Repeatability separates robust findings from statistical noise or fraud. When the Open Science Collaboration attempted to replicate 100 psychology studies in 2015, only 36% yielded consistent results—a crisis that spurred reforms like preregistration and data-sharing mandates.
- Success Story: The 2012 Higgs boson discovery required independent confirmation from both ATLAS and CMS teams at CERN, exemplifying how high-stakes science embeds replication into its design.
- Failure as Progress: Non-replicable findings, such as the “power posing” phenomenon, are not indictments of science but proof of its corrective function.