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Asked by carrietrewern to Cat, Daz, Holly, Johnson, Pamela on 14 Jun 2011.
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Pamela Lithgow answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Hi carrietrewern,
No….I don’t believe everything other scientist say. But I don’t have to do all the experiments myself either. What I do is see what the other scientists say and look at the evidence from what they have done and then see if I agree with what they say. Then if I do agree I will use the information they are providing.
I do however very much enjoy investigating things for myself!
Pam
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Holly Shelton answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Thats a really good question. Scientists have to really convince other scientists that they are right before we believe them. One way of doing this is to publish our work in journals that have very strict guidelines. Your paper will be scrutinised by several experts and they all have to agree your science is right before they let you publish.
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Darren Braddick answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Hi Carrietrewern
Great question. Honestly, there are many mistakes and maybe worse in the literature (the stuff that is published and made public). As you become a scientist, you recognise these mistakes, and its upsetting to see. The best thing to do is be honest in what you do, as there is not much you can (or should..?) change about anyone else.
It feels like you do usually have to check for yourself 🙂
Daz
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Cat O'Connor answered on 14 Jun 2011:
Awesome question Carrietrewern!
One of the first things you learn when you start training to be a scientist is to become critical of everything that you hear. I know this sounds awful but for most people it’s not that much of a change! Do you often ask people questions that start with “Why”? Then you are a critical thinker!
When we read other peoples research reports we always think “Why did they do that?” and “How are they saying that this is what happened” and quite often “What are you talking about Fool???”! It’s pretty daunting at the start to criticise other peoples science when you are just learning to become a scientist but you get pretty used to it, because you know that someday very soon someone else is going to be reading your research results very critically!!
In some cases, if I or my research group find some research we don’t agree with, we sometimes do some experiments to prove that the other researchers were wrong. This may sound pretty mean but it’s our job as scientists to make sure that the information out there is correct!
Do you think you could be a critical scientist Carrietrewern?
Cat
Comments
carrietrewern commented on :
Thank you 😀
carrietrewern commented on :
Thank you.Surely some science cannot be proven without using other science so everyone has to believe the other science as well as your own? Also is that why sometimes when more than one scientist discovers something, only one gets known for it because they have presented it to the experts better?
Pamela commented on :
You are definitely correct about needing lots of bits to prove what you are trying to say in science. What we do is present our own evidence with the evidence of the other scientist who have done some of the work and people can decide if they think we are right. Sometimes with discoveries it is the person who has promoted it best that gets well known for it, normally most of the people that did the work do get the credit though!
Cat commented on :
Normally when you want to look at a scientific problem, say with mine if cattle or badgers are more reponsible for speading bovine TB, you first look at all the work that has been done previously. You see what you think is right and what you think may be wrong. Very often then you try and improve on what other people have already done by using new technologies, new data or new ways of thinking about it! So science and research is all about one-upping other scientists but all for the greater good of the world. There is a lot of science that we’ll believe and we’ll use this work as the basis for some of the new stuff we’ll do.
Yeah, it can be pretty awful when only one person gets acknowledged for the work that more than one person discovered. In that way, Science is a bit of a race. We’re all rushing to get our work out there first!!
Hope this answers your question!
Cat
carrietrewern commented on :
Cat
umm… I don’t know I don’t often have the guts to do anything about what other people say even if I think they are wrong. That’s partially why I asked the question. Thank you 😀
Carrie
Cat commented on :
Hi Carrie,
I didn’t think I had the guts either but trust me when the time comes you’ll find your voice and you’ll be surprised at how strong it is!! If you think something is wrong, you have to speak out and that goes for anything in life! I know it’s scary but honestly, it just takes a little practice! Hav you ever tried debating at school, I used to rubbish at it because I hate arguments and would normally try and hide in the back. But then we did a debate on how people should be punished for animals cruelty and boy did I take centre stage! Once you find something you are passionate about I bet you’ll find the guts to speak out. 😀
Pamela commented on :
I agree with Cat…you may be surprised by the guts that you do have. I never used to want to speak up if I didn’t agree or didn’t understand especially if the person was senior, like a teacher or lecturer, but as I have learnt more I have come to realise that I can challenge them. I am not saying you will be able to do it overnight but you can improve your confidence if you people are wrong it is important to ask questions. One thing about science is that you can challenge people who you think are wrong by doing the experiments and proving it. This can make it easier as it is not just what you are saying but it is what you have shown.
Hope this helps 🙂
Pam