Greta wrote:The headline "Scientists Have Concluded That The Universe Shouldn't Really Exist" is an absurdity used as clickbait...
Yes, and I suppose the problem arises when people like Dark Matter don't actually click but simply decide to make up their own interpretation of that (as you've said) self-evidently absurd headline. Saying things that are self-evidently absurd as a sort of opening gambit to get people interested is a tried and tested way to get attention.
A more informative and less misleading headline - and thus one that would never be used would be:
"Latest Discovery Means That Aspects of the Standard Model May Need Revision".
I am seeing this a lot - science journalism and journalists being mistaken for science and scientists. You made the same mistake with Krauss's "A Universe from Nothing" - where his point was actually that what we once thought was nothing is actually something rather than a claim of nihilistic magical emergence.
Beware the clickbait and be ready to reinterpret. Caveat emptor.
As you're suggesting, your proposed alternative headline is more accurate but less arresting.
Dark Matter wrote:A skeptic’s way of saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts”
No. A way of saying: "If there's a difference between the theory and observed reality then observed reality is right". Pretty bloody obvious really. A headline like "Scientists Have Concluded That The Universe Shouldn't Really Exist" is essentially the same as a headline like "Scientists Have Concluded That Objects Shouldn't Fall to the Ground". We all know that the laws of physics are descriptive, not prescriptive. The Law of Universal Gravitation doesn't tell objects what to do. It attempts to describe what they actually do. So clearly there's no "should" or "shouldn't" about it. Objects clearly
do fall to the ground. The Universe clearly does exist. Scientists aren't in the business of chastising it and telling it that it shouldn't. So, if we think about it at all, we have to conclude that the word "shouldn't" is not being used in it's normal sense here. But if you take it out you get a headline like Greta's suggested alternative which doesn't grab the attention quite so effectively.
Personally, I think every headline for every story on every subject should just say "Sex!".