Lots of news today about a finding that under some conditions neutrinos may (I emphasize may) travel faster than the speed of light, a clear contravention of a basic tenet of physics. In this light (yes, that’s a joke), I found this little item to be of interest:
Source: https://xkcd.com/955/
Given all the pronouncements lately about changes to established paradigms—often followed by the equivalent of an “Oops! We didn’t notice the dust on the instrument. Sorry about that!”—I wonder if this might not be a new profit center for a scientific entrepreneur. Perhaps researchers should take out insurance, in essence to bet against their new finding being valid—just in case, mind you.
I’m not in favor of voting with the status quo; far from it. I just think there’s too much of a mad rush lately to establish something new and greater. Should such an advance come to pass with verification, I’d love to see what humans could do with it.
Questions: Do you tend to support the status quo? How can you tell if something really is newer and greater? Would you “publish by press release”?