I hate it when publications label scientific discoveries "impossible". It makes scientists look like idiots.
OBVIOUSLY scientists understand that if something has been experimentally verified then it's by definition not impossible and the theory has to be improved. But I wonder if the general public understands that scientists understand that. Or if they imagine scientists going "Sir, an animal big as a house with a tail on his face? Impossible!"
> But I wonder if the general public understands that scientists understand that.
No, the general public does not. The scientific literacy of the general public is abysmal. There's entire political movements predicated on a lack of understanding of the term "scientific theory".
OBVIOUSLY scientists understand that if something has been experimentally verified then it's by definition not impossible and the theory has to be improved. But I wonder if the general public understands that scientists understand that. Or if they imagine scientists going "Sir, an animal big as a house with a tail on his face? Impossible!"