whether it be disproving a favorite hypothesis or forgetting a step in a protoco

[GoodTaste]

Encourage debate​

Admit when you are wrong and encourage trainees to do the same. Science provides many opportunities to be wrong, whether it be disproving a favorite hypothesis or forgetting a step in a protocol. But young scientists often have a fear of failure or worry about facing repercussions for their mistakes.
Source: Science

I don't quite understand the meaning of "whether it be disproving a favorite hypothesis or forgetting a step in a protoco". The author seems to give examples of "many opportunities to be wrong" - does it mean ":whether you are wrong in disproving a favorite hypothesis or forgetting a step in a protocol"?

 

[probus]

The author gives two examples of the many opportunities for error that science affords its practitioners. Forgetting a step is a rather obvious example, but I admit to being slightly puzzled by the other example. I guess it means that although we tend to have some affection for our hypotheses, they are often incorrect and if they are science will show us the errors.