Pseudoscience and Evidence
Pseudoscience and Evidence
- Pseudoscience
- What is Pseudoscience?
- Scientific Method?
- Properties of Pseudoscience
- Relies on testimonials, not expert opinion
- Built-in excuses
- Non-falsifiable hypothesis
- No attempt to disprove
- Doesn't offer anything new
- Cites patents
- Selective use of evidence; Cherry picking
- Misrepresentation of real science
- "It can't be, so it isn't"
- Makes no progress
- Claims unobservable forces
- Astrology
- Chi of acupuncture
- Claims impossible precision
- Makes no useful predictions
- VERY small samples
- Evidence
- What is NOT evidence
- Testimonials, anecdotes
- Patents
- Photographs
- Attacks on existing explanations
- ID and evolution
- False dichotomy
- "It can't be, so it isn't"
- I never heard of that - it can't be true"
- Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
- "Everybody knows that"
- The Earth was the center of the Universe
- Diseases were caused by vapors, miasmas, etc.
- Earth's continents were fixed in position
- Mars had canals and Martians
- Fire was produced when the phlogiston escaped from an object
- Coincidence
- Correlation
- What is real evidence?
- Randomized, double-blind, controlled study
- Repeatable experiment
- Cautions
- Must rule out hoaxes
- "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" (Sagan)
- Experiments must be CAREFULLY checked
