|
In Reply to: 'Science has discovered...' Or has it? posted by Observer on April 20, 2006 at 21:00:17:
There's the bug problem with "science has discovered" when you read about it in the newspaper or hear about it on the radio or television where there isn't much discussion about the limitations of the study. Sometimes an experiment will show positive results, but there are a bunch of caveats that go with those results, such as small effect size (results are statistically significant, but explain very little of the total variability in the outcomes). Sometimes sample sizes are too small or not randomized, so that results can't be reliabily generalized to the larger population. Sometimes the study design fails to control for intervening variables (e.g., soil properties) that would explain growth patterns at least as well as the independent variable (talking to the plant).
I don't talk to my plants, but sometimes they talk to me. They say stuff like, "I need a smaller pot" and "Put me in a better location" or "Leave me alone."
