Is it Science or Pseudoscience?
Kathy SaundersUniversity of Waikato
Aims of the session
Discuss the elements of the Nature of Science and use these as criteria to distinguish between science, pseudoscience and non-science
Examine a range of recent scientific claims and make decisions, with justifications, as to whether these are science, pseudoscience or non-science
What is science? Think about categorising the following
statements as scientific, not scientific, not scientific but seems scientific.
Knowing the “right” answer is not the point –purpose is to think about what science is and isn’t.
Is it scientific, not scientific, not scientific but seems scientific
Every human possesses a soul Water boils at 100 degrees C at 1 atmosphere (atm)
pressure Aliens from another planet built Egyptian pyramids People born under astrological sign Aries are
charismatic leaders The earth’s surface is made up of many plates. The
movement of these plates set in motion forces that result in earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building
We hired scientists to test our product, and the results prove our product is better than that of our competition
Water molecules contain a memory of what has been dissolved or diluted in them
An inventor’s design for a car that uses water as a fuel has been bought up and suppressed by the oil companies
Reports of UFOs are suppressed by the government to prevent panic and/or maintain control over citizens
What criteria did you use to place a statement in a category?
Tentative definition for each category Rename:
Scientific – SCIENCE Not scientific - NON-SCIENCE Not scientific but seems scientific -
PSEUDOSCIENCE
Dough Nut Activity Two circles are formed, with each person
facing a partner, about ½ m apart Students spend about 2 minutes discussing
statement and justifying their selection/opinion Inner circle moves - rotate to right one person
once time is up
Forum
Is the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus science or
pseudoscience?What are some claims you know of that you
consider to be pseudoscience?
Science can be defined as... PRODUCT: Science is a body of knowledge
including facts, theories and laws PROCESS: Science uses a variety of tools and
procedures to generate scientific knowledge WAY OF KNOWING: Science is one lens to
make sense of the world. It relies on empirical evidence and generates knowledge claims based on linking evidence through to explanations through logic and mechanisms that can account for cause and effect.
To recognise whether a statement is
science,nonscience or pseudoscience....
Criteria of “Characteristics of scientific knowledge”
Look for warning signs
Characteristics of scientific knowledge Predictable: Extends application of new ideas and
stimulates new questions Replicable: Proposes a mechanisms for observed
cause and effect that is repeatable; explanations must fit existing data
Empirical: Knowledge claims are based on evidence (all the evidence) that can be observed and tested (as opposed to authority)
Natural: A natural cause or mechanism used to explain how or why an event happens
Tentative: Self correcting when new evidence is uncovered
Warning signs is the claim aimed directly at the media?
(Scientists take to scientific forums) Are there claims that the establishment wants to
suppress the work? Is the scientific effect being described, at the very
limit of detection? Is the evidence for it only anecdotal? Are the predictions of the ‘science’ quite vague? Is the statement said to be true because it has
been believed for a very long time? Has the person presenting this information been
working in isolation? Do they propose a new law of nature in order to
explain the observation? Is there sponsorship from someone or an agenda
to push?Taken from http://webexhibits.org
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So, armed with an understanding of how science operates, we can
assess the many claims and counterclaims, many claiming scientific support and validity,
that bombard us everyday
Spotting pseudoscience is a skill every citizen
should develop.A good grasp of the Nature of Science is
essential to differentiate science from pseudoscience.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Some references Websites The Guardians “Bad Science”
page: http://guardian.co.uk/life/badscience How to recognise bad science
http://webexhibits.org/bogus Sceptical Inquirer http://www.csicop.org Quackwatch http://www.quackwatch.org Critical thinking pseudoscience
http://www.csj.org/infoserv_indexes/index_tpcol_study_criticalthinking_pseudosciencefact.htm
