#3101: Good Science

Transcript

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[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of a whiteboard with some scribbles on it.]

Miss Lenhart: I'm supposed to give you the tools to do good science.

[Miss Lenhart is now standing in front of Jill and Cueball, who are seated at classroom desks.]

Miss Lenhart: But what are those tools?

Miss Lenhart: Methodology is hard and there are so many ways to get incorrect results.

Miss Lenhart: What is the magic ingredient that makes for good science?

[Miss Lenhart headshot.]

Miss Lenhart: To figure it out, I ran a regression with all the factors people say are important:

[A list, presented in a sub-panel that Miss Lenhart is pointing to:]

Outcome variable:

• correct scientific results

Predictors:

• collaboration

• skepticism of others' claims

• questioning your own beliefs

• trying to falsify hypotheses

• checking citations

• statistical rigor

• blinded analysis

• financial disclosure

• open data

[presumably the list goes on, as it runs off the visible part of the panel]

[Another Miss Lenhart headshot.]

Miss Lenhart: The regression says two ingredients are the most crucial:

1) genuine curiosity about the answer to a question, and

2) ammonium hydroxide

[Miss Lenhart, standing, and Jill, seated at desk]

Jill: Wait, why did ammonia score so high? How did it even get on the list?

Miss Lenhart: ...and now you're doing good science!

Title text:If you think curiosity without rigor is bad, you should see rigor without curiosity.