It wouldn't be a popular sport. Self-knowledge / self-deception is probably another one of those areas where the relationship between research findings and peoples intuitions has deeper, substantive significance. The consequences are already apparent:glaciers are meltingfaster than ever, flowers are blooming earlier (just askHenry David Thoreau), and plants and animals are moving to more extreme latitudes and altitudes to keep cool. But other human foiblesthe desire to be accepted, time pressure, conflicts of interest (e.g., expectations of funding sources), interfere and can compromise that ideal. ( kantrntjutv) adj. Columbus' contemporaries didn't think the world was flat but he was still kind of crazy because he thought the Earth was a lot smaller than it really is (and basically lucked into finding the New World). Everything you probably think of when you think of the universeplanets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dustmakes up just 4 percent of whatever is out there. It made Einstein furious. Cultures as diverse as the Babylonians, Han Dynasty China, and the Maya each developed sophisticated belief systems and mathematics to divine the purported influence of the planets and stars on people's personalities and events on Earth ( Boxer, 2020 ). Bell's theorem and general quantum weirdness. Common sense does not always follow this route, and may include social biases, assumptions, and even a lack of facts. 2. The research team found that the global warming potential of a single-use kraft paper bag was the highest, over 80 times that of reusable plastic bags. One must not just take the word of a powerful consensus. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". And besides, researchers are continuously learning new things. Since it is necessary to keep heating in order to turn the solid into liquid or liquid into vapour, they assume the temperature must keep rising during the change of state. Single-use plastic and reusable cotton bags (reused 50 times) were calculated to have over ten times the global warming potential of reusable plastic bags (reused 50 times). This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. How could something so obvious be wrong? Its kind of deflating, isnt it? That two objects of different mass fall at the same rate. What if we talked about p-hacking the way we talk about experimentereffects? While intuition and misconceptions continue to be of great interest to mathematics and science educators, there has been little research, much less consensus or even internal consistency, in statistics curriculum development concerning the role of examples with counterintuitive . This re-boiling produces more steam, increasing the pressure, and thus raising the boiling point above the current water temperature, so boiling ceases. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Counterintuitive behavior means that actions intended to produce a desired outcome may generate opposite results. Kim Scott, once the head of Google's AdSense and . I realize I'm preaching to the converted in this subreddit, but it's always worth remembering the difference to help understand others' view of science. Learn more. Its hard to do it justice in a small paragraph here, but the PBS space-time episode on it gives a good explanation. Science can be glorious; it can bring clarity to a chaotic world. The definition of counterintuitive is something that goes against what you believe would be logical, or something that goes against common sense. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Gender Identity Is More Nature Than Nurture. What is the most surprising and counterintuitive finding in science that you can think of? Here you can ask any question you have about being a scientist, what's new in a field, what's going to happen in a field, or are curious about how we got to this point. It's genuinely remarkable, and chances are you're only aware of a small portion of the fascinating and bizarre facts discovered by scientists thus far. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Clamp the tube in a beaker of ice and water. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Trigger freezing by stirring, or seeding with a small ice fragment. A red light for go and a green light for stop would be highly counterintuitive, for example. As Simine points out, many people in psychology say that counterintuitive findings are more valuable so clearly there is an incentive to frame things that way. This website uses cookies and similar technologies to deliver its services, to analyse and improve performance and to provide personalised content and advertising. Does putting water in a smoothie count as water intake? Nature: The anus is a sophisticated organ. Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. Clamp the funnel above a beaker. When treating someone badly makes him like you more instead of less, this is an example of something that is counterintuitive. For example, with 1,000 variables, there are almost half a million (1,000x999/2) potential pairs of variables that might appear correlated by pure chance alone. Counterintuitive claim: Prices are determined by supply and demand. Lead author Dr Byron Adams, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the universitys Cabot Institute for the Environment, said: It may seem intuitive that more rain can shape mountains by making rivers cut down into rocks faster. Boyer originally did not precisely specify the number of expectation-violations that would render an idea maximally counterintuitive. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model for the use of counterintuitive examples in the introductory non-calculus-based statistics course at the college level. While intuition and misconceptions continue to be of great interest to mathematics and science educators, there has been little research, much less consensus or even internal consistency, in statistics curriculum . For example, you probably wouldntsay that the double-slit experiment was counterintuitive; youdsay it falsified classical mechanics. What are the most surprising and counterintuitive findings in science? ~45 kJ/mol vs ~.08 kJ/molK (~8 kJ/mol to get from boiling point to freezing point at STP). 11. Press J to jump to the feed. Dont trust your intuitions. Papers from physics journals (free or otherwise) are encouraged. Quote from: thelatinist on September 28, 2011, 10:31:22 AM, Quote from: Chew on September 28, 2011, 09:49:10 AM, Quote from: Turbonegro on September 28, 2011, 07:45:31 AM, Quote from: Will Nitschke on September 28, 2011, 06:34:28 PM, Member: League of Extraordinarily Evil Gentlemen, Sci Fi Geek, fencer, free thinker, dog friendly. Although if you didn't enjoy science classes at school, it's difficult not to be astonished by scientific facts as an adult. (Military) intelligence collected about enemy espionage. A heavier object does fall faster. You should sit in meditation every day unless you are too busy. MiigPT 7 yr. ago. This person's common sense isn't off-base. A connection to everyday lived experience is almost definitional to our field, whether you think it is something that we should actively pursue or just inevitably creeps in. Laura Helmuth is the science and health editor at Slate. Its an adaptation of the traditional dual slit experiment (which in itself is a serious mindfuck) that really drives home just how messed up quantum entanglement really is. we of course used these results to show how counterintuitive our actual results were. Reference-frame invariance of the speed of light. When treating someone badly makes him like you more instead of less, this is an example of something that is counterintuitive. Identify whether they are grounded in hearsay, assumption, intuition or groupthink. Similar misconceptions occur with freezing. For example, let's say a company invested in IoT systems to gain an edge in data-driven insights. Whenever you are doing physics and all the sudden some entirely new deep topic in mathematics is automatically spit out. Animal Testing Is Necessary. Ultimately, everything in the universe will drift farther and farther apart until the universe is uniformly cold and desolate. So when we started reading about these "facts" that are supposedly counterintuitive, we just couldn't believe them. In everyday language 'freezing' or 'melting' involves cooling or heating, but in science the term refers only to the changing physical . I agree that exceptions to good goes with good are often interesting, but not necessarily because they are counterintuitive. What is the most surprising and counterintuitive finding in science that you can think of? Counterintuitive, right? 1. Counter Intuitive Thinking Examples . Perhaps the best example is quantum physics where many scientists believe that some quantum processes do not have any cause whatsoever. For me that brings up the question: what do we mean when we say something is counterintuitive?. We have just begun to see the effects of human-induced climate change, and the predictions for whats to come range from dire to catastrophic. The reality is not so simple. Steam pushes a piston upwards. Both processes require energy, which comes from the immediate surroundings. Honestly, take a moment to consider what the natural environment and current technologies are capable of. Most students, and probably most adults, assume that the interaction of salt and ice somehow causes a temperature rise, melting the ice. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Thats what scientists (both professional and citizen scientists) ought to be doing. He used a telescope to provide evidence for the heliocentric theory, and some of his contemporaries were so disturbed by what the new invention revealedcraters on a supposedly perfectly spherical moon, other moons circling Jupiterthat they refused to look through the device. Most professors don't even seem to want to give a hint of the truth behind things. Third year of physics, and the first time I heard that, it boggled my mind, still kinda does, but I'm more used to it now. One thing I have to explain is why, if my idea is so great, people didnt consider it earlier. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine What are Halloween costume masks made from? Read our privacy policy. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Cookie Policy Answer (1 of 13): The world is hardly what it appears to be. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. What importance does counterintuitive play in our real life? Why are motorcycles less fuel-efficient than cars? For the general public that have not had the opportunity to be exposed to the process of science, one of the most counterintuitive things is this: Logic and Common Sense are not the same thing. Why does salt cause the ice to melt? Students can reverse the experiment starting with frozen cyclohexane and warming it in a beaker of hot water, recording temperatures until it returns to about 15oC.