What Happens When a Generation of Scientists Changes Its Mind

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The Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887 failed to detect the aether, leading to a paradigm shift in physics and contributing to Einstein's theories of relativity.
Louis Pasteur's work on microorganisms overturned the theory of spontaneous generation, leading to germ theory and new understandings of infectious diseases.
Scientific progress often involves paradigm shifts, as described by Thomas Kuhn, where old theories are replaced by new ones after resistance from the scientific community.
Young scientific fields, like early physics and microbiology, are more prone to dramatic reversals due to untested foundational assumptions.
Political and economic pressures can lead to scientific reversals, as seen in debates over mammogram screenings and the Great American Desert misconception.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how political and public pressure can cause scientific organizations like WHO to reverse their stance on airborne transmission.
Controversies such as mammography recommendations for women under 50 show how scientific debates can become politicized, leading to public confusion and policy reversals.
Future scientific reversals may occur in fields like cosmology, obesity research, and Alzheimer's disease, where data is limited but theories compete for dominance.

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