Presentations • Day 4

2024-12-13 Fri

Rick Gilmore

Overview

Prelude

Al (2007)

In the news

Roser (2024)

Announcements

  • Due, Wednesday, December 18

Today

  • Student Presentations
    • 03:40, Gabriel Lehman
    • 03:55, Sage Park
    • 04:10, Nathan Fasenmyer

Rigorous, robust, reproducible science…

  • Has been essential to the improvement of human health and well-being in the past
  • Will be increasingly important to these improvements in the 21st century and beyond
  • Can be strengthened
  • And must be

Advocate for science as

  • a stock of accumulated knowledge (facts & findings)

  • a set of characteristic methods

  • a set of cultural values (Merton, 1973, p. 268)

  • an essential tool for solving humanity’s problems

  • that can and should be strengthened

  • through rigorous, thoughtful criticism

As a producer…

  • Commit to openly sharing your
    • data, protocols, code
    • from the very beginning
  • Carry through on your commitment
  • Encourage, help others
  • Strive to get better

As a consumer…

  • Keep your skepticism sharp
  • Ask how do we know that? Why do they think that?
  • Data + reasoning
  • Support policies, outlets, leaders who encourage openness, transparency

Richard Feynmann

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.

(Feynman, 1974)

Good luck!

Resources

References

PSYCH 490.012 • Fall 2024

Al, A. (2007). Woody guthrie - so long it’s been good to know you. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqiblXFlZuk
Feynman, R. P. (1974). Cargo cult science. https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm. Retrieved from https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm
Merton, R. W. (1973). The normative structure of science. In R. K. Merton & N. W. Storer (Eds.), The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations (pp. 267–278). The University of Chicago Press.
Roser, M. (2024). US airlines have transported passengers for more than two light-years since the last plane crash. Our World in Data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/us-airline-travel