SOME COMPONENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS:
Observation (identify question)
Hypothesis
Experiment (test hypothesis)
Correlation
Prediction
Theory
Other components might include
controls
isolating cause and effect
falsifiable
___________________________________________
In every controversial topic, a few contrarian scientists champion a view diametrically opposed to the majority position of the scientific community. Why might they adopt a contradictory view?
They may be convinced the majority opinion is wrong.
They may be motivated to consider all possibilities.
They may have a vested interest or the possibility of financial gain.
A common tactic is to use scientific uncertainty as an excuse to postpone or reverse an action or policy that a vast majority of scientists believe to be prudent. They will claim that the evidence doesn't constitute conclusive proof that the action needs to be taken.
Another tactic is to suggest that the policy is based only on a scientific theory. As noted above, theory describes an entirely different level of certainty in science than it does in common usage.
Scientists usually do not claim something is a fact or unquestionably true. Rather, we talk about evidence for and against an idea, hypothesis, or theory.
E.O. Wilson has noted "We will always have contrarians whose sallies are characterized by willful ignorance, selective quotations, disregard for communications with genuine experts, and destructive campaigns to attract the attention of the media rather than scientists. They are the parasite load on scholars who earn success through the slow process of peer review and approval."
How can we identify junk science that uses quasi-scientific jargon and faulty analyses that represent perversions of objective inquiry?
____________________________________________________________
Recognize that the primary
goal of education should be to learn how to sift through mountains
of facts and ideas and find the few that are useful and worth
knowing
___________________________________________
"Taken together, their ideas lift the burden of heavy thinking about the most complex issues of contemporary life. In their schemas, clearly defined cause proceeds in a stately march toward sharply delineated effect in ways even an idiot can understand and believe." -- Hodding Carter, in reference to simple solutions like Murray & Hornstein's Bell Curve, and certain political ideas.:
_________________________________________________
"For every human problem
there is a solution that is neat, simple, easy to implement and
wrong." -- H.L. Meckland
________________________________________________________
