Avoiding Traps

Albert Einstein once said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new". This quote highlights the potential pitfalls that often arise when exploring a new frontier. Given recent advances in science such as cancer research, and recent controversies in science such as the autism-vaccine debate, it appears that progress is inextricably tied to making mistakes. The very nature of trying new things and testing new ideas lends itself to making mistakes along the way. What I think is more important than the mistakes themselves however, is how we as a society choose to view the mistakes. This is where the importance of education comes into play. By putting more emphasis on science in education, society will come to be more knowledgeable about how to approach the mistakes that will inevitably occur in scientific research. Furthermore, by emphasizing science education, society will be able to be skeptical of research for proper reasons rather than for media motivated reasons. In order to progress as a scientific society, we must embrace the mistakes that will be made along the path of progress, and learn how to better judge good from bad science.