@serenity said in Trust the science:
@bi4smooth I don't think that "science" change, but the results do, when we get smarter. And what is wrong about getting smarter. Some people have always had a problem with science, because it conflicts their world view. It has been that way for centuries.
Absolutely science changes... Heisenberg changed how we measure things. Newton changed our understanding of mass vs. weight (they are NOT the same). Hawking changed how we think of and measure time.
But separate from how science itself changes, the conclusions we make from scientific studies changes... especially when we base our conclusions on limited data... and we got that in spades with COVID-19: everyone was clamoring for answers, so the scientists gave them what they had: knowing the data was incomplete. And that made them wrong... wrong far more often than we like hearing that scientists are wrong!
There is an acronym often used in computer science: GIGO
Garbage in / Garbage out
When you have small sample sizes, your conclusions can be thrown off by the smallest of anomalies... but that is the beauty of science - we LEARN from our mistakes! We (scientists) challenge our assumptions and SEEK to prove our theories WRONG! (You can seldom prove a theory is valid, but you can often prove it wrong! The more people try - and fail - to prove a theory is wrong, the more accepted as "probably right" it becomes!