Proteus phenomenon

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Proteus phenomenon is the tendency for early replication studies to contradict the original results, partly due to publication bias. It’s similar to the winner’s curse. The term was coined in 2005 by John Ioannidis and Thomas A. Trikalinos, named after Proteus, the Greek god who could quickly change his appearance. A 2013 paper suggested the phenomenon might sometimes be desirable or beneficial for science.