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I didn’t say it was not natural. I simply said it would not surprise me if it were not. It’s interesting how even asking a question about things can become tabo

I didn’t say it was not natural. I simply said it would not surprise me if it were not. It’s interesting how even asking a question about things can become taboo.

biorach 5y ago
No one said it was taboo. You made a dumb comment, someone politely explained real science to you.
- ImaCake 5y ago
  Thanks for this :) Probably the best thing about the culture of science is that ignorance is often answered with polite explanation. Many scientists I know expect their own ignorant comments to be answered the same way. It is much harder to argue against a polite and well argued scientific response!
- suifbwish 5y ago
  I merely said I would not be surprised, implying that I am not completely certain everything is as it is always commonly believed. If you feel the comment was dumb that’s your opinion and perhaps others share it but it’s hardly more than an opinion. I am quite aware of what real science is and what hurdles it has gone through for the past several hundred years to rid itself of political inhibition.
  - nerdponx 5y ago
    The point is that in this case the common belief happens to agree with science. Saying something controversial or inflammatory and then accusing other people of getting riled up is pretty much trolling 101.
Kranar 5y ago
But you didn't ask a question, you made a statement. There are only two reasons I can think of for why someone wouldn't be surprised if something that is almost certainly false turned out to be true. 1. That person is wholly ignorant of the subject and so nothing about that subject would surprise them because that individual has no reason to believe anything about it one way or another. As an example, it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that the Birch-Tate conjecture turned out to be false, because frankly I have no idea what that conjecture even means and so I have no reason to be surprised about it one way or another. 2. That person has expert knowledge about a topic that is not known by either the public at large or even by other experts in the field. Perhaps that person has devoted extensive and specialized research and managed to reveal a strong body of evidence that overturns the best commonly held understanding on that subject. The reason I suspect you are being downvoted is because most people on HN think you're in category 1, that is you're someone who is not sufficiently informed on this topic to be surprised by it one way or another, and hence your comment comes across as revelling in your own ignorance. If you're in category 2, then you have my sincere apology and I'd be genuinely interested for you to share your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that will happen.

I didn’t say it was not natural. I simply said it would not surprise me if it were not. It’s interesting how even asking a question about things can become taboo.

biorach 5y ago

No one said it was taboo. You made a dumb comment, someone politely explained real science to you.

ImaCake 5y ago
Thanks for this :) Probably the best thing about the culture of science is that ignorance is often answered with polite explanation. Many scientists I know expect their own ignorant comments to be answered the same way. It is much harder to argue against a polite and well argued scientific response!
suifbwish 5y ago
I merely said I would not be surprised, implying that I am not completely certain everything is as it is always commonly believed. If you feel the comment was dumb that’s your opinion and perhaps others share it but it’s hardly more than an opinion. I am quite aware of what real science is and what hurdles it has gone through for the past several hundred years to rid itself of political inhibition.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  The point is that in this case the common belief happens to agree with science. Saying something controversial or inflammatory and then accusing other people of getting riled up is pretty much trolling 101.

Kranar 5y ago

But you didn't ask a question, you made a statement. There are only two reasons I can think of for why someone wouldn't be surprised if something that is almost certainly false turned out to be true. 1. That person is wholly ignorant of the subject and so nothing about that subject would surprise them because that individual has no reason to believe anything about it one way or another. As an example, it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that the Birch-Tate conjecture turned out to be false, because frankly I have no idea what that conjecture even means and so I have no reason to be surprised about it one way or another. 2. That person has expert knowledge about a topic that is not known by either the public at large or even by other experts in the field. Perhaps that person has devoted extensive and specialized research and managed to reveal a strong body of evidence that overturns the best commonly held understanding on that subject. The reason I suspect you are being downvoted is because most people on HN think you're in category 1, that is you're someone who is not sufficiently informed on this topic to be surprised by it one way or another, and hence your comment comes across as revelling in your own ignorance. If you're in category 2, then you have my sincere apology and I'd be genuinely interested for you to share your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that will happen.