[exmadscientist]

Celebrating the mistakes is, as you're saying, perhaps a bit too far. But mistakes will happen, it's just the nature of the world. That makes developing a robust error correction mentality something that genuinely is worth celebrating.

[jibal]

No one celebrates the mistakes ... what an absurd strawman (qsera's). Rather we celebrate the scientific method that finds and corrects mistakes, as you say.

[qsera]

Your "scientific method" can only correct the "mistakes" as long as economics allows it. A wrong belief held "scientifically" will go on and on if there is sufficient economic incentives to make it go on....And it is the "true believers" of science that provides such economic incentives..!

So much for celebration!

Sure this "Muon mystery" that no one cares about financially could be corrected without much effort. May be you should praise the gods of economics to make changes that are in the best interests of humanity possible..

[pmontra]

I don't understand this argument. Even ancient Greek philosophers could do their time's science because their economy allowed them to have time to think and food to eat and didn't have to go working in the fields. And they passed on their fair share of wrong beliefs that have been debunked only in the last few centuries.

It's in the nature of being humans. Or God created the universe and one is God and knows exactly how everything works. No wrong beliefs but please teach us.

[qsera]

>Greek philosophers could do their time's science because their economy allowed them to have time to think and food to eat and didn't have to go working in the fields. And they passed on their fair share of wrong beliefs that have been debunked only in the last few centuries.

Sure, it would have been much worse if only a select few had the privilege. Like if the king "funded" only those who said/stamped the things the king wanted as "scientific"...