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Imagine how crushing it would be to, after decades of effort, learn that it was all for nothing.

Disappointing, yes. Except this is the norm in science if we look back historically. Theories that were accepted for hundreds of years are replaced with more accurate representations through the scientific method. For example, planetary epicycles.

Agreed, but I think the more apt comparison is phlogiston.

> Except this is the norm in science if we look back historically.

Science, for better or worse, is paradigmatic. The paradigm is strong and drives careers. Only when the paradigm is toppled and a new paradigm established does Science begin to advance in what will be ultimately seen historically as a leap or bound, metaphorically of course.

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