Comment by therealcamino | Hacker News Reader

Comment by therealcamino | Hacker News Reader

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That's one of my pet peeves on hn, the comments on microplastics studies, or I guess any in-progress science in general. If it's a study on the level of microplastic contamination the environment, or levels and sources of exposure, or to what extent it enters the body, people complain that we don't know yet if they cause harm. When is a study on potential harm, people complain that other substances might also cause harm. They complain generally that the studies don't have total answers, without understanding that this is how science gets us to the big picture.

> They complain generally that the studies don't have total answers, without understanding that this is how science gets us to the big picture.

I think this is one of the big disconnects caused by a lack of good scientific education. A scientist’s default state is “I don’t know.” The rest of our institutions, if you say “I don’t know”, they want to kick you out of office, fire you, or call you incompetent.

Truth is discovered step wise, little by little, with lots of groping around in the dark. But our society seems allergic to the concept of not having all the answers served up to us on a dinner plate.

Carl Sagan often was asked, “Do you believe there’s extraterrestrial life” He’d answer, he didn’t know and explain what the data was. The questioner would usually press him asking, “but what’s your gut feeling?”. Here’s his reply:

  But I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brain, as tempting as that might be, is likely to get me into trouble.

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