Transcript Nature of science

NATURE OF SCIENCE
But first…
Scientific Worldview
 There are physical causes for events
 “Physical causes” refers to interactions of
matter and energy governed by physical law
 The present is the key to the past (and future)
“Understanding Science” UCMP
Two Types of Reasoning
 Inductive reasoning
Evidence  Conclusions
 Deductive reasoning
Conclusions  Evidence
A Couple General Guidelines
Parsimony – Occam’s Razor
14th-century English logician, theologian and friar
The principle was familiar long before[4]
The words attributed to Occam are "entities must not be
multiplied beyond necessity" (entia non sunt multiplicanda
praeter necessitatem)
These actual words are not to be found in his extant works.[5]
The saying is also phrased as pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate ("plurality should
not be posited without necessity")[6]
To quote Isaac Newton, "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as
are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same
natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes."[7]
From : wikipedia, “Occam’s Razor”
A Couple General Guidelines
Parsimony – Occam’s Razor
When deciding between two equally
plausible explanations, science
tends to prefer the simpler of the
two.
In this case, “simple” refers to using
pre-existing ideas, entities, and
formulae whenever possible.
A Couple General Guidelines
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
Popularized by Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)
An explanation that is less parsimonious will require stronger evidence—
evidence that can withstand rigorous testing with the possibility of
both confirmation and refutation.
E.g., To accept the idea that an alien race has traveled to Earth, we’d need
to have evidence that they exist, evidence regarding the means by
which they travel, evidence regarding their world or origin...all of which
would need to be open to testing in ways that would allow refutation.
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http://levelbeyond.com/2012/02/24/is-this-the-clearest-picture-of-a-bigfoot-ever-captured/
Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to the Solar System. It
lies about 4.37 light-years in distance, or about 41.5 trillion
kilometres, 25.8 trillion miles
But then you have to get home...
UFOs
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3zotvpZLnY
Which game are you playing?
Pseudoscience
 A set of beliefs or practices that can easily be
mistakenly regarded as being based on a
scientific worldview.
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Astrology
Cryptozoology
UFOs
Ghosts
Psychic phenomena
Crystal energy
“I never would have believed it if I hadn’t see it.”
“I never would have seen it if I hadn’t believed it.”
Pseudoscience—Some questions
 What is the proposed cause/conclusion?
 How is the conclusion being supported?
 What is the evidence?
 What would it take to disprove the conclusion?
 Can others check the evidence, the
conclusions, the methods?
 Is the conclusion based on something we’ve
seen before?
 Is there a simpler explanation?
Science and Technology
Science
Technology
STEM
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Consider Telescopes
 Chronology of early astronomy,mechanics
and spaceflight
 wwwistp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Stimelin.htm
Models
 A representation of a real thing or idea.
 Not the same as an example.
Real Thing (Target)
Model
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Attribute
Models
 A representation of a real thing or idea.
 Not the same as an example.
Planet
Physical Model
Shape
Size
Color
Position from “Sun”
Atmosphere
Surface Features
Shape
Size
Color
Position from “Sun”Attribute
Models
 A representation of a real thing or idea.
 Not the same as an example.
Force
Model (Formula)
Relationship between mass
and acceleration
Vector
Pos or Neg
Physical
Real Factors Affect
F=ma
Vector
Pos or Neg
Numerical
Usually Ideal