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Big Questions in Physics and Astronomy that Were Better to Ask than Answer

Associate Professor Ken Gayley; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa

We tend to teach that the scientific method is about testing hypothesis by confronting them with data, until one of the competing ideas emerges as the victor. But is this the data-driven victory of one of the pictures really the main thing that is happening? In many cases, the discovery of deeper truths have allowed us to understand why the initial debate was trying to answer the wrong question altogether. I consider a simple example of how Bayesian reasoning applied to data allows us to select a favored hypothesis, but also several fascinating examples of when the real discovery was why the hypothesis being tested was the wrong way to frame the question altogether. It's possible that the way we say science progresses is not really what happens in many cases.

Anyone wishing to join the seminar virtually can do so via Zoom - https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/93816357338