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Originally Posted by aceventura3
Wow. 90% is a big percent, but it is still less than 100%. So, in our new science 90% becomes "unequivocal"?
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In science, you never reach 100% certainty. There is always doubt that the effect you have discovered is not real. Most sciences have an agreed upon level of doubt which they accept. In my field (Psychology) that doubt (also called "alpha") is usually acceptable if it is less that 5 %. If alpha is less that 5%, we call the effect statistically significant.
I am hesitant to dismiss the research discussed in the post you cite based on what appears to be a subjective assessment of "90%" that isn't directly quoted from the professor. I haven't seen the primary sources. I suspect that those studies must have reached statistical significance for them to be mentioned.