but it shows just the same bias towards new and exciting stories. If one looks through the journals, one finds endless positive results (where the scientists’ predictions pan out or something new is found) but very few null results (where researchers come up empty-handed). In just a moment we’ll dive into the technical, statistical definition of ‘positive’ versus ‘null’ results. For now, it’s enough to know that scientists are usually looking for the former and are disappointed to end up with the latter.
