Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk: How to Tell the Difference

352 Pages·2012·6.43 MB·English

by  Peter A. Daempfle

Good Science, Bad Science,
Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk
Good Science, Bad Science,
Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk
How to Tell the Difference
Peter A. Daempfle
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
“Wisdom of Dialectical Materialism” from Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel by Banesh Hoffmann and
Helen Dukas, copyright 1972 by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffmann. Used by permission of Dutton, a
division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP, United Kingdom Copyright © 2013 by Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data Daempfle, Peter.
Good science, bad science, pseudoscience, and just plain bunk : how to tell the difference / Peter A.
Daempfle.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4422-1726-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-1728-7 (ebook) (print) 1. Science—
Methodology. 2. Science news—Evaluation. 3. Communication in science. 4. Science—Study and teaching.
I. Title.
Q175.D174 2013
500—dc23
2012034880
™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
For my wife, Amy
For my children, Justina and Konrad
For my father, Tobias
Contents
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: Science Tools
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Science Is Arguing
Chapter 3: Tools Scientists Use
Chapter 4: Science for Every Person
Chapter 5: The Role of Critical Thinking
Part II: Science in Everyday Life
Chapter 6: The Media
Chapter 7: Pseudoscience
Chapter 8: Debunking Science Myths
Chapter 9: What Are Scientists’ Responsibilities?
Part III: Science
Chapter 10: Science Progress and Challenges to Science
Chapter 11: Getting People to Love Science
Chapter 12: Driving the Economy through Science
Notes
References
About the Author
Preface
This book shows the reader how to think like a scientist. It defines what science
is and how it can be misused. Throughout the book, provocative scientific
examples are provided that guide the reader to consider publicized claims more
critically. The tools to question authority and think scientifically are given by
exposing the reader to scientific cases and contemporary studies. Each example
provided walks the reader through the research methodology and mathematics,
history, philosophy, and educational research needed to understand the science.
In this way, the roots to science literacy are acquired. The excitement and
optimism science promises for the future is juxtaposed with threats to scientific
integrity and the declining results of national science efforts.
Science is shown, throughout the book, as a dynamic part of a changing society.
In short, this case-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning about the
scientific process leads the reader to real truths behind the many natural
phenomena treated. Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain
Bunk: How to Tell the Difference develops an appreciation for the way in which
we gain scientific knowledge. Debunking science myths and pseudoscience
helps the reader to learn science information in a fun, applicable way.
Science standards are addressed by applying scientific information within
cases, controversies, and history. The purpose of the book is thus to excite the
reader’s innate interests in the scientific process and make the public better
consumers of scientific information.
Outstanding or unique features of the work include:
Original material from my research on the retention of students in
undergraduate science, scientific reasoning, and the transition between high
school and college science. The research has been peer-reviewed and
published in separate articles in various refereed journals.
Unique real-life examples, stories, poems, and ethical dilemmas that are
provocative, held together by a concise overview of the aspects of scientific
literacy.
Quotations from respected scientists that bring the reader into the mind-set
of science.
Debate and discussion stimulations for instructors using the text presented
by tapping interesting aspects of science, philosophy, history, mathematics,
education, research methods, and critical-thinking strategies.
Help for consumers of science to anchor their own thoughts and/or to
provide teaching strategies for one of the many topics in each chapter of the
book.
Models of reasoning and guidelines for thinking critically.
Information to make science accessible to a broad range of audiences and
yet touch all of the areas needed for a full understanding of science.
Major themes common to all scientific disciplines presented in a clear and
readable manner for the general public.
Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk: How to Tell
the Difference emphasizes an approach to learning science that is based on
science as a process. Beginning chapters discuss process in a brief manner, with
a focus on the analysis of an experiment. The book is an extension of the
historical, philosophical, sociological, and mathematical ideas of science, which
gives a full flavor of the underpinnings that compose scientific thought.
Cultural components to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) success are discussed in order to determine a plan for improving
access to these fields. Research on STEM education, careers, and social issues
contributes to a unique strategy for success in U.S. retention and recruitment into
STEM fields. The book advocates social pressure to move STEM to a forward
position in our national priorities.
Current trends show a need for an understanding of science process increasing
in most areas of the economy. Fewer professional jobs exist without the need for
the knowledge of skills in science areas. The major textbooks only dedicate a
piece of their books to such learning because of the need to cover content. This
work infuses recent economic developments with changes in STEM areas. The
ability of STEM fields and STEM education to drive future economic growth is
explored. While there is a focus in the first chapters on provoking debate to
stimulate the reader, this book continues to help readers detect good and bad
science throughout the chapters.
The main audience for this book is people interested in science or science
education. This includes readers who are entering STEM teaching or have
children entering college science courses, people with a nonscience background
who want to gain greater understanding about science myths and topics, and
those who would like to gain insight into the state of science education today.
This book is also useful in establishing the foundation of course content for
traditional, online-only, and hybrid introductory science methods courses. Other
courses in which this book may be useful include: science research methods,
introduction to education, science education reform, advanced high school
science/honors courses, interdisciplinary science, integrated science, and critical
thinking in science.
Those who want to increase a reorientation toward a STEM focus in the core
curriculum of postsecondary institutions will find this book instrumental in such
efforts. Instructors who are developing STEM courses for nonmajors to draw
them into the related fields could use this book as a central text.
The integration of interdisciplinarity across the curriculum and within the
sciences is reflected in the content of this book. History, philosophy,
mathematics, science education, sociology, and politics anchor the book within a
scientific framework, which is necessary for collateral thinking.
The use of this book in the often idiosyncratic interdisciplinary science courses
allows the liberal use of everyday topics to augment the book and to personalize
the course for each instructor. This book is broad enough to allow for flexibility
in course design but sets forth a valuable core curriculum. Extensive references
allow the instructor to research and integrate course materials with their own
research articles. For instance, chapter 3, “Tools Scientists Use,” discusses the
importance of statistics in evaluating research, and an instructor could augment
the chapter by bringing in external articles for students to critique. The
background from the book will provide the tools to conduct the evaluation.
MY BACKGROUND
My background and interests place me in a unique position to produce a book
designed for people who are interested in learning about how to interpret and use
science or who want to use science in their particular teaching field. As an
educator for twenty years in postsecondary and secondary science classrooms, I
know many of the questions and misconceptions people often have about
science. I see the challenges to success in STEM courses and majors.
I hold a PhD in science education, which is tailored to studying what
constitutes science literacy and how to reach a level of knowing in science that
makes the public better consumers of science products, both in terms of research
and tangible technological objects. I worked as a science advisor and consultant
to develop and implement science content and policy for the No Child Left
Behind Act for eight years to improve science standards and assessments and
have researched and published on the transition of high school students to
college science programs. Even graduates of science programs are often
unfamiliar with the interdisciplinary excitement that science offers and the
methods of the scientific process. People need a book like this to give them a
reason to think like a scientist. Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and
Just Plain Bunk: How to Tell the Difference will bring readers into the scientific
paradigm.