cross-posted from: https://piefed.zip/c/science@slrpnk.net/p/1972992/do-cats-fart-an-investigation-into-the-mysteries-of-feline-flatulence

Dogs are constantly passing gas. So why don’t cats seem to?

    • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Not all knowledge needs to be profound to be worth studying. This idea that science wastes so much money needs to die.

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          The problem with this attitude is that it presupposes that scientific discovery is linear, predictable, and evaluable without context or scientific knowledge, from an armchair.

          For all we know, a study like this could accidentally reveal something about gut health in cats, which later is confirmed to be true about humans, which later is combined with other knowledge to treat bowel cancer.

          When you devalue “dumb” science because you judge it at face value, you devalue all science. Republicans are very fond of doing this also and it’s helped create more scientific ignorance in the public and it has made less funds available for science.

          There’s nothing more worthy of having money spent on it than science. You’re obviously not a scientist, and even if you were, you cannot predict the future or know what you don’t know. Scientific knowledge is like a giant puzzle and we don’t know what all the pieces are ahead of time or how they fit together.

            • bryophile@lemmy.zip
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              2 days ago

              Excellent. That’s your initial observation. Now formulate a testable hypothesis, operationalise your variables, design a controlled experiment, collect sufficient data, replicate your findings, and submit your results for peer review.

              Get back to us when you do.

            • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              Shockingly, scientists do not receive a blank check and then only provide the word yes or no as the result of their study.