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Physics 3333 / CFB 3333 Fall 2006

The Scientific Method - Critical and Creative Thinking

(Debunking Pseudoscience)

© Professor John L. Cotton and Professor Randall J. Scalise

"Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out."
--Thomas Cardinal Wolsey(c.1475-1530)

PHYS 3333 satisfies a Physics elective requirement.
CFB 3333 satisfies a General Education Curriculum Cultural Formations requirement. Students can appeal for honors or diversity credit at the General Education Office after making arrangements with the lecturers.

Description:

This course will provide you with an understanding of the scientific method sufficient to detect pseudoscience in its many guises: paranormal phenomena; free-energy devices; alternative medicine; intelligent-design creationism; and many others. You will learn to think critically and to question outlandish claims, hype, and outright BS. Expect to do a lot of reading, writing, and, most of all, thinking.

Lecture Times and Place: MWF 11:00-11:50am in room 153 (old 124) Fondren Science

Lecturers: Professor Randall J. Scalise and Professor John Cotton

Office Hours:

Scalise: Monday after lecture and by appointment in room 107 Fondren Science (see also lab 20)
Cotton: Wednesday and Friday after lecture and 2:00-3:00pm in room 203 Fondren Science

Contact:

Call or leave a message at
- Scalise: (214)768-2504
- Cotton: (214)768-4096 or (214)428-5555 x1388
Leave a note in the Physics Department Office - 102 Fondren Science, or
send email to pseudo@physics.smu.edu

Course Work:

Weekly reading, reading quizzes, discussion, homework, in-class writing assignments
Two 3-page book reviews from the Auxiliary Reading list (feel free to suggest other titles subject to instructor approval)
One 7-page (minimum) research paper due midsemester
One 15-page (minimum) research paper due at the end of the semester
Physics 3333 and Honors CFB 3333 students will present orally the last week of class
Written final examination

Check to see if we received your papers, book reviews, or homework -- it is YOUR responsibility to check!

The book reviews and research papers must be turned in electronically. We will not accept paper copies. Mail your assignment to pseudo@physics.smu.edu or turn in a PC floppy disk or a CD. Ascii text, RTF, or MS Word format: double-spaced, 12-point type, Times New Roman (nonbold) font, 1-inch margins. We can not read WordPerfect or Macintosh files.

Required Course Texts:

The Demon-Haunted World : Science As a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
How to Think About Weird Things : Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn (4th edition!)
Why People Believe Weird Things : Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer

Syllabus -- Includes lecture notes and assignments

Homework Assignments

Suggested Auxiliary Reading

Grading, Extra Credit, Incompletes

Attendance Policy, Classroom Environment

Grade Summary - All the individual student grades arranged
by four-digit code number

A Note on PLAGIARISM -- Very important!

Notes on Writing Research Papers

Suggested Research Paper Topics

Good Past Student Research Papers (password protected)

Criteria for a Successful Experiment

The Baloney Detection Collection

Problems of Fuzzy Thinking

Relevant Web Sites

Other Resources -- Video, periodicals, etc.

Weekly Videos -- Fridays 6:30pm in room 123 (old 119) Fondren Science

Previous Incarnations of this Course -- with lecture notes

Seminars and Presentations

Students with disabilities, medically excused absences, absences in general

Anonymous Feedback

Things you should already know, but...

University Holidays

Official University Calendar

Disclaimer

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