What are we going to do? Social Science + Natural Science Religion + Philosophy Importance of skepticism, scientific analysis, and valid logic when evaluating fringe science/paranormal claims
What do I call you? Dr. Dewald? Mr. Dewald? Professor Dewald?
The Books
Penn and Teller
What do you have to do? 1. Midterm 2. Final 3.Reading Responses 4. Paper 5. SPEAK UP! There is no attendance, but you must be present on the day that responses are do….somebody else may NOT hand them in.
Reading Responses Based on Chapters in the book You do it…you get credit Write a short description of your reaction to the reading, anything you have in your life that relates and 1-3 questions. We will go over them in class and discuss.
The Paper 1. Pick a Paranormal Topic 2. Explain the history and current information about it. 3. Using techniques learned in class, explain why this is a paranormal belief and the tactics used to convey it’s reality. 4. Show evidence against the proposed phenomena based on science and empiricism. October 3rd: Due date for proposed topic.
Examples Big Foot God Creationism Aliens UFO’s Psychics Monsters. Faith Healing Levitation Ghosts Conspiracy theories
Extra Credit Experiments: - 2.5 points for participation
- No more than 3/ semester
Local Publication coverage of paranormal events - Must be a local and current.
- Cut out/ print, bring in and present.
- 3 points
- (cat example)
What we are not going to do This class is NOT a witch hunt. We will not bash other beliefs One person’s “weird” thing could be another’s cherished belief! We will be thinking about things in an empirical and skeptical manner, NOT ripping on, making fun of, or taunting others.
What are we going to do? Baruch Spinoza - Dutch Philosopher
- “I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to UNDERSTAND them.”
However… Some things are just absolutely insane…. We can have a chuckle at their expense, but be sure to respect the views and feelings of your peers in the class so as not to make enemies. Discuss……don’t Argue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
About me…
About me Undergrad: Lebanon Valley College (PA) London Metropolitan University (UK)
About me
About me… Guitars, Guns, Baseball ….
Lets talk…. Name: Year: Where you from? Why did you take this class?
What are some things you have heard of? Has anybody experienced anything paranormal? Have you known anybody who has made these claims? What is the general consensus in the United States about this sort of stuff?
What will we cover? Ghosts Afterlife Channeling Near-death experiences Psychics Psychology and all it’s BS! UFOs and alien abductions Creationism vs. evolution Religious miracles
How will we cover? 1.Reviewing the myriad of events that are considered to be paranormal 3. Evaluating and dispelling the myths surrounding paranormal events 4. Encouraging scientific rigor when examining paranormal events 5. Reviewing the consequences of erroneous belief systems.
Psychology? Unknown to most people Information concerning human behavior and the unconscious Most who are considered to be in the field of psychology (as determined by the general population) are far from it. SO WHAT?!
Psychology? Requires critical thinking skills!!! More so than any other science. Example: Chemistry Hydrochloric Acid and Aluminum Foil: Predictions? Example: Psychology Josh’s parents get divorced when he is 7….when he turns 25 he will be __________________
Skeptic? What is a skeptic? Do you know of any?
Skeptic? Skeptic - Greek: “thoughtful or full of though”
- 2500 years old!
- Plato and Socrates
- “all I know is that I know nothing”
Skeptics? Modern Skepticism: - Science based movement
- First “Pop” skeptic: James Randi (the amazing)
- 70’s and 80’s-debunked many psychics and spiritualists on the Tonight Show.
Skepticism Embodies in the scientific method - Skepticism is a METHOD leading to conclusions
- A skeptic is “one who questions the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it”
- “That’s nice…prove it”
Skepticism 1.Universal Skepticism: - “The reality of the senses and the validity of rational inference should be mistrusted.”
- Philosophy: this has led to Extreme Solopsism:
- “The reality of the external world and even one’s existence are doubted.”
Universal?
Skepticism 2. Selective Skepticism - If a finding seems scientifically valid, it is accepted, until a better theory comes along to replace it.
- there are NO absolute laws !!!
- …a bit better
Science? What the heck is science?
What science is NOT 1. Not defined by subject matter - Bio, Chem, Psych, Physics…..what about selling cars?
2. Not defined by use of particular instrumentation and tools. - Do I have to blow stuff up?
So what is it then? You tell me…… A way of thinking!
Science! Science and Skepticism - “a set of methods designed to describe and interpret observed or inferred phenomena, past or present, and aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejection or confirmation.”
- What are some VERY important words here?
Scientific Principles Induction - Forming a hypothesis from existing data
Deduction - Making specific predictions based on hypothesis
Observation - Gathering data, driven by our hypothesis that tells us what to look for
Verification - Testing the predictions against further observations to confirm or falsify the initial hypothesis.
Scientific principles Via the scientific method we can come to the following conclusions: - 1.Hypothesis
- A testable statement accounting for a set of observations
- 2.Theory
- A well-supported and well-tested hypothesis
- 3.Fact:
- A conclusion confirmed to such an extent that it would be reasonable to offer provisional agreement.
Rationalism Basing conclusion on logic and evidence - How do we know the world is round?
- Dogmatism:
Scientific Principles How to ALWAYS think about explaining the universe… Systematic Empiricism Production of Public Knowledge Examination of Solvable Problems
Systematic Empiricism Empiricism? Relying in observation…good enough? STRUCTURE!!!! My car is scratched: Who did it?
Production of Public Knowledge “No man is an island” Must be public and repeatable. Why is this necessary? Findings must be presented to the community in such a way that they can be replicated, criticized or extended by anyone
Cold Fusion? What is it? Pons and Fleischmann Faulty measures
Empirically Solvable Problems Predict Control Explain What are some questions? What are NOT some questions? Pinker: Mysteries to Problems? - Jefferson and Sally?! Mystery back then…Problem now!
Pseudoscience/ Paranormal Characteristics: 1. non-falsifiable or irrefutable hypothesis. What does non-falsifiable mean? - No evidence can show the hypothesis to be wrong.
Falsifiability? Scientific theories must be presented in a way so as that they can be shown to be false. What “SHOULD” happen and what will “NOT” happen Predictions on Josh: He SHOULD develop some sort of behavior related to the divorce of his parent, how it manifests itself is TBD. Josh will NOT develop the power to kill a deer from 40 yards with mind bullets, on account of his parents divorce.
Lets try one… I, Andrew D. Dewald: am God I created all of you I control all of you And you all have no free will. I determine everything
Characteristic 2 Unwillingness to look closely at the phenomenon they claim exists. - Need for hard data completely ignored.
- We never landed on the moon
What if science can’t explain? If science can’t fully explain the phenomena COMPLETELY, reasonable explanations are ignored or dismissed and the proponent concludes that pseudoscience is supported. Why is this dangerous?
Santa? Who has seen him? NASA Apollo 8 saw him Santa produces Who does the burden lie on? The proponent or the Skeptic? -shifting the burden to the Skeptic is NOT a legitimate means of defending unattainable hypothesis.
Because I’m a nerd…. - (Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children no need to apply)
- = 378 Million Children (Assuming they are good)
31 Hours to work= 821.6 visits per second - 1/1000th of a second/ kid
650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound =14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per SECOND
Conspiracy Theories Not paranormal in nature but pop up in the belief systems of proponents of claims. Who knows some? Biggest Problem? - HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO NOT COME FORWARD!
Polywater 1960’s: Russia Boils way high, freezes way low More stable than H20 If allowed to contaminate actual water…BOOM! Skeptics could not make it Russia: You’re not doing it right!
Conclusion: Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof! Science is open minded: Believers are NOT!
What is the Paranormal? A subset of pseudoscience “any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions” A reliance on explanations for alleged phenomena that are WELL outside the bounds of established science. ParanormalPseudoscience
Pseudo vs. Paranormal UFO’s-You tell me. We have been visited by aliens who use wormhole technology to warp space to reach us. All UFO space craft is actual psychic projections from the dead spirits of the Universe.
Who cares? What does it matter if people believe crazy stuff? What do you think?
Who cares? Late 19th/ Early 20th century: - People started to care
- Spiritualists were exposed by magicians.
- Today:
- CSICOP (1970)
- Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.
CSICOP CSICOP established several goals: - A. “to encourage the investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims in a responsible, scientific way”
- B. “to obtain and disseminate to the public accurate, scientifically reliable information about the paranormal.”
Who cares?
Question: Is teaching skepticism harmful to curiosity and creativity? What do you think?
Why do they care? I. Claims might be true! - A.Hypnotism
- Franz Anton Mesmer 1700’s
- B. Stones from space?(17th c)
- C. Acupuncture?(70’s)
- Aliens?
- (sure)
Why do they care? II. Responsibility to inform the public: - America is easy:
- Nisbet (1998)
- 45%-Faith Healing
- 30%-UFO’s (like actually here now)
- 37%- Astrology (like in the paper!)
- 25%-Reincarnation (Christians)
Why do they care? II. Responsibility to inform the public: - The public spends a lot of time and MONEY on this junk.
- Fraud (John Edward)
- Uncritical coverage of paranormal claims (Faith healers, prayer, Mary on toast)
- Alternative Medicine (10 BILLION/ year)
Why do they care? III. Dangers in belief: - So what if I believe?
- 3 levels of why this is trouble:
- 1.Philosophical
- 2. Practical
- 3. Social
Philosophy: False beliefs about how the world actually works= DANGEROUS! Truth=good Holding an incorrect view of how the world works is referred to as a?
Practical New Kona Coffee: 200% the regular caffeine! (only has 10%) Problems? The Amish (sorry boys): Prayer over inoculation
Social Bringing it to the masses! Uncritical acceptance of paranormal belief systems can be extremely damaging Examples:
Conclusion: Those are extremes However: If one accepts faulty evidence, intellectual shoddiness and fraud and twisted logic for little things…it be comes EASIER to accept the same type of evidence in support for REALLY bad stuff.
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