[WikiEN-l] The vexed issue of sources

[Thomas Dalton]

> I mean, what proof do I have that the half-life of Polonium-210 is actually
> 138.376 days? Maybe it's really 139.24 days. Maybe Polonium-210 doesn't EVEN
> EXIST.

It's not difficult to get access to a scientific paper or a textbook
that states the half-life. You don't have to be able to verify that
something is true, you need to be able to verify that the source given
really says when it's being claimed it says.