THINK 1:
The Science of MythBusters
How do scientists actually go about answering practical questions? How does science function as a way of understanding our world, and -- importantly -- how does it differ from other approaches?nnAs its point of departure, this course will examine and critique selected episodes of the television series, MythBusters (Discovery Channel), which tests the validity of many popular beliefs, including myths, rumors, traditions, and stories, in a variety of imaginative ways. We will take the opportunity to delve more deeply into the applicability of the scientific method in understanding a vast range of real-world problems, and into the practical acquisition of fact-based knowledge, which together form the cornerstone of all science. The intellectual framework of this course will be based, first and foremost, on skeptical inquiry, combined with the other key ingredients of good science, which include: careful experimental design, meticulous observation and measurement, quantitative analysis and modeling, the evaluation of statistical significance, recovery from failure, and the continuous cycle of hypothesis and testing. We hope to inculcate in our students " a taste for questioning, a sense of observation, intellectual rigor, practice with reasoning, modesty in the face of facts, the ability to distinguish between true and false, and an attachment to logical and precise language. " (Yves Quéré, 2010 Science 330:605).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-AQR, WAY-SMA