Great article in Scientific American says too much of scientific research is trying to be “appealing” (e.g. wrong, yet surprising and therefore attracting attention) instead of accurate.

…surprising results are surprising because they go against what experience has led us to believe so far, which means that there’s a good chance they’re wrong.

Imagine a world that prized someone saying “nothing to see here” in their report more than “wolf, wolf, I saw a… never mind, just wanted to get you to listen to me.”

Or here’s my remake of a classic cartoon, where the caption now should read something like “he’s studying to be a scientist”.