Many people have an idealized view of how science works.

They think that someone makes a discovery or publishes a paper,

then everyone acknowledges their discovery,

and everyone moves along to the next thing.

Science.

However, that isn't quite how things work in reality.

The real advancement of science can be quite messy.

And one man learned this the hard way.

Learn more about J Harlan Brettz and how he changed a scientific discipline through determination and longevity on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. The German Nobel Prize winning physicist Max Planck said,

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light,

but rather its opponents and making them see the light.

But rather, its opponents eventually die

and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."

Or, as it is put more colloquially,

science advances one funeral at a time.

Convincing people that deeply held beliefs they hold are wrong is very difficult to do.

This is true in almost any aspect of life and science is no exception.

When a certain worldview is established, overturning it is hard even if the evidence is on your

side.

No one knew this better than Jay Harlan Brettz.

Brettz was a high school biology teacher in Seattle,

took an interest in geology,

...