Question: What´s the most interesting thing that you have learned about science

Sam Geen answered on 10 Nov 2020:

I think it’s amazing how people find out how old the universe is and how distant stars were made without leaving the Solar System – it’s a combination of physicists doing clever maths, engineers who build and launch space telescopes and who make fast computers, and everyone else who helps science. Even the person who fills the coffee and tea machine and makes food in the office canteen does a very important job.

The most important thing I learned about science is how it’s done – scientists are people, and there is the same arguing and personal passion that you find in sport or music or art. We all try to be honest and do the best work we can, but there are still competing theories and people who want their theory to be right even if in the end it’s not. It takes a lot of skill and work to be honest with yourself and find answers that are as correct as possible, but it takes a long time and lots of scientists arguing before we find a theory that survives a lot of testing and we can all agree on.