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As a general rule, when somebody says "nobody knows X", they are almost certainly wrong. There are 7+ billion people on this planet. Someone probably knows something you don't, for just about any common language X you could form. (They just haven't told you about it!)

For instance:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/373

Scientists don't just sit around twiddling their thumbs all day...

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I've heard of both of these theories (cleanse and consolidation) but it's kind of strange how the first sentence of the abstract is "The purpose of sleep remains mysterious." If the researchers have any confidence in their work, why are they using this language? Why not "sleep is not as mysterious" or "sleep is no longer mysterious"?

My point was more that somebody very likely knows the truth (and believes it to be the truth,) even if we don't know who that person is.