How do we “know” something? Intuition “I have a gut feeling...”Intuition Authority “[Somebody respected] says so!” Tenacity “You’ll get a cramp if you swim right after eating.” Science ▫Rationalism- Applying logic to existing ideas (theorizing) + ▫Empiricism- Collecting data/observations (hyp. testing)

Theory: Dolphins are more intelligent than humans. How do you reject my theory? Intuition Authority Tenacity Rationalism &/0r Empiricism

Theory: Dolphins are more intelligent than humans. Your experiments support my theory…does that prove I’m right? No, there may be disconfirming evidence yet to be found A theory is never “proven” or “true”, there is just scientific evidence for it or against it

Lecture 1: Science is recognized as the most objective way of gaining knowledge…and sometimes unobjective people take advantage of that.

Intuition is unreliable. Unscientific ways of knowing something, like intuition, are based on feelings, not evidence If you really want to know something, stick to science– a combination of rationalism (logic) and empiricism (data) – to objectively gather data in order to answer questions ▫Why let unobjective opinions tell you what to think?

What is Pseudoscience? Pretends to be scientific ▫Uses unscientific methods, theories, and assumptions…but wears a lab coat Tries to be “convincing” rather than “true”. Other agendas (money, fame, etc.) It is not just “bad science”…it is science that is deliberately misleading.

What does it look like? Focuses on evidence for rather than against ▫Anecdotal/Testimonial, Confirmation Bias Untestable* (or unreplicable) ▫Always another explanation in their back pocket  Can’t be operationalized/falsified (supernatural) Stubborn ▫Doesn’t change in light of contradictory evidence

Where do you find it? Television Magazines Newspapers Internet ▫Don’t review the validity of the methods/procedure (no peer review process) Where do you NOT find it? = Scientific journals ▫Quality control by peer review process!

Therapeutic Touch (TT)

Only 83/853 reported studies were clinical or quantitative (research focuses on anecdotal reports) Out of those 83 studies, only 1 study showed a positive confirmation of TT (stubborn/confirmation bias?) Technique proven wrong by the experiment of 9 year old girl, Emily Rosa. In 1996, $742,000 was offered to any practitioner who could prove their ability to detect “biofields” ▫Only 1 person volunteered and failed…by 1998 the reward had been raised to 1.1 million bc nobody else volunteered

Ok, so testimonials aren’t objective…but why would people even SAY it works if it doesn’t?

We’re good at creating illusions of causality… (Close Door buttons in elevators are rarely wired up to anything)

…And that sometimes actually makes us better! Placebo Effect ▫Believing that you are treating an ailment can help alleviate the ailment…  Link: Bad Science (and Placebos)Bad Science (and Placebos) …even though placebos have no pharmacological efficacy (it’s all in your head)!

Reaction Paper Assignment Find an example of a product, procedure, or service that is based on pseudoscience: ▫Therapeutic Touch ▫RumpologyRumpology ▫… And convince me, the reader, that it is pseudoscience based on what we covered in this lecture!