this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
106 points (94.9% liked)

Technology

59207 readers
3599 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Baffled Scientists Detect Massive Unexplained Radiation From the Sun, Study Reports::"The Sun’s emission at high energies challenges present models," scientists say, and "decisive" new probes are needed to solve the mystery.

top 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Thorry84@feddit.nl 81 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I always laugh when media says scientists are baffled and have a mystery on their hands.

More often than not they pretty much know exactly what is up. But Pete says one thing, Harry says another thing, Jenna has been working on it for the past 20 years and don't forget old man Harris who did great work in the 70s. Most of the time they disagree on small details which don't even matter unless you are really into the subject. Or they have 2 theories and know for sure one of them is right, but they don't know which one. They need funding and staff for a 12 month study to figure out which one it is, but getting that funding has been an issue for the past 10 years.

Then they talk to a reporter and say well we don't really know, because they don't want to be presumptuous. So the headline says its a MYSTERY and scientists are BAFFLED.

In my experience scientist don't get baffled, they get excited and talk your ear off for hours if you let them. If you think they will stop if you stop buying them drinks, it doesn't work, they just keep going.

[–] Waldowal@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

But I enjoy picturing a guy in a lab coat surrounded by bubbling beakers and tubes - with his head in his hands - questioning his life's work, and screaming "What the fuck sun!? God damn it!"

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Tell them the next round is on them, that tends to change the conversation quickly...

[–] voidhearts@lemm.ee 38 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This constant gamma-ray flux—which does not pose a threat to life on our planet—is far brighter than expected based on models of the Sun’s behavior, raising new questions about the mechanisms that are fueling the radiant glow.

Could they not have led with that? I hate that sites feel they need to imply an existential threat to drive clicks to a science article.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Welcome to the modern news media, where everything's a crisis and words don't mean anything.

In a headline, as soon as I see "scientists" instead of "researchers" I start getting doubtful. If scientist is preceded or followed by the word "baffled" or any of its synonyms I go straight to ignore. It's all clickbait these days

[–] voidhearts@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don’t disagree (I actually do the exact same thing when I see the word “baffled”) but I’m interested in your distinction between researchers and scientists. Is it a common tactic for news articles to use “scientists”as a buzzword instead of “researchers”?

[–] Candelestine@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not him, but now that I think about it, there is a tendency for many people to prefer the more generalized term.

Where scientists don't tend to use the word scientist as much, I can't recall ever seeing the term in a journal article for instance. (I don't read many, but I'll read an abstract here and there) I'm not sure why. I expect it's some categorization thing, where not all scientists perform research, so researcher is the more precise term. I'm just guessing as to the reason though, I do not have a PhD.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I would guess because "scientist" has no qualifying definition and is also vague. I just conducted an experiment to see if a McDonald's cups bottom would retain 4oz of Coca-Cola over the course of 5 days in a hot car (it didn't). Yay I am a scientist.

At least researcher or "research scientist" gives some idea of what the title is implying.

[–] SirSamuel@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Late reply, sorry. Basically what others have said, "scientist" is used as a buzz word. I don't have any issue with the word itself, just how it's used in news media

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Has anyone read Project Hail Mary?

[–] Jacksachatter@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 year ago

That’s it! It must be astrophage!

[–] AmosBurton_ThatGuy@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Need to find some taomeba asap!

[–] PottedPlant@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Gamma ray bursts?

Well, when everyone is an Incredible Hulk, then no one is and Incredible Hulk.

[–] KairuByte@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

We’ll still be hulks, it just won’t be that incredible.

[–] a_spooky_specter@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Planet Hulk