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© Copyright 1997, Jim Loy
I stapled two pieces of paper together. I then found that the second page was upside down. So I pulled the staple out, with a pair of scissors. And the staple stuck to the scissors. I then deduced that the act of stapling had magnetized the staple. [Please bear with me.]
I sought further evidence for this phenomenon. I stapled many staples into paper, and every one of them stuck to the scissors. They even stuck to the scissors, while still stapled to the paper.
Had I discovered a new phenomenon? Does stapling cause a staple to become magnetized?
What I have done is to fool myself with a sloppily designed experiment. I have searched for only confirming evidence (finding quite a lot, actually), and not even considered searching for contradictory evidence.
Let's take two of the staples which appear to have become magnetized. Do they stick together? No! That shoots me down, right away.
Staples which have never been stapled stick to scissors. In fact, scissors stick to scissors. I had merely discovered what most people already know: Most pairs of scissors are magnetized.
Note: I made an observation, and then jumped to a conclusion, just like all those pseudo-scientists (UFO folks, astrologers, ...). Scientists jump to conclusions, too. But eventually, they or their colleagues examine the contradictory evidence, and science gets back on track. See my article on Phlogiston Theory.