Understanding Science and Pseudoscience

Study Notes

A field that studies the natural world in a unique way
Uses systematic empiricism: a structured approach
Forms questions about actual occurrences in the world: empirical questions
Disseminates knowledge to the public: makes research accessible
Reasons to disseminate: enables collaboration and allows science to be self-correcting

Pseudo suggests a false or misleading version of something
Quasi suggests something that has some resemblance to something else but isn't entirely the same
Pseudoscience claims to be scientific, but lacks the features of a true science
- Examples: homeopathy and phrenology

A scientific statement must be falsifiable: it could potentially be proven wrong
A theory that cannot be refuted by any event is not scientific
Most falsifiable statements only need one observation to be disproven

Questions arise about over reliance on the falsifiability criterion
Raven's Paradox: challenges the idea that observations can definitively confirm a universal statement

Can originate outside established knowledge bases
- Example: research on CCSVI and Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Follows a cyclical research process

Basic Research: expands our knowledge of human behavior without immediate practical goals
- Examples: studying the effect of stress on memory
Applied Research: addresses practical problems
- Examples: researching the effectiveness of a new therapy
Basic research can have practical implications

Relying on common sense can be misleading
Reliance on Heuristics: mental shortcuts that can lead to biases
- Examples: availability heuristic and representativeness heuristic
Confirmation Bias: seeking evidence that confirms existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence
Tendency to cling to incorrect beliefs: our minds tend to hold onto beliefs even when they are wrong
Cultivate skepticism: consider alternative explanations and search for empirical evidence
Develop tolerance for uncertainty: embrace uncertainty and avoid jumping to conclusions