Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Persistent Scientific Inquiry

I thought you'd appreciate this:
The WSJ has a great editorial about the winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine. It's for research over 20 years ago that postulated a link between peptic ulcers and bacteria. When first proposed, the scientific consensus was that ulcers were caused by lifestyle and so the Australian authors Marshall and Warren were ridiculed for their "preposterous" theory. Nevertheless, the scientific method of testing the hypothesis worked, and today, as a result, peptic ulcers are treated easily with antibiotics to the great relief of millions. As the Journal says, "It's an inspired choice -- and a useful reminder that just because there's a scientific 'consensus,' that doesn't mean it's true."

What you hold dear -- the scientific method -- bore fruit in this case. And bore fruit mostly because Marshall and Warren stuck to their guns.

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Have you noticed we're getting more and more "comments?" They aren't real comments, they're robotic comments with thinly veiled SPAM. The monsters! They'll stop at nothing!

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