This is science self-reflecting on itself, says Matúš Adamkovič.
Can future events influence the present? A series of findings published by psychologist Daryl Bem in 2011 would have you believe the answer is yes.
In 2011, the professor emeritus claimed consistent statistical evidence for precognition. The findings were published in a prestigious journal.
Unsurprisingly, the results were met with widespread scepticism, which subsequently led to independent attempts to replicate Bem’s work. His findings did not fare well under such scrutiny.
This is just one of several examples from the current so-called “replication crisis”. The term refers to a surprising number of published studies whose findings cannot be replicated when run a second time.
