October 1, 2012
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmRecommended The Half Life of Facts
By Anna Kuchment
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date
Samuel Arbesman
Current, 2012 ($25.95)
Many medical schools tell their students that half of what they've been taught will be wrong within five years—the teachers just don't know which half. Arbesman, a Harvard University–affiliated practitioner of scientometrics—which looks at how we know what we know—sets out to make readers more comfortable with changes in scientific knowledge, from the status of Pluto to the age at which women should get mammograms. Facts change in a regular, predictable manner and obey mathematical rules, he argues: “Once we recognize this, we'll be ready to live in the rapidly changing world around us.”
COMMENT ATScientificAmerican.com/oct2012
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
