There is a common perception among young students that the surest path to resolving scientific controversies is to design a clever experiment, one that will definitively resolve conflicting hypotheses. However, I have found that most scientific controversies do not revolve around specific experimental data, but instead are disputes over data interpretation.
Data interpretations depend on a scientist's underlying assumptions and worldview. For example, a molecular biologist might think of protein expression as an outcome of mRNA levels, whereas a biochemist might think in terms of synthetic and degradation rates. Both are right, of course, but each might expect different reasons for a change in the amount of a protein. Our perspective and assumptions regarding how living systems work defines us as biologists, which is why arguments over interpretations can get so nasty. If another scientist disputes the validity of your viewpoint, it can impact your reputation as well as your ...
