Is it Science or Pseudoscience?

1. Is it Science or Pseudoscience? Kathy Saunders University of Waikato

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus

9. Forum Is the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus science or pseudoscience? What are some claims you know of that you consider to be pseudoscience?

10. 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.

11. To recognise whether a statement is science,nonscience or pseudoscience.... • Criteria of “Characteristics of scientific knowledge” • Look for warning signs

12. 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

13. 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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21. 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

23. 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

24. 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 • Quackwatchhttp://www.quackwatch.org • Critical thinking pseudoscience http://www.csj.org/infoserv_indexes/index_tpcol_study_criticalthinking_pseudosciencefact.htm