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by PIKAL 1996 days ago
You lack good reading in history. If everyone thought like you, science would stagnate. You make the common error: to see all “on-paper,” unproven ideas as equal. Comparing the reaction mechanism of PCR to the equations involved in human-scale fusion. They aren’t the same, no two hypotheses are the same. Real scientists actually read hypotheses and try to understand what’s going on in this hypothetical scenario — reason about it. People that do this are often excited about “wild goose chases” because they aren’t actually wild goose chases. They are hypotheses that contain pieces that work with a lower level of ambiguity than most ideas. And here’s another detail the phonies gloss over: sometimes the pieces are better than other times. Most times there’s some ambiguity but sometimes there’s very little and you can be more sure. That was the case with PCR. That’s how real scientists think. They think with models, trying to understand the world. Most people don’t do it and they are utterly unmoved by convincing ideas. They can’t distinguish between convincing ideas and rubbish. It’s the hallmark of someone who doesn’t get it.