It’s how successful our current theories are. Some 500 years ago, there was one scientific phenomenon that was, without controversy, extremely well-understood: the motion of the celestial objects in the sky. […]
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Deniers will never stop misleading others. Here’s the truth. Every so often, advocates of a fringe theory — one that doesn’t fit the evidence as well as the mainstream theory — do what they can […]
Demanding appropriate levels of skepticism and scrutiny isn’t cruelty, but rather demonstrates scientific integrity and intellectual honesty. Every few months, a novel headline will fly across the world, claiming to […]
When one group says “A” and another group says “B,” consider that everyone might be wrong. One of the biggest enemies of scientific truth is the setup of a false dichotomy. […]
Forgetting them, at any step, can lead to unscientific conclusions. No one, not even the smartest among us, were competent scientists from the outset. The concept of science is simple […]
It’s an incredibly useful approximation. But the truth takes us far deeper. Anyone who’s ever taken a physics course has learned the same myth for centuries now: that any object thrown, […]
It might seem puzzling, in a Universe bound by the speed of light, that this could be true. Here’s the science behind it. If you look out into the distant Universe, […]
She’s not a scientist, an expert, or even an adult. But she’s got one good lesson to teach us all. Like most people on Earth, Greta Thunberg is not a climate […]
It’s the first, most naive question you might think to ask. The solution is a lot more complicated than you imagine. According to a large amount of evidence, the overwhelming majority […]
Could there be a massive, giant planet beyond Neptune? Here’s what the science says… for now. “Finding out that something you have just discovered is considered all but impossible is one […]
If your favorite theory made the list, you might want to consider a new favorite to bet on. “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great […]
Gravitational waves and electromagnetic ones don’t need to go together. But physics says it’s possible; what do the observations say? “The black holes collide in complete darkness. None of the […]
If you thought our galaxy was just the luminous matter within it, think again. “Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that […]
That’s not how probability works. Or asteroids, for that matter. “Bringing an asteroid back to Earth? What’s that have to do with space exploration? If we were moving outward from there, […]
No one is right 100% of the time. Even the greatest genius of all. “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” –Theodore Roosevelt […]
Some things are held to a higher standard than mob rule. “The evidence at present available points strongly to the conclusion that the spirals are individual galaxies, or island universes, […]
It may be the only way to save the USA — and the world — from alternative facts. “If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment.” –Ernest Rutherford There […]
They’re the darkest, most massive things in the Universe. How come they have nothing to do with each other? “All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued […]
Could the Nobel Prize of 2011 have been awarded without cause? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I will not realise my […]
The way to greatness requires us to look forwards, not backwards. “Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, […]
Rather than life arising on Earth, did it already exist in space prior to our planet’s formation? “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it […]
If we look to the distant future, with unlimited technology, how far could we reach? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I […]
We’re looking back in time when we look across the light years, so what’s different between what we see and what’s really there? “I saw a star explode and send out […]
Everything depends on it, and yet we don’t know it as well as we’d like! “Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have […]
No. Not even if you violate the laws of physics in two fundamental ways. John Oliver: So, roughly speaking, what are the chances that the world is going to be […]
As we all still recover from the Paris attacks, remember the beauty and joy of one of the most forgotten French discoveries. “Truth is more valuable if it takes you […]
“The Greatest” defeated all opponents when the heavyweight division was its richest. Has any physicist done the same? “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did […]
Science is the best tool we have for predicting the future. Here’s what the next year ought to bring. “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s […]
In Munich last week, physicists and philosophers debate what makes for a scientific theory. Surprisingly, no one agrees. This piece was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized […]
The origin of life is one of the biggest open questions. Could it all have started before our planet was even born? “When you arise in the morning, think of […]