The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe > Messages and Questions From the Panel

Science Blunders

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Steven Novella:
All,

For an article I am writing I need the biggest science blunders of all time. I would appreciate any suggestion.

These should be blunders where a huge mental mistake was made, hopefully with a lesson that can be learned.

Moloch:
Here is a great article with 20 blunders from between 1980-2000: http://discovermagazine.com/2000/oct/featblunders

superdave:

--- Quote from: Moloch on Jun 03, 2011, 08:21:29 AM ---Here is a great article with 20 blunders from between 1980-2000: http://discovermagazine.com/2000/oct/featblunders

--- End quote ---


This list was pretty good.  I would add the tacoma narrows bridge.  Columbus tremendously underestimating the radius of the earth.  Thalidomide. 

At about 13:45 in this ted talk the speaker discusses how a woman was almost convicted of murder due to a misunderstanding of statistics. (yeah i know not earth shattering but that list really stole all the good ones!)

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_donnelly_shows_how_stats_fool_juries.html

Beleth:
My favorite one is the presupposition of ether, and how it was later proven that it didn't exist.

Moloch:
phlogiston is great too, although that might be dipping back into simply pre-science instead of science blunders.

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