Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Why getting things wrong is good for science
Does a fact change? Yes. For example, Pluto had been a planet until it was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006 based on the new definition for the term “planet”. The definition was agreed upon after having found more bodies in the solar system.
Questioning established fact is at the heart of the scientific method. When a new hypothesis is formulated through experiments and observations, it then goes through a rigorous process of checks and reviews by other experts. But from time to time as new tools, technologies, and methodologies emerge, existing facts can be challenged. In fact, uncertainty in science isn’t enough if all the perspectives are the same. Sometimes, a lack of diversity in the system can skew the results. In science, outdated ideas are replaced when new information becomes available. 100 years have passed since Einstein’s general relativity took over Isaac Newton’s theory for a more general interpretation of gravity. When will a new theory update the theory of relativity?
Enjoy watching the video and learn about what science is about.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/why-getting-things-wrong-is-good-for-science/p09mb351
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