Many Good Ideas in Science Ultimately Turn Out to Be

question 51

Essay

Many good ideas in science ultimately turn out to be incorrect and this has happened several times in the history of genetics. Why do you think a particular idea was widely accepted by scholars of that time? Include in your answer some evidence in favor of the idea, observations that seemed to support the idea, or other rationale for accepting the idea.

---

Definitions:

Müller-Lyer Illusion

A visual illusion in which lines of equal length appear to be of different lengths due to the addition of inward or outward facing arrowheads at the ends of the lines.

Horizontal-Vertical Illusion

A visual illusion where horizontal segments appear longer than vertical segments of the same length due to perceptual biases.

Change-Blindness Task

A method in psychology used to measure the tendency to not notice large changes in one's visual field when distracted by other tasks or attentional shifts.

Japanese

The language spoken by the people of Japan, characterized by its complex system of honorifics and its use of three scripts (Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana).