Science and Pseudoscience

Critical Thinking

Science

• The scientific method isn’t a complex, or magical process. It’s actually quite mundane!

• It’s how scientists are trained to think that makes science such a powerful tool

Science

• Science relies on:– Skepticism– Critical Thought– The Scientific Method– Imagination!

Science

• Science relies on:– Skepticism– Critical Thought– The Scientific Method– Imagination!

Skepticism

• Which line is longer?

Skepticism

• Which block is darker?

Skepticism

• Skepticism is the practice of not taking the world at face-value but, instead, considering it in close detail before drawing conclusions

Cynicism

• Skepticism is not cynicism• Cynicism:

– Close-minded dismissal of claims that contradict your beliefs

• Skepticism:– Willingness to entertain many possibilities, but

only accepting them after seeing persuasive evidence

Science

• Science relies on:– Skepticism– Critical Thought– The Scientific Method– Imagination!

Critical Thinking

• There is a difference between being critical and criticizing

• Critical thinking is a style of thinking that focuses on careful investigation of phenomena that are not understood, and conservative adoption of new beliefs

• Criticizing (without also providing advice) is just being mean!

Extraordinary Claims

• The more a claim contradicts what we already know, the more persuasive the evidence for the claim must be before we should accept it

Overtoun Bridge

• There is a bridge in Scotland where dogs have been known to commit suicide off of

• Some dogs, which have failed at committing suicide, have even returned for repeat attempts!

Why is this an extraordinary claim?

Falsifiability

• Claims must be capable of being disproved.

Creationism

• Creationism is the belief that the universe is so complex that it could not have been created by mere physical processes, and therefore must have been created by a divine being.

Why can this statement not be falsified? Does this mean it is wrong?

Flying Spaghetti Monsterism

• In 2005, the Kansas City school board attempted to integrate Creationism into science classes

• Critics argued that regardless of whether Creationism is true or false, it has no place in science classes because it cannot be falsified

• One of the more popularized criticisms was the church of the flying spaghetti monster:– http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

Occam’s Razor

• If two hypotheses explain a phenomenon equally well, we should generally select the simpler one.

Occam’s Razor

• Which theory is preferable?

Clocks work through a series of interlocked gears.

Clocks work through a series of interlocked gears

pushed by invisible pink unicornsDoes this mean the Unicorn

theory is necessarily wrong?

Occam’s Razor

• Often what will happen in scientific research is not that we will immediately falsify a theory but, rather, find evidence that supports a more succinct theory

Overtoun Bridge

• The dogs have mostly jumped from one side of the bridge

• Most jumps occurred during clear weather• Most jumpers have been breeds of dogs with

long snouts• A colony of minks were found living in the

foliage under Overtoun Bridge

According to Occam’s Razor, which theory should we prefer? The dog suicide theory, or the mink-hunting theory? Why?

Replicability

• A finding must be capable of being duplicated by independent researchers following the same “recipe”.

Overtoun Bridge

• How could we replicate the mink-hunting theory in a way that would not kill any more dogs?

Ruling out Rival Hypotheses

• Findings consistent with several hypotheses require additional research to eliminate these hypotheses

Overtoun Bridge

• Finally, how could we rule out the dog suicide theory?