Science proved wrong?

Question

What is an example of a scientist publishing something and being proven wrong? I mean to say that the scientist's experiment was unable to be repeated therefore considered wrong...

Answer 1

Cold fusion is quite a good modern example [1]. In that instance peer review was abandoned in an attempt to provide proof by media. The obvious flaws in the science were not made apparent in the nice quiet anonymous fashion that occurs with peer review. Publication did eventually occur as a preliminary note in the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, This was followed up with many critical papers, including one in Nature.



Science is quite resilient. It actually expects theories to be disproved and overtaken by others over a period of time. There is some resistance to change, but when a theory falls it does so quickly. Quite often the search for flaws within a theory yield the most promising insight [2]. However, I suspect theories you are thinking of have a more robust basis than you expect. Some of my favourite theories that have been overturned are as follows:

- phlogiston (an element that supports fire) [3]

- caloric theory of heat (heat is transferred by a specific type of particle) [4]

- plum pudding model of atoms (pretty much as it is stated, see J. J. Thomson) [5]



Science survives all such revolutions where old theories are overturned and new are adopted, largely by rewriting the old theories from the perspective of the new. It gives the impression of continuous progress when the reality is more a progression of leaps and starts.

Answer 2

There are plenty of examples of individual scientific research results being proven wrong. Proving "science" wrong is another matter entirely, as science is the whole process of finding out about the universe. Updating our conclusions as newer evidence comes in does not prove science is a flawed model.



Drug development is a good example- when looking for new drugs in the lab, scientists often find plenty of possible drugs that could be used against disease. Quite a few of these seem to do ok in early trials in animals and so forth, but when trialed in real human patients, most of them don't work (only a small percentage of possible drugs ever end up being approved for use).



So yes, there are plenty of examples of various conclusions being proven wrong, but this doesn't mean science is flawed.

Answer 3

Isaac Newton's theory of gravity lasted for nearly 400 years. It still works on the larger scale and is fine for sending spacecraft to the Moon or Mars but Einstein showed it to be wrong at the sub-atomic level. Einsteinian gravity works at all levels but Newtonian is still used for the big stuff as it is less complicated.



Stomach ulcers were thought to be caused by an imbalance of acids in the stomach and treatment involved diet and antacids. In 1982 Australian scientists Barry Marshall and Robin Warren showed that ulcers are caused by a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, and that they can be cured with antibiotics. They won the Nobel Prize and ulcers are a thing of the past.



Science is an ongoing exploration of knowledge. Hypotheses are proposed to explain the evidence, and when they explain all the evidence satisfactorily, they become theories - explanatory models. If new evidence comes along to show the theory to be incorrect, the theory is either modified or abandoned. That's the way science works.

Answer 4

Science is quite resilient. It actually expects theories to be disproved and overtaken by others over a period of time. There is some resistance to change, but when a theory falls it does so quickly. Quite often the search for flaws within a theory yield the most promising insight [2]. However, I suspect theories you are thinking of have a more robust basis than you expect. Some of my favourite theories that have been overturned are as follows:

- phlogiston (an element that supports fire)

Answer 5

Science cannot be proven wrong. Science is a _process_ to prove the validity of a logical construct, of a hypothesis, or a prediction.

When something predicted is shown to be wrong, it is through scientific means; and the original claim -- which is NOT science, but a claim by a _scientist_ -- is only that: an unsubstantiated claim.



As other have pointed, there are plenty of hypothesis that were ultimately shown to be wrong.

Answer 6

Newtons theory that Gravity is a force was proven wrong when it is really just the curvature of space-time. This is shown by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. This is an example.

Answer 7

Take the example of Newton's Ekinetic=Mass x Velocity squared, if you solve just for the units of measure you get nonsense so I think that Newton did not write this formula but it was introduced again with Einstein's E=MC2. I think that RELITIVITY is actually a device to introduce to popular culture the doctrine of NONDISCRIMINATION which has lead to the social change of bisexuality and promiscuity, reducing testosterone levels in males and raising it in females resulting in a more productive and less violent world.

Answer 8

I suspect that you think it's a bad thing that a scientific speculation can be proved wrong. But it's not. Unlike religion, science is always anxious to improve its answers. Science is not about proving itself right like religion is. Science is about finding the correct path to better answers.

Answer 9

No, religion can't 'prove' science to be wrong.



But new scientific theories and ideas will replace the extant body of scientific knowledge.

Answer 10

Lamarkian and Lysenkoist evolution are two theories that tried to explain evolution which were proven wrong.



But you can't really prove science as a whole wrong. You could only reject its basic ontological assumptions.

Answer 11

This sounds like the original battle between early electricity experiments. One guy insisted electricity made a frog leg twitch because there was some kind of force in muscle tissue. Another guy said it was just the response to the electric charge. Anyway they battled this some years until pure-electric guy could prove his case. I think that was Volta, not sure who the other was.

Answer 12

Science is a method used to examine the material world and attempt to explain observed phenomena. When used in it's proper context it is very effective at ascertaining some truths. That being said, scientists are humans and often make claims that go beyond what is actually supported by the evidence or experiments. This history of science is filled with such claims being invalidated using the scientific method. In fact one part of the scientific method is to deliberately attempt to disprove the presented hypothesis. When practiced rightly experiments are structured to disprove or rule out explanations/claims.

Answer 13

Einstein in his famous utterance said "God does not play dice with the universe" in response to a quantum physics problem dealing with the the quantum entanglement of electron or photon pairs phenomena, or what he called "spooky action at a distance." Turns out quantum entanglement, also known as "non-locality" is real and the good professor was mistaken in this regard. It's a crap shoot.

Answer 14

Science is never proved wrong...



Some things scientists have suggested have been proven wrong.

~

Answer 15

In most cases when a hypothesis/theory is replaced, it is not actually proved wrong, but made unjustified or obsolete by new information.



There's a list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superseded_scientific_theories

Answer 16

The definition of mass that sits at the root of all scientific discoveries, explanations and ascertainments is wrong. SO the entire tome of science is fallacious. Period. You cannot talk your way out of it.. Go back to the beginning and start over.

Answer 17

"Dr Ioannidis based his earlier argument about incorrect research partly on a study of 49 papers in leading journals that had been cited by more than 1,000 other scientists. They were, in other words, well-regarded research. But he found that, within only a few years, almost a third of the papers had been refuted by other studies"



http://www.economist.com/node/12376658

Answer 18

Ever heard of Franz Reichelt?

Answer 19

Cold fusion is a classic example



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_fusion

Answer 20

science is proved by human and we will be trapped in a mind easily,we should believe our faith and turth

Answer 21

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/opinion/sunday/scientific-pride-and-prejudice.html?_r=5

Answer 22

common descent