[spunkets]

"For instance, it is commonly said that the 1919 observation of the bending of starlight around the sun was fantastic confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity. And in the public eye, it was. But in reality the results were far from conclusive - perhaps only 30 percent. Still, no one would have rejected the theory based on the outcome of that experiment."

The author is absolutely wrong. Had the bending of starlight not been observed, the hypothesis would be junk.

[bvw]

I was not sure what to make of that either. It sort of begs an explanation in the essay.

[Dan(9698)]

Had the bending of starlight not been observed, the hypothesis would be junk.

The bending could have been explained by refraction.

The sun has atmosphere, any light passing near the sun would pass through the atmosphere. Light is bent by refraction when it passes through the atmosphere.