Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA
Of all the conflicts possible within cross-disciplinary studies, none are more confounding than those that arise from different standards that different disciplines require for "proof." Here, "proof" is not used as mathematicians use it, but rather it describes the collection of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Mary Ann Liebert
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80354 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6892-6948 |
| _version_ | 1826210148952047616 |
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| author | Benner, Steven A. Bains, William Seager, Sara |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Benner, Steven A. Bains, William Seager, Sara |
| author_sort | Benner, Steven A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Of all the conflicts possible within cross-disciplinary studies, none are more confounding than those that arise from different standards that different disciplines require for "proof." Here, "proof" is not used as mathematicians use it, but rather it describes the collection of evidence sufficient to accept a discovery, stop experiments, and record a problem as "solved" (Davenas et al., 1988). Experiments can easily produce evidence that is sufficient proof for one scientific discipline but sufficient only to create further controversy for another. Indeed, the identical experimental evidence that is conclusive for one community and controversial for another might cause a third community to reject the very same conclusion entirely. Failure to understand the differences in these standards of proof can allow cross-disicplinary activities to produce flawed science on one hand and reject genuine innovation on the other. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:44:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/80354 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:44:17Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Mary Ann Liebert |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/803542022-09-29T10:15:05Z Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA Benner, Steven A. Bains, William Seager, Sara Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Seager, Sara Bains, William Of all the conflicts possible within cross-disciplinary studies, none are more confounding than those that arise from different standards that different disciplines require for "proof." Here, "proof" is not used as mathematicians use it, but rather it describes the collection of evidence sufficient to accept a discovery, stop experiments, and record a problem as "solved" (Davenas et al., 1988). Experiments can easily produce evidence that is sufficient proof for one scientific discipline but sufficient only to create further controversy for another. Indeed, the identical experimental evidence that is conclusive for one community and controversial for another might cause a third community to reject the very same conclusion entirely. Failure to understand the differences in these standards of proof can allow cross-disicplinary activities to produce flawed science on one hand and reject genuine innovation on the other. 2013-09-06T12:39:57Z 2013-09-06T12:39:57Z 2013-05 2012-12 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1531-1074 1557-8070 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80354 Benner, Steven A., William Bains, and Sara Seager. “Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA.” Astrobiology 13, no. 5 (May 2013): 510-513. © 2012 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6892-6948 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2012.0954 Astrobiology Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Mary Ann Liebert Mary Ann Leibert |
| spellingShingle | Benner, Steven A. Bains, William Seager, Sara Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title | Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title_full | Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title_fullStr | Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title_short | Models and Standards of Proof in Cross-Disciplinary Science: The Case of Arsenic DNA |
| title_sort | models and standards of proof in cross disciplinary science the case of arsenic dna |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80354 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6892-6948 |
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