Sciam - cover

From the December 2001 Scientific American Magazine | 0 comments

More Baloney Detection ( Preview )

How to draw boundaries between science and pseudoscience, Part II

By Michael Shermer   

 
e-mail print comment

More from the Magazine

When exploring the borderlands of science, we often face a "boundary problem" of where to draw the line between science and pseudoscience. The boundary is the line of demarcation between geographies of knowledge, the border defining countries of claims. Knowledge sets are fuzzier entities than countries, however, and their edges are blurry. It is not always clear where to draw the line. Last month I suggested five questions to ask about a claim to determine whether it is legitimate or baloney. Continuing with the baloney-detection questions, we see that in the process we are also helping to solve the boundary problem of where to place a claim.

6. Does the preponderance of evidence point to the claimant's conclusion or to a different one?

Graphic - Get the Rest of the Article
Graphic - Subscribe     Graphic - Buy this Issue
Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.

Read Comments (0) | Post a comment


Share
Propeller    Digg!  Reddit delicious  Fark 
Slashdot    RT @sciam More Baloney DetectionTwitter Review it on NewsTrust 
sharebar end

You Might Also Like


Discuss This Article


Click here to submit your comment.

VIEW:

2,573 characters remaining
 
  Email me when someone responds to this discussion.
 

risk free issuefree gift

Sciam - cover Email:
Name:
Address:
Address 2:
City:
State:  
spacer



World Changing Ideas



Editor's Pick


Newsletter

Basic Science Newsletter

Get weekly coverage delivered to your inbox


 Podcasts

  • 60-Second Science     RSS  · iTunes Botoxed Face Impairs Bad Feelings
    click to enable

    Download

  • 60-Second Science     RSS  · iTunes Distracted Customers' Wait Times Fly
    click to enable

    Download





ADVERTISEMENT
 
 


Also on Scientific American


© 2010 Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ADVERTISEMENT