Noubar Afeyan in Time Magazine:
Scientists once thought illness was caused by “miasmas,” foul vapors that drifted through the air. For centuries, they were certain that the sun rotated around the Earth. Until the 1950s, they believed lobotomies were the best way to treat mental illness. Why did we stop believing these things? In each case, skeptics used the scientific method to produce data that disproved the incumbent theory. They hypothesized, experimented, observed, analyzed, iterated, and then published the results, precipitating a shift in our collective understanding of the world.
Every great breakthrough in scientific history began with a “what if” that reached past established doctrine into the realm of possibility. Doubt and debate are the prisms that test our current ideas and help to generate new ones. Perhaps, then, it’s good that it’s now more popular than ever to be skeptical of science.
More here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.