LIFESCI 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Scientific Method, Pseudoscience
Document Summary
Structured way of finding information about observable events in nature. Enables us to reject hypotheses about how the world works. If my hypothesis is true: when i do x," then y" will occur . Can be used for many non-scientific topics (i. e. is eyewitness testimony infallible? ) Take home message #1: the scientific method--observation, hypothesis, prediction, test, conclusion--is an efficient way to understand the world b/c it tells us when to change our beliefs. The critical experiment : putting a hypothesis to the test. Take home message #2: at the core of scientific thinking is the ability to imagine a. Take home message #3: the better-controlled an experiment is, the more confidence we should have in its results (but as experiments are better-controlled they often are poorer models of the situation of interest) How do you know what you claim to know?"".
