The Scientific Method

Syllabus - Spring 2010

Items of interest:



Older items



Jan 20 W Lecture # 1 Introduction; Start reading Sagan
    22 F Lecture # 2 The Scientific Method; Continue reading Sagan
    25 M Lecture # 3 Induction and Deduction; Magic; Quiz on preface, chapters 1 and 2 of Sagan
    27 W Lecture # 4 DNA, Art Fraud, Shroud of Turin; Quiz on chapters 3 and 4 of Sagan
    29 F Lecture # 5 Observation and Perception; Observation Exercise; Homework #1 due by 11:00am
Feb  1 M Lecture # 6 UFOs; Quiz on chapters 5 and 6 of Sagan
     3 W Lecture # 7 UFOs and Roswell; Quiz on chapters 7 and 8 of Sagan
     5 F Lecture # 8 UFOs and Frank Scully; Memory exercise; Homework #2 due by 11:00am
     8 M Lecture # 9 What is Evidence?; Memory exercise results; Quiz on chapters 9 and 10 of Sagan
    10 W Lecture #10 Eyewitness Testimony; Quiz on chapters 11 and 12 of Sagan
    12 F Lecture #11 Eyewitness Testimony; Midterm paper's title, abstract, outline, and sources due by 11:00am
    15 M Lecture #12                 Quiz on chapters 13 and 14 of Sagan
    17 W Lecture #13                 Quiz on chapters 15 and 16 of Sagan
    19 F Lecture #14                 3-page Book review #1 due by 11:00am
    22 M Lecture #15 ESP; Quiz on foreword through chapter 2 of Schick and Vaughn
    24 W Lecture #16 Psychics; Quiz on chapter 3 of Schick and Vaughn
    26 F Lecture #17 Psychics; Homework #3 due by 11:00am
Mar  1 M Lecture #18 Cold Reading; Talking to the Dead; They See Dead People, Or Do They?
     3 W Lecture #19 Cold Reading; Talking to the Dead; Quiz on James Randi's One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
     5 F Lecture #20 Cold Reading; Talking to the Dead; Midterm paper due by 11:00am
     8 M Spring Break
    10 W Spring Break
    12 F Spring Break
    15 M Lecture #21                 
    17 W Lecture #22                 
    19 F Lecture #23                 Homework #4 due by 11:00am
    22 M Lecture #24                 
    24 W Lecture #25                 
    26 F Lecture #26                 Homework #5 due by 11:00am
    29 M Lecture #27                 
    31 W Lecture #28                 
Apr  2 F University Holiday
     5 M Lecture #29                 
     7 W Lecture #30                 
     9 F Lecture #31                 Final paper's title, abstract, outline, and sources due by 11:00am
    12 M Lecture #32                 
    14 W Lecture #33                 
    16 F Lecture #34                 3-page book review #2 due by 11:00am
    19 M Lecture #35                 
    21 W Lecture #36                 
    23 F Lecture #37                 Midterm rewrites due by 11:00am
    26 M Lecture #38                 
    28 W Lecture #39                 
    30 F Lecture #40                 Homework #6 due by 11:00am
May  3 M Lecture #41                 
     4 T Lecture #42 Follows a Friday class schedule; Final paper due by 11:00am

    10 M Final Examination: 11:30am-2:30pm in 153 Fondren Science






Lecture Topics:

Abstinence Only; AIDS Denial; Alternative Medicine; Assumptions; Astrology; Bermuda Triangle; Cannibalism; Cold Reading; Talking to the Dead; Creationism; Death Penalty; DNA, Art Fraud; ESP; Second-hand Smoke (ETS); Experiment Design; What is Evidence?; Eyewitness Testimony; Faith Healing; Flat Earth; Global Warming; Hoaxes; Intelligent Design Creationism; Induction and Deduction; Introduction; Law of Unintended Consequences; How to Lie with Statistics; Trofim Lysenko; Modern Art; Observation and Perception; Patents; Peak Oil; Polls; Probability; Recognizing Pseudoscience; Psychics; Conceptions about Risk; Modern Scams; Scams, Frauds, and ID Theft; The Scientific Method; Science and Religion; Shroud of Turin; Skeletons in the Physics Closet; Dr. Snow and Cholera; Barry Marshall and Ulcers; Searching for the Star; Stellar Evolution; Student Presentations; Threshold Phenomena; UFOs; Vaccines do not Cause Autism; They See Dead People, Or Do They?








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