Pseudoscience

The Bermuda Triangle: Pseudoscience? Coined by philosopher, Karl Popper, ‘Pseudoscience’ is a term that is prevelant and used to describe theories or even fields of study that appear scientific but are not authentically so. Much like scientific claims or theories, pseudoscientific ideas also stem from curiosity of the humankind. They tend to use seemingly scientific jargon to rationalize concepts but are often scarcely refutable and are devoid of experimentation and evidence. This essay aims to…

Use of animals in research Is it fair use animals for obtaining medicines and products that will benefit man? This is not a form of exploitation? Currently, the use of animals in scientific researches has been widely debated. On one hand, the activists claiming that it is a cruelty with animals, in another hand the scientific community says that is impossible to change completely the method. There are reports that animals have been used by humans since of the age of Aristoteles. From that time…

Breed in a desperate attempt to try and explain the unexplainable of the time period, superstition are ramped in the Middle Ages. With the Middle Ages being an age of uncertainty and an overall lack of knowledge in the very world that surrounded the people living in this time, superstitions became apart of everyday life and could even be considered routine. While today many of the fears of the people of the Middle Ages which were the root cause of superstition are considered non-realistic and…

Isabella Stengers is deeply critical of scientific notions of Realism and Rationalism, which states that the real world is described by science alone and deductive reasoning is the chief source of knowledge respectively. Along with this criticism, she is advocating the idea that science should be integrated with other modes of knowledge to form an ecosystem of practices. The modern practice of science is brimful of varying conceptual loopholes. Firstly, the so-called scientific method does not…

The effect of personal anecdotal evidence on confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the common human tendency to notice or seek out information which confirms our already existing beliefs while ignoring evidence which conflicts our beliefs. It is particularly prevalent in cases where our beliefs are mere prejudice or based on superstition. Confirmation bias is the reason why many people believe in the supernatural such as ESP, lucky charms or the lunar effect: a claim that human behaviour is…

The Great Influenza In the excerpt from his book “The Great Influenza” John M. Barry, characterizes scientific research as “grunt” and “tedious” work, highlighting that scientists must acquire courage to accept and embrace uncertainty. Barry develops his ideas by utilizing an extended metaphor comparing the unknown and the known, antithetical ideas of uncertainty and certainty, and rhetorical questions to mirror the thought process a scientists encounters. Using references from scientists…

Scientific ideas and concepts have always been the subject of much discussion. It is becoming increasingly apparent that being scientifically literate means one can understand and interpret things with a basic understanding of key scientific concepts. The level of scientific literary ability that the average person has is of serious concern, as they can impact cultural and scientific development. The importance of being scientifically literate is rising along with the advancements in science.…

Therefore, American media, having the ability to greatly promote a public interest in scientific literacy, must take responsibility to report only accurate scientific information in order to diminish the possibility of promoting unsubstantiated science and misleading the public. With the media becoming a profuse vehicle for education, interests in the sciences have grown in the public. However, current coverage on scientific information today is largely obfuscated in the media. That is, today…

Evolution or also known as Darwinism is a scientific theory that everything in the world came from one single origin and follows a blueprint of order in a process called natural selection. Evolution by natural selection is one of the unsurpassed authenticated theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a wide variety of scientific studies, including developmental biology, geology, genetics and paleontology. Created by Charles Darwin who wrote The Origin of Species (1859) to…

“Hold your breath as you pass the graveyard, then the people won’t come back and kill”. If you see a black cat, you’ll have bad luck for five years.” What do these all have in common? They are both negative superstitions. Do you believe in them? Do you follow them and their rules? Are they an important part of your life? How far do you go just to believe in them? For similar reasons, people do strange acts just to follow superstitions in the short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. In the…