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> If there are no scientific studies about something, it's OK to rely on intuition and stories, and act upon them, until sufficient data is gathered for scienti
by sidpatil 6y ago
> If there are no scientific studies about something, it's OK to rely on intuition and stories, and act upon them, until sufficient data is gathered for scientific inquiry.
Doesn't that lead to witch trials?
- yamrzou 6y agoNot necessarily. I'm not suggesting to throw reason and common sense all along. I'm just suggesting that, in the absence of scientific evidence, you can rely on plausible intuition and stories. As an example, suppose you noticed that whenever you don't sleep well you are more forgetful. And suppose there were no studies, research, whatsoever linking sleep to Alzheimer's (like the one posted earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24365546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24365546). Then your own experiences which could also be echoed by others, are enough to make this a hypothesis worth considering, and act upon it (=pay attention to your sleep quality) until there are rigorous scientific studies confirming (or disproving) it.