AaS! 205: What's the Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience?
Ask a Spaceman!
Paul M. Sutter
4.8 • 853 Ratings
🗓️ 1 August 2023
⏱️ 35 minutes
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Summary
What’s the difference between science and pseudoscience? What is a scientific mindset? How are we able to spot pseudoscience when it’s happening? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!
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Thanks to Cathy Rinella for editing.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I've lost count. |
| 0:09.8 | Of the number of times I've been in some conversation with a family member or a random |
| 0:16.4 | stranger sitting next to me on the plane or just anywhere. |
| 0:20.1 | And we're talking and we're having a normal chat and everything's great. |
| 0:23.9 | It's light. |
| 0:24.7 | It's easy. |
| 0:25.6 | It's small talk or maybe some random interesting subject. |
| 0:29.2 | And then something shifts. |
| 0:33.1 | When they start talking about something related to science or connected to science or having the appearance of science, |
| 0:41.2 | but it's just not quite right. |
| 0:45.0 | I start to get this little tingle in my nerves and a little headache starts to form right in the back of my head. |
| 0:53.9 | And it's at that moment that I realize, it's one of those. |
| 1:00.7 | And I have to switch modes from an interested conversationalist, Paul, to polite, smile, |
| 1:08.0 | and nod, Paul, until they're done talking. |
| 1:12.7 | For the record, when people go off script in conversations and they start talking about stuff |
| 1:19.8 | that is just not matching up with the worldview as I understand it as a scientist or as a |
| 1:27.2 | rational human being, for the record, I understand it as a scientist or as a rational human being. |
| 1:29.3 | For the record, I make it a personal rule to never, ever contradict someone, |
| 1:35.0 | or tell them they're wrong, or offer my own insights unless I am specifically asked. |
| 1:41.0 | It is just not worth the energy. |
| 1:43.4 | I find it's much smoother, much easier to just let them talk, say their thing, smile and nod, |
| 1:49.8 | and then talk about the weather. |
... |
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