescope results validated the long-standing but still-shaky hypothesis of cosmic inflation, the scenario where the extremely early universe underwent a period of massively accelerated expansion. News reports went wild, as did the scientists involved in the study, in a celebratory news conference .

But it was all just a bunch of dust. Literally, dust . The team did not properly account for the impact of interstellar dust in their analysis. With proper calibration, the paradigm-shifting result disappeared .

Or remember Tabby’s Star ? In 2015 astronomers speculated that its strange light pattern might be the product of alien megastructures. Cue media circus, high-profile talks, the works. Further analysis revealed that it was … dust, again .

On supporting science journalism

If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing . By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

More recently, a group of astronomers claimed to find phosphine in abundance in the Venusian atmosphere, proposing that there might be some form of exotic life floating in the cloud tops. After the media hype died down, other researchers found significant flaws in the original analysis (at least it wasn’t dust this time).

It’s not just astronomy. Neutrinos can travel faster than light . Mozart makes your kids smarter . Dyeing your hair gives you cancer . Smartphones make us stupid .

Very, very stunning. But very, very wrong.

The strong correlation between flashiness and wrongness comes from several factors . First, much, if not most, scientific research is wrong . That’s … Read More