Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

We've optimized since Ignaz; now, you only have to infect and then cure yourself to win a Nobel after being doubted (https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/11/health/nobel-came-after-y... the scientist actually infected themself with helicobacter pylori, got sick in the predictable way, and cured it with antibiotics)

The process by which DNA was convincingly demonstrated to be the molecule of hereditary was fairly complex; an early experiment that was complex and hard to understand did so, but people didn't completely believe it so a later experiment that was easier to understand was done.

For the longest time, the establishment believed the functionality of the ribosome (a critical subsystem that translates mRNA into protein) was carried out by its protein subunits. Although convincing data was published in the 1960s, the general belief did not change until the crystal structure of the ribosome was published showing that RNA formed the catalytic component.

And my personal favorite, it was considered unpossible that prions could be caused by proteins that misfolded and caused other proteins to misfold, it required absolutely heroic efforts in the face of extraordinary pressure to establish the molecular etiology of prions in the minds of the establishment.

It's hard to change your mind. Some people never will.




"Science advances one funeral at a time." https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/09/25/progress/




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: