NSCI 100 King College Possibility of Human Living on Another Planet Presentation

I need help on writing and making PowerPoint presentation on my critical thinking research project

The topic that was assigned to me is: the possibility of human living on another planet

I have attached instructions from the professor and PP chapters that are needed to complete this paper and presentation as it is the only materials we can use on this project and there is some examples on applying critical thinking on the pp slides and videos.

Please take a look at the provided materials and feel free to ask me for more details or more materials

For Monday
•
Apply SEARCH process to Mozart
Effect
•
•
Moodle Assignment Due Monday Nov
2nd
Critical Thinking Project Topic List
•
Due Friday Nov 6th
Flat or Spherical Earth


Ancient Greeks proposed Earth is spherical
Many people still thought Earth was flat
until Magellan circumnavigated the globe
Evidence for Flat Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=cIFTYw1USKY
⚫
Watch 8:50-26:20
Evidence For Spherical Earth

Flying East or West explained
⚫

Why solar eclipse moves from west
to east
⚫

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g
Nkgj9h2oM&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x
kUTebkABc
Why you can sometimes see beyond
Earth’s curvature
⚫
https://www.abc57.com/news/skylineskepticism-the-lake-michigan-mirage
Chapter 6: Intro to Critical Thinking




What is Critical Thinking
Intuitive vs Reflective thinking styles
When and where to Critically think
Common Logical Fallacies
Critical Thinking



Using _____, not _______, to make
decisions
“Critical thinking is simply the
careful, deliberate determination of
whether we should accept, reject,
or suspend judgement about a
claim and of the degree of
confidence with which we accept or
reject it”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=HnJ1bqXUnIM
Intuitive Thinking

Automatically go with ones initial
_________
⚫

Accepts what immediately seems to be
true
More likely to accept emotionally
appealing and/or paranormal
explanations
Reflective Thinking

________ initial instinct and
considers other possibilities
⚫

Can suppress intuitive and spontaneous
wrong answer in pursuit of less ______
answer that may be correct
Use critical thinking and take pause
to look for more complete
explanation
Intuitive Vs. Reflective Thinking

If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to
make 5 widgets, how long would it
take 100 machines to make 100
widgets?
Intuitive Vs. Reflective Thinking

In a lake, there is a patch of lily
pads. Every day, the patch doubles
in size. If it takes 48 days for the
patch to cover the entire lake, how
long would it take for the patch to
cover half of the lake?
Time and Place for Critical Thinking




Intuitive thinking maybe useful when
_________ action is needed
Intuitive thinking helps process large
amounts of information quickly
Certain questions are not well
answered through critical thinking
(love, beauty, morality, etc.)
Intuitive thinkers are more prone to
fraudulent and deceptive
manipulation
More Critical Thinking


What are the ______? How do we
know they are ______?
Two parts
⚫
⚫
Identify claim and its support
Consider alternative hypotheses
Basic logic



_________: claim that something must be
true
_________: additional claims used to
support the conclusion
Logical Argument: premise(s) along and
conclusion
Premise
transition
Conclusion
Astrology is very ancient
therefore
astrology is true
Many people believe in astrology
so
it must work
My priest says astrology’s true
thus
it must be true
Practice

Identify the conclusion and premise(s)
in the following arguments
⚫
⚫
⚫
Ghosts are real because my professor
says they are.
Because the former tenants ran out
screaming and asked a priest to perform
an exorcism, the house is obviously
haunted.
When Julio reads about weird things he
always gets the shakes. Since he is
reading about weird things now, he will
get the shakes.
Pretend logic

Argument from repetition: _______
claim without linking a premise to a
conclusion
⚫
Aliens have visited the Earth. Many
people have seen aliens. Even the Navy
has reported UFOs.
Argument or not


The house has been there for a hundred
years, and it’s pretty spooky. Some people
claim they’ve seen someone or something
moving about inside the house at night.
John, who is very brave, said that he would
never go in there.
There is no doubt the house is haunted
because it has been there for a hundred
years, it’s really spooky, and even John,
who is very brave, refuses to go in.
Evaluating Claim

Test claim against
⚫
Appropriate sources
Is the evidence ____________
 What potential _______ might exist

⚫
Correct use of logic and clear language
Common logical fallacies



Unacceptable premises
Insufficient premises
Irrelevant premises
Unacceptable Premises


Problems with ______ given for accepting
the claim
Circular Reasoning (begging the question):
___________ is used as the premise
⚫

Jane has telepathy because she can read my
mind
False Dilemma: Presumes that only ____
alternatives exist
⚫
We have to decide if we are going to support
school choice or if we are going to support
failing schools.
Insufficient premises


No, or only _____ support for accepting
conclusion
Hasty Generalization: conclusion drawn
from _____________ sample
⚫

Dr. VonRue was born in North Dakota and
he has a long beard, therefor all people from
North Dakota must have long beards
False Cause: correlation does not equal
____________
⚫
I broke a mirror and shortly after that my
dog unexpectedly died. Breaking mirrors
really does cause bad luck.
More Insufficient premises

Cherry picking: Select only evidence
that ________ your conclusion
⚫

It must be a piece of junk, every review
I find said it broke after the first use
Slippery Slope fallacy: Performing a
specific action will lead to ________
bad actions
⚫
If we let this child bring the permission
slip late, there is no reason to ever set a
deadline for anything again!
Irrelevant premises


Reasons to support the claim are
___________ to claim
Argument from Ignorance: Lack of
evidence against something proves it
is _________
⚫

Bigfoot must exist because no one has
been able to prove he doesn’t
Bandwagon: Many people do it so it
must be ________
⚫
Millions of dollars is spent on astrologers
so they must be able to tell the future
Deflection

Red herring: Introduce __________
topic
⚫

There is a lot of commotion regarding saving
the environment. We cannot make this world
an Eden. What will happen if it does become
Eden? Adam and Eve got bored there!
ad hominem attack: __________ the
person making the argument
⚫
They are for raising the minimum wage, but they
are not smart enough to even run a business.
Appeal to Emotion


Emotion is used as _________ for
argument
Flattery
⚫

All of the beautiful celebrities believe in
alternative medicine. You are beautiful,
so you should believe in alternative
medicine.
Fear
⚫
If you don’t protect yourself from
aliens, you may be their next victim
Appeal to Authority


“Authority” supports idea so it must
be right
Linus Pauling, who won a Nobel
Prize for is his work on Vitamin C,
recommended taking Vitamin C
daily to prevent getting sick,
therefor everybody should take
Emergen-C.
Practice

Identify the informal logical fallacy
in each of the following statements
⚫ Objects were moving in the house. Either
someone was moving them by
psychokinesis or it was ghosts. It wasn’t
psychokinesis, so it must have been ghosts.
⚫ Dr. VonRue is a terrible professor,
therefore we shouldn’t believe him when
he says it is important to learn how to think
critically

If all astrophysicists believe in aliens then they must
exist. All of the astrophysicists I polled believe in
aliens therefore they must exist

All over the country mutilated cows have been found
with a smooth cauterized incision. Science can’t
prove how they would occur naturally there for it
must be aliens

Intelligent people don’t believe in the paranormal.
You are an intelligent person, therefore you shouldn’t
believe in the paranormal.
Evaluating Sources

Sources provide the support for claims, it
is important to evaluate how __________
they are
Ancient Wisdom



_____ ideas aren’t always true
Survival of ideas often based on
charisma and ability to win wars
Questions to ask
⚫
⚫
⚫
Is it ambiguous and/or contradictory
Can one cherry-pick passages
Does it make sense based on _______
knowledge
Testimonials and Anecdotal
Evidence



__________accounts
Even honest and intelligent people
can be fooled
Can be _________ because
Selective attention to details
⚫ Distorted in retelling
⚫ Imperfect memory
⚫ Personal bias
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDl
PoSSVPuA
⚫
Mass Media and the Internet




___________ isn’t proof
Is it an authentic expert opinion?
Much easier to publish in mass
media than in professional journals
Anyone can publish on the _______
Groupthink



Desire for harmony and conformity
can lead to uncritical acceptance of
_______ opinion
_________ valued over critical
evaluation
People who disagree are seen as
disloyal
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=CWEvJciU0Zc
The Question of Authority


Experts in one field might not be
________ in another
Is the expert
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
Trained in a relevant field
Experienced and accomplished in area of
claimed expertise
Current in the field
Respected among peers
The Question of Authority

Be suspicious of experts who
⚫
⚫
⚫
Make ___________ and unqualified
claims
Fail to differentiate well-designed from
poorly designed studies
Resort to ad hominem arguments
(personal attacks) when criticized
Conspiracy Theories



Reject all __________
Secret plots by powerful people and
organizations
Questionable conspiracy theories
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
Lack evidence
Less plausible than alternative
explanations
Sensational
Assume the entire world is evil
Beyond disproof
⚫
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/why-you-can-never-argue-withconspiracy-theorists
Conspiracy Theories



Monological: consistent with ones
belief of how the world works
People often embrace multiple and
__________ conspiracy theories
May be triggered by thinking one’s
sense of control has been
undermined
Conspiracy Theories


Can lead to more transparency in
government and lessen risk of
missing threat
Can contribute to inaction and
helplessness
Lack of Replication


A fact is only a fact when it is
_________ by different people
using the same or better tools
2015 study found that only 36% of
psychological studies published in
respected scientific journals could
be __________
Publication Bias


Publishing positive results is often
________
2014 study found that 20% of null
result studies were published
compared to 60% for positive
results
Practice

For each statement identify the claim being made, the
evidence for the claim and why the evidence is or is
not reliable.
Climate change must be real because the
world renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse
Tyson supports it
⚫ A new science study found that dark mater
can escape from black holes
⚫ Ginkgo biloba has been used to treat
headaches in China for thousands of years so
it must be effective
⚫
⚫ Multiple
laboratories around the world
have published reports in medical
journals of a new deadly strain of
bacteria that is resistant to all known
treatments
⚫ Ever since my mother in-law put pink
Himalayan salt lamps throughout her
house, her asthma symptoms have
been greatly reduced
Alternative Hypotheses

Is there a different hypothesis that
makes more sense
⚫
Mistaken conclusion that claim is
factual may be result of:
Oddities in nature and statistics
 Perceptual error or trickery
 Memory error
 Placebo effect
 Sensory phenomena
 Regression to the mean

Identify an alternative hypothesis

For each of the follow identify an
alternative hypothesis
⚫
⚫
⚫
The photo of my grandmother keeps
getting knocked over, her ghost must be
trying to tell me something.
My friend was abducted by aliens. They
went out with friends the other day, but
don’t remember most of the night or how
they got home.
Ice cream is a magic cure for migraines. I
had a migraine the other day, but after
eating ice cream it went away.
Goal of Critical Thinking




Put aside political, social, religious, or
personal objectives in pursuit of the
_________
Respected, honest, and sincere
individuals can get it _________
Never assume claims of favorite
authority are always correct
Look at the logic and ________ the
evidence/science behind their claims
Critical Thinking Requires Practice



Can’t just memorize rules
Need practice _______ them
Apply critical thinking to the world
of the paranormal
Four Challenges of Critical Thinking
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have the courage to pause and reflect
Question Fearlessly and honestly
Recognize that there may be more to
the world than meets the eye, and
things may be different than you wish
Admit you might be totally
mistaken
Chapter 7: Pseudoscience

Things ____________ as science
⚫


Typically little to no _______ to support
Some people truly believe
Others are trying to swindle gullible
people
Pseudoscientific thinking



__________ to identify support
______ to question personal
experience and intuition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=-X8Xfl0JdTQ
Astrology



Belief that the position of objects in
_____ influence people and actions
Ancient origins
Many people think it is fun
Astrology signs

Read through the description of each
of the 12 astrology signs and pick
the one that matches you the best
Birth Date
Sign
January 20-February 18
Aquarius
February 19-March 20
Pisces
March 21-April 19
Aries
April 20-May 20
Taurus
May 21-June 20
Gemini
June 21-July 22
Cancer
July 23-August 22
Leo
August 23-September 22
Virgos
September 23- October 22
Libra
October 23- November 21
Scorpio
November 22- December 21
Sagittarius
December 22-January 19
Capricorn
What is Paranormal




Para from Greek = _______
Paranormal = beyond normal
Paranormal claims lie beyond
_______ observation and explanation
Never been proven to occur, but if
did science would be inadequate to
explain
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=NaCMTf8LCTE
Afterlife Entities


Intelligent forces that exist in this
world and the afterworld
Ghosts and spirits
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=LFMuLqZ1zaU
UFO’s




Unidentified Flying Objects
Many claims of people seeing them
Most when investigated have
_________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=b7rYRGbsMW0
Alternative medicine





Practices not part of ____________
medicine
Some is down right quackery
Some might be beneficial and just
not _________
_______________can be used to
separate the useful from the
quackery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=eXZGIoZokJE
Extraordinary, Nonparanormal
Mysteries

There are many repeated observations
that science can’t ________
⚫
⚫
⚫

Quantum entanglements
Dark matter and energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAa2
O_8wBUQ
Continued application of the scientific
method best way to eventually uncover
the truth
Climate Change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f
fjIyms1BX4
Carbon Dioxide Level


Amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in
atmosphere fluctuates over time
Currently rapidly increasing
Greenhouse effect


Atmospheric CO2 traps heat from the sun
As CO2 levels increase, average
temperature will increase
Impact of Rising Temperature


More extreme weather conditions
Rising sea level
⚫
According to National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration sea levels
are rising about 1/8 of an inch per year
Is Climate Change Man Made



Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says
there is greater than 95% probability that Climate Change is
a result of human activity
Heat form the sun has been decreasing which should cause
average temperatures to decrease not increase
Natural sources of CO2 are balanced—approximately as
much is absorbed as released. Human activity has disrupted
this balance
Why is there controversy


Fossil fuel companies have long
downplayed their impact and
deliberately mislead the public
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=TbW_1MtC2So
Why don’t people believe?



People like inexpensive gas and
products made from fossil fuels
Most of us face more immediate
challenges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=y2euBvdP28c
What can be done


Support renewable energy initiatives
Encourage government to stop
subsidizing fossil fuel industry
⚫
The IMF found that direct and indirect
subsidies for coal, oil and gas in the U.S.
reached $649 billion in 2015


10X as much as for education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G
kbuV_a-rvs
Critical Thinking Project Directions
NSCI 100 Spring 2021
Present the SEARCH processes on your approved topic. Your presentation should be 3-5 minutes in
length and should cover the following:
State the claim (hypothesis)
What claim is being made?
Examine the evidence
Is evidence reliable?
Are there any logical fallacies?
Are there any conflicts of interest?
Alternative Hypothesis
What is an alternative hypothesis that explains the evidence?
Rate on Criteria of Adequacy the original and alternative Hypothesis
Testability
Is the original and/or alternative hypothesis testable?
Scope
How much does each hypothesis explain?
Simplicity
What assumptions does each hypothesis make?
Conservatism
Which hypothesis is better aligned with our current knowledge?
Based on your results, do you think the topic deserves further research, or should it be disregarded?
Chapter 8

Critical thinking and Pseudoscience
Might Be True



Meteors were once thought to be
___supernatural___
_______hypnosis___ was thought to
be paranormal
Open-minded critical thinking makes it
possible to prioritize fantastic claims
⚫
⚫
Which deserve further ____study____
Which should be _____disregareded____
Difference between science and
pseudoscience

Science uses evidence and reason
⚫
⚫

Theories build up evidence until they are
______accepted_____
______critiques___ are used to develop new
tests of theory
Pseudoscience
⚫
⚫
⚫
Unconditional _____beliefs____
Dismisses evidence and critiques that
_____disgrees__
Sometimes uses technobabble to sound
scientific:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkH20fNav
What’s the Harm

Trusting in pseudoscience can be
__disastor___
⚫
⚫
⚫
Alternative Medicine can have
dangerous or ____deadly______ side
effects
In Iran several hundred people have
been killed and more than 1,000 have
been made ill because they drank
methanol after hearing it can cure
coronavirus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ
Z1rXIlfRY
Lysenkoism





Trofim Lysenko—Soviet Union
agronomist
Had strong support from communist
party
Implemented his idea on crop and plant
science with little testing
Failed ideas estimated have cost the
Soviet Union over __1 billion____
Example of what happens when ______
is valued more than good science
Why do people believe in
Pseudoscience



Pseudoscience frequently provides
__easy__solutions to problems
Draw conclusions from
______unrepreswntative_____
evidence
Interpret data to confirm what they
want to _____believe____
A skeptical attitude



Both science and pseudoscience
should be approached with a
___skeptical__ attitude
Evidence to support a claim must be
evaluated for
______reliability_____
To overthrow conventional scientific
knowledge, evidence needs to be
_____very strong___
Burden of evidence is on the
believers




Science can not prove something
______does Not exist______
It is up to supports of new ideas to
provide the evidence that their idea
is correct
Science should be open to new
ideas, but only if there is
___evidence___ to support them
“Keeping an open mind is a virtuebut…not so open your brains fall
out”—Carl Sagan, 1995
Evaluating Extraordinary Claims

SEARCH
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
____state___ the claim
Examine the ____evidence___ for
the claim
Consider ____alternative_____
hypotheses
Rate, according to the Criteria of
______adequacy___ each Hypotheses
State the Claim



__vague_ statements are hard to
evaluate
Claim should be _____testable___
Should be possible to achieve a
“probably yes” or “probably no”
answer
Examine the Evidence for the
claim





Both the amount and
_____quality___ of evidence should
be evaluated
Is the evidence relevant and free of
logical fallacies
_____controlled____ experiments
are better than anecdotal evidence
Has the experiment been
___replicated_____
Is evidence biased
⚫
Selective reporting of data
Consider Alternative hypotheses

Develop a list of other possible
_____explanation_____
(hypotheses)
⚫
⚫
Errors in perception
Memory errors/False memories

⚫
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Ax
IGmjEP4
Placebo effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRVCaA
5o18
Rate, according to the Criteria of
adequacy each Hypotheses

Hypotheses should be evaluated on
their
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫


Testability
Fruitfulness
Scope
Simplicity
Conservatism
Hypotheses that rate well should be
considered __________
Hypotheses that rate poorly should
not be _________
Testability

Hypotheses must be testable
⚫

An experiment should be able to
conclude if hypotheses is likely correct
or incorrect
An _________ hypotheses is
worthless
Fruitfulness



Good hypotheses explain more than
they were originally designed for
If all else is equal, hypotheses that
make accurate, __________
predictions are more likely to be
true
Hard to know fruitfulness of new
hypothesis
Scope


The more a hypotheses can ______
the more favorably it should be
rated
The more phenomena a hypotheses
can explain the better
⚫
Haunted lab Vs Infrasound?
Simplicity


The hypotheses that makes the
fewest _______ is more likely to be
correct
Occam’s razor
⚫
The simplest solution is usually the
best
Conservatism


Well established theories are more
trustworthy than __________
To overthrow an established theory
requires very strong evidence
Dowsing



People can “sense” the presence of
water or other materials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=bgWXH3VJpKI&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=_VAasVXtCOI
Critical Thinking Project Directions
NSCI 100 Spring 2021
Present the SEARCH processes on your approved topic. Your presentation should be 3-5 minutes in
length and should cover the following:
State the claim (hypothesis)
What claim is being made?
Examine the evidence
Is evidence reliable?
Are there any logical fallacies?
Are there any conflicts of interest?
Alternative Hypothesis
What is an alternative hypothesis that explains the evidence?
Rate on Criteria of Adequacy the original and alternative Hypothesis
Testability
Is the original and/or alternative hypothesis testable?
Scope
How much does each hypothesis explain?
Simplicity
What assumptions does each hypothesis make?
Conservatism
Which hypothesis is better aligned with our current knowledge?
Based on your results, do you think the topic deserves further research, or should it be disregarded?
Chapter 6: Intro to Critical Thinking




What is Critical Thinking
Intuitive vs Reflective thinking styles
When and where to Critically think
Common Logical Fallacies
Critical Thinking



Using __reason___, not
____emotion___, to make decisions
“Critical thinking is simply the
careful, deliberate determination of
whether we should accept, reject,
or suspend judgement about a
claim and of the degree of
confidence with which we accept or
reject it”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=HnJ1bqXUnIM
Intuitive Thinking

Automatically go with ones initial
____instinct_____
⚫

Accepts what immediately seems to be
true
More likely to accept emotionally
appealing and/or paranormal
explanations
Reflective Thinking

____question____ initial instinct
and considers other possibilities
⚫

Can suppress intuitive and spontaneous
wrong answer in pursuit of less
_obvious_____ answer that may be
correct
Use critical thinking and take pause
to look for more complete
explanation
Intuitive Vs. Reflective Thinking

If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to
make 5 widgets, how long would it
take 100 machines to make 100
widgets?
Intuitive Vs. Reflective Thinking

In a lake, there is a patch of lily
pads. Every day, the patch doubles
in size. If it takes 48 days for the
patch to cover the entire lake, how
long would it take for the patch to
cover half of the lake?
Time and Place for Critical Thinking
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Intuitive thinking maybe useful when
_immediate_ action is needed
Intuitive thinking helps process large
amounts of information quickly
Certain questions are not well
answered through critical thinking
(love, beauty, morality, etc.)
Intuitive thinkers are more prone to
fraudulent and deceptive
manipulation
More Critical Thinking


What are the ___facts___? How do
we know they are ___true___?
Two parts
⚫
⚫
Identify claim and its support
Consider alternative hypotheses
Basic logic


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__conclusion__: claim that something must
be true
__premises__: additional claims used to
support the conclusion
Logical Argument: premise(s) along and
conclusion
Premise
transition
Conclusion
Astrology is very ancient
therefore
astrology is true
Many people believe in astrology
so
it must work
My priest says astrology’s true
thus
it must be true
Practice

Identify the conclusion and premise(s)
in the following arguments
⚫
⚫
⚫
Ghosts are real because my professor
says they are.
Because the former tenants ran out
screaming and asked a priest to perform
an exorcism, the house is obviously
haunted.
When Julio reads about weird things he
always gets the shakes. Since he is
reading about weird things now, he will
get the shakes.
Pretend logic

Argument from repetition:
__repeats___ claim without linking
a premise to a conclusion
⚫
Aliens have visited the Earth. Many
people have seen aliens. Even the Navy
has reported UFOs.
Argument or not
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
The house has been there for a hundred
years, and it’s pretty spooky. Some people
claim they’ve seen someone or something
moving about inside the house at night.
John, who is very brave, said that he would
never go in there.
There is no doubt the house is haunted
because it has been there for a hundred
years, it’s really spooky, and even John,
who is very brave, refuses to go in.
Evaluating Claim

Test claim against
⚫
Appropriate sources
Is the evidence ______
 What potential ____ might exist

⚫
Correct use of logic and clear language
Common logical fallacies
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Unacceptable premises
Insufficient premises
Irrelevant premises
Unacceptable Premises


Problems with ___reasons___ given for
accepting the claim
Circular Reasoning (begging the question):
____conclusion___ is used as the premise
⚫

Jane has telepathy because she can read my
mind
False Dilemma: Presumes that only
___two_ alternatives exist
⚫
We have to decide if we are going to support
school choice or if we are going to support
failing schools.
Insufficient premises
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No, or only __partial__ support for
accepting conclusion
Hasty Generalization: conclusion drawn
from ___unrepresentative__ sample
⚫

Dr. VonRue was born in North Dakota and
he has a long beard, therefor all people from
North Dakota must have long beards
False Cause: correlation does not equal
___causation__
⚫
I broke a mirror and shortly after that my
dog unexpectedly died. Breaking mirrors
really does cause bad luck.
More Insufficient premises

Cherry picking: Select only evidence
that _supports_ your conclusion
⚫

It must be a piece of junk, every review
I find said it broke after the first use
Slippery Slope fallacy: Performing a
specific action will lead to
_additional_ bad actions
⚫
If we let this child bring the permission
slip late, there is no reason to ever set a
deadline for anything again!
Irrelevant premises


Reasons to support the claim are
_unrelated_ to claim
Argument from Ignorance: Lack of
evidence against something proves it
is _true__
⚫

Bigfoot must exist because no one has
been able to prove he doesn’t
Bandwagon: Many people do it so it
must be __right__
⚫
Millions of dollars is spent on astrologers
so they must be able to tell the future
Deflection

Red herring: Introduce
__irrelevant__ topic
⚫

There is a lot of commotion regarding saving
the environment. We cannot make this world
an Eden. What will happen if it does become
Eden? Adam and Eve got bored there!
ad hominem attack: __discredits__
the person making the argument
⚫
They are for raising the minimum wage, but they
are not smart enough to even run a business.
Appeal to Emotion

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Emotion is used as _premise__ for
argument
Flattery
⚫

All of the beautiful celebrities believe in
alternative medicine. You are beautiful,
so you should believe in alternative
medicine.
Fear
⚫
If you don’t protect yourself from
aliens, you may be their next victim
Appeal to Authority


“Authority” supports idea so it must
be right
Linus Pauling, who won a Nobel
Prize for is his work on Vitamin C,
recommended taking Vitamin C
daily to prevent getting sick,
therefor everybody should take
Emergen-C.
Practice

Identify the informal logical fallacy
in each of the following statements
⚫ Objects were moving in the house. Either
someone was moving them by
psychokinesis or it was ghosts. It wasn’t
psychokinesis, so it must have been ghosts.
⚫ Dr. VonRue is a terrible professor,
therefore we shouldn’t believe him when
he says it is important to learn how to think
critically

If all astrophysicists believe in aliens then they must
exist. All of the astrophysicists I polled believe in
aliens therefore they must exist

All over the country mutilated cows have been found
with a smooth cauterized incision. Science can’t
prove how they would occur naturally there for it
must be aliens

Intelligent people don’t believe in the paranormal.
You are an intelligent person, therefore you shouldn’t
believe in the paranormal.
Evaluating Sources

Sources provide the support for claims, it
is important to evaluate how __ they are
Ancient Wisdom



___old__ ideas aren’t always true
Survival of ideas often based on
charisma and ability to win wars
Questions to ask
⚫
⚫
⚫
Is it ambiguous and/or contradictory
Can one cherry-pick passages
Does it make sense based on
___current____ knowledge
Testimonials and Anecdotal
Evidence
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_first- hand-accounts
Even honest and intelligent people
can be fooled
Can be _unreliable__ because
Selective attention to details
⚫ Distorted in retelling
⚫ Imperfect memory
⚫ Personal bias
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDl
PoSSVPuA
⚫
Mass Media and the Internet

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_popularity_ isn’t proof
Is it an authentic expert opinion?
Much easier to publish in mass
media than in professional journals
Anyone can publish on the
_internet_
Groupthink
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Desire for harmony and conformity
can lead to uncritical acceptance of
_group_ opinion
_consensus_ valued over critical
evaluation
People who disagree are seen as
disloyal
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=CWEvJciU0Zc
The Question of Authority
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
Experts in one field might not be
__experts__ in another
Is the expert
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
Trained in a relevant field
Experienced and accomplished in area of
claimed expertise
Current in the field
Respected among peers
The Question of Authority

Be suspicious of experts who
⚫
⚫
⚫
Make ___________ and unqualified
claims
Fail to differentiate well-designed from
poorly designed studies
Resort to ad hominem arguments
(personal attacks) when criticized
Conspiracy Theories
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Reject all __authorities________
Secret plots by powerful people and
organizations
Questionable conspiracy theories
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
Lack evidence
Less plausible than alternative
explanations
Sensational
Assume the entire world is evil
Beyond disproof
⚫
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/why-you-can-never-argue-withconspiracy-theorists
Conspiracy Theories
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Monological: consistent with ones
belief of how the world works
People often embrace multiple and
__contradictory_ conspiracy
theories
May be triggered by thinking one’s
sense of control has been
undermined
Conspiracy Theories
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
Can lead to more transparency in
government and lessen risk of
missing threat
Can contribute to inaction and
helplessness
Lack of Replication

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A fact is only a fact when it is
_replicated_ by different people
using the same or better tools
2015 study found that only 36% of
psychological studies published in
respected scientific journals could
be _replicated_
Publication Bias


Publishing positive results is often
____
2014 study found that 20% of null
result studies were published
compared to 60% for positive
results
Practice

For each statement identify the claim being made, the
evidence for the claim and why the evidence is or is
not reliable.
Climate change must be real because the
world renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse
Tyson supports it
⚫ A new science study found that dark mater
can escape from black holes
⚫ Ginkgo biloba has been used to treat
headaches in China for thousands of years so
it must be effective
⚫
⚫ Multiple
laboratories around the world
have published reports in medical
journals of a new deadly strain of
bacteria that is resistant to all known
treatments
⚫ Ever since my mother in-law put pink
Himalayan salt lamps throughout her
house, her asthma symptoms have
been greatly reduced
Alternative Hypotheses

Is there a different hypothesis that
makes more sense
⚫
Mistaken conclusion that claim is
factual may be result of:
Oddities in nature and statistics
 Perceptual error or trickery
 Memory error
 Placebo effect
 Sensory phenomena
 Regression to the mean

Identify an alternative hypothesis

For each of the follow identify an
alternative hypothesis
⚫
⚫
⚫
The photo of my grandmother keeps
getting knocked over, her ghost must be
trying to tell me something.
My friend was abducted by aliens. They
went out with friends the other day, but
don’t remember most of the night or how
they got home.
Ice cream is a magic cure for migraines. I
had a migraine the other day, but after
eating ice cream it went away.
Goal of Critical Thinking
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Put aside political, social, religious, or
personal objectives in pursuit of the
_________
Respected, honest, and sincere
individuals can get it _________
Never assume claims of favorite
authority are always correct
Look at the logic and ________ the
evidence/science behind their claims
Critical Thinking Requires Practice
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Can’t just memorize rules
Need practice _______ them
Apply critical thinking to the world
of the paranormal
Four Challenges of Critical Thinking
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have the courage to pause and reflect
Question Fearlessly and honestly
Recognize that there may be more to
the world than meets the eye, and
things may be different than you wish
Admit you might be totally
mistaken