Pseudoscience
VIEW
When a new particle of matter, the electron, was discovered by J.J. Thomson, at the turn of the century, his lab equipment predominantly comprised of magnets, vacuum tubes and some simple wiring. A century later, scientists searching for new particles like the Higgs boson use a supercollider which is a seventeen mile long machinery equipment that costs several billion dollars and capable of producing data to be analysed by the most powerful supercomputer in the world. Science has come a long way in the last one hundred and fifty years. With the progression of the attitudes of the broader society, science has benefited from the expanding diversity of perspectives offered by its participants. But not always have these perspectives been scientific in nature. Some of these perspectives have been mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method. And hence the question arises, “Does pseudoscience hinder scientific growth and progress?” The pursuit of scientific knowledge usually involves elements of intuition and guesswork. Experiments do not always test a theory adequately and experimental results can be incorrectly interpreted or even wrong.
Yes, pseudoscience is probably more likely to be driven by ideological, cultural or commercial goals. The explanations may tend to be vague and ambiguous and the field may have evolved very little since it was first established. But also, efforts to falsify existing theory form the core of the scientific method. While there must be a fine line between methods of pseudoscience and science, there must also be a two-way communication platform. The voice of pseudoscience must be heard and the audience must be given the opportunity to make their choice.
View: (Vibhu R)
Counter-view:
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs or practices that are claimed to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method, whereas science is the careful observation of the behaviour of something and coming to a conclusion based on the analysis of that behaviour. Once a person makes a clear distinction between the two, he himself can come to a conclusion on the illusion that pseudoscience is. I firmly believe that such theories stop the actual growth of humanity and scientific development. These theories have no evidence or proof of them actually being true but certain people have persuaded such theories in such a manner that people are brainwashed into blindly believing them without realizing what is actually beneficial to them. There are some bizarre theories which have no logical reasoning but still are very influential.
Astrology, ancient astronauts, anti-aging creams, superstitions, flat earth, religious rituals and vasthu shastra are some of the examples of this. Pseudoscience prevents and limits people's reasoning abilities. They cannot think beyond what has been told to them and this bars their ability to develop and adapt to modern situations. Pseudoscience only benefits those who have formulated such theories and no one else.
Existence of such theories is undeniable and they lack logical reasoning. “A man when lost in the jungle, will do his best to survive and find his way back to civilization rather than waiting for the stars to align or read the lines on his palm or worship a rock." This analogy has a relevant meaning to the above argument. Ours is the only habitable planet in the whole universe and we have questions to answer and make our lives better and this is what science intends to do. It helps us in 'finding the right way' and pseudoscience is the thing that is preventing us from doing so.
Rishab Jiani
VIEW
When a new particle of matter, the electron, was discovered by J.J. Thomson, at the turn of the century, his lab equipment predominantly comprised of magnets, vacuum tubes and some simple wiring. A century later, scientists searching for new particles like the Higgs boson use a supercollider which is a seventeen mile long machinery equipment that costs several billion dollars and capable of producing data to be analysed by the most powerful supercomputer in the world. Science has come a long way in the last one hundred and fifty years. With the progression of the attitudes of the broader society, science has benefited from the expanding diversity of perspectives offered by its participants. But not always have these perspectives been scientific in nature. Some of these perspectives have been mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method. And hence the question arises, “Does pseudoscience hinder scientific growth and progress?” The pursuit of scientific knowledge usually involves elements of intuition and guesswork. Experiments do not always test a theory adequately and experimental results can be incorrectly interpreted or even wrong.
Yes, pseudoscience is probably more likely to be driven by ideological, cultural or commercial goals. The explanations may tend to be vague and ambiguous and the field may have evolved very little since it was first established. But also, efforts to falsify existing theory form the core of the scientific method. While there must be a fine line between methods of pseudoscience and science, there must also be a two-way communication platform. The voice of pseudoscience must be heard and the audience must be given the opportunity to make their choice.
View: (Vibhu R)
Counter-view:
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs or practices that are claimed to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method, whereas science is the careful observation of the behaviour of something and coming to a conclusion based on the analysis of that behaviour. Once a person makes a clear distinction between the two, he himself can come to a conclusion on the illusion that pseudoscience is. I firmly believe that such theories stop the actual growth of humanity and scientific development. These theories have no evidence or proof of them actually being true but certain people have persuaded such theories in such a manner that people are brainwashed into blindly believing them without realizing what is actually beneficial to them. There are some bizarre theories which have no logical reasoning but still are very influential.
Astrology, ancient astronauts, anti-aging creams, superstitions, flat earth, religious rituals and vasthu shastra are some of the examples of this. Pseudoscience prevents and limits people's reasoning abilities. They cannot think beyond what has been told to them and this bars their ability to develop and adapt to modern situations. Pseudoscience only benefits those who have formulated such theories and no one else.
Existence of such theories is undeniable and they lack logical reasoning. “A man when lost in the jungle, will do his best to survive and find his way back to civilization rather than waiting for the stars to align or read the lines on his palm or worship a rock." This analogy has a relevant meaning to the above argument. Ours is the only habitable planet in the whole universe and we have questions to answer and make our lives better and this is what science intends to do. It helps us in 'finding the right way' and pseudoscience is the thing that is preventing us from doing so.
Rishab Jiani
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