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Anomalies drive scientific discovery -- they are associated with the cutting edge of the research frontier, and thus typically exploit data in the low signal-to-noise regime. In astronomy, the prevalence of systematics --- both known unknowns and unknown unknowns --- combined with increasingly large datasets, the widespread use of ad hoc estimators for anomaly detection, and the look-elsewhere effect, can lead to spurious false detections. In this informal note, I argue that anomaly detection leading to discoveries of new physics requires a combination of physical understanding, careful experimental design to avoid confirmation bias, and self-consistent statistical methods. These points are illustrated with several concrete examples from cosmology.
We describe a simple step-by-step guide to qualitative interpretation of galaxy spectra. Rather than an alternative to existing automated tools, it is put forward as an instrument for quick-look analysis, and for gaining physical insight when interpr
New physics in the neutrino sector might be necessary to address anomalies between different neutrino oscillation experiments. Intriguingly, it also offers a possible solution to the discrepant cosmological measurements of $H_0$ and $sigma_8$. We sho
We construct a pipeline for simulating weak lensing cosmology surveys with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), taking as inputs telescope sensitivity curves; correlated source flux, size and redshift distributions; a simple ionospheric model; source re
We discuss how to efficiently and reliably estimate the level of agreement and disagreement on parameter determinations from different experiments, fully taking into account non-Gaussianities in the parameter posteriors. We develop two families of sc
The classical cosmological V/Vm-test is introduced. Use of the differential distribution p(V/Vm) of the V/Vm-variable rather than just the mean <V/Vm> leads directly to the cosmological number density without any need for assumptions about the cosmol