Watch how this brave and wise Knight calmly applies the scientific method to determine whether or not the young woman is a witch. He helps to educate the ignorant village people at the same time! . Questions… 1. In most experiments there are various factors (variables) that need either to be controlled, altered or measured. …
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Category:Scientific Method
Accurate & Precise…
This post assumes that you have read That Is Like, So Unfair about what makes a fair test. When you are asked to comment on why a particular step is taken in an experiment it is tempting to answer, “To make it a fair test” without really thinking it through carefully. There are two other …
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That Is, Like, SO Unfair…
I have noticed an occasional confusion over the phrase ‘fair test’ and I am even ashamed to say that I have allowed it to appear in one of my booklets in an incorrect context. It is an important phrase so I would like to offer a brief explanation. In an experiment, it is important only …
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How Science Works #1…
In science, a hypothesis is a speculation that might explain a particular observation. This can then be tested to try and show that it is wrong. If it cannot be demonstrated to be wrong, if it explains the observed facts and if it allows accurate predictions to be made then it may be promoted to …
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Equivocation…
A fallacy of ambiguity. 1. Having science lessons with HCTR is better than nothing. 2. Nothing is better than World Peace. 3. Therefore having science lessons with HCTR is better than World Peace! Equivocation is an error (or more commonly a trick) of reasoning in which the same word is used to mean two different things within the …
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Logical Fallacies…
As a follow-up to a General Lesson I had with 8D, here is a little stuff about Logical Fallacies. This post will attempt to explain the concept (as I understand it) and later ones will focus on different specific types of fallacy. Hopefully, I will be able to include some good real-world examples with video …
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A Quick Puzzle…
…from the New York Times. You must click on the link at the end of this post, attempt the test and then come back here to leave a comment. I don’t mean ‘must’ in the sense of… You simply must try the mackerel with pickles and mullet roe at El Celler de Can Roca. Yeah, of course …
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Life, The Universe & Everything…
This is a repost of an old article from October 2011 with a few tweaks. The video below is from the BBC TV series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. It is based upon the novel by Douglas Adams, which in turn was based upon the radio series of the same name. I started to …
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OK Pinheads, How’d The Moon Get There?
One of the reasons I love science so much is that it gives you the tools to find answers to questions. Asking good questions is one of the most important skills a scientist will learn. A scientific question is one that can be investigated; one that has the possibility of being answered. A question that …
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Green Revolution…
“…a change in the right direction, but it has not transformed the world into a Utopia” One of my science heroes was a biologist and agricultural innovator. To some, one of the greatest human beings ever to have lived, to others a source of inequality and supporter of western agribusiness. He is estimated to have saved over a …
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