Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Don't Believe the Hype!

Sorry kids, I know you felt "played" with the personality inventory results, but take it as a warning before you go out into the "real world" next August: "don't believe the hype!"... always ask "How?", "Why?", demand that people like Miss Cleo "show you the evidence".

Before we fully immerse ourselves in research methodologies, take a look at Bill Nye's old episode on pseudoscience (part 1 and part 2). Also listen to this podcast of an interview with Scott Lilienfeld, author of
 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior. I think it's important, as we begin to remind ourselves, yet again, that psychology IS a science and should not be confused by all the silly gimmicky things (like the personality test :)) masquerading as "psychology".


The clips are a bit lengthy (Nye = 20 minutes, Lilienfeld: 40 minutes), but what else are you going to do with an hour of your time?

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23 comments:

  1. curly girlyAugust 23, 2011 at 6:07 PM

    The video with Bill Nye the science guy was pretty informative and interesting. He made valid points that made me think twice about believing everything that is "proven". Also, I liked how he dismissed some of the common extraordinary claims with science. For example, the demonstration with the bed of nails.. that was really cool.

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    1. UnknownMarch 19, 2012 at 12:23 PM

      Yeah but what is the episode called??? I know that at the end of the show his body was still on the nail bed and a ghost version of himself told the viewers at home well that's our show. If u don't know then how do I find out??????

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  2. AlesiaAugust 23, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    BILL ROCKSSSS!
    "the world is round"

    I've always wanted to got to a magic show, I always believed it to be true, but after seeing the video im not so sure about magic anymore. Plus that girl ruined the whole joke!

    "yay I made a pen fall"
    Now introducing "crystal ball" haha

    In the podcast of an interview the rice test was funny to me, and when they said that handwriting was the key to someones soul...

    but I must disagree with the statement that women talk more than men (sometimes) :D

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  3. HarveyAugust 23, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    Bill Nye is the I S H. I have always been interested in his videos because they were very informative yet interesting. Extraordinary claims? Are out the door. Watching this video, I observed Nye dismiss, as Candace said, tye common extraordinary claims. Pen falling and rice tests were superior to me. These were very extraneous. However found it interesting. Ms. Rious, thumbs up to the cool videos you post ;D

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  4. ezekielbrumAugust 23, 2011 at 7:27 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. ezekielbrumAugust 23, 2011 at 7:30 PM

    Lol at the Bill Nye the science guy intro.
    It gave me a good laugh.
    The video gave a good explanation of pseudoscience, and it wasn't a complete waste of my time.
    I don't find too many intriguing educational videos.
    Thanks for the cool videos Ms. Rious.
    "Don't believe everything you hear from a guy in a stupid outfit."

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  6. Jaz MackAugust 23, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    Bill Nye is very interesting. His videos give a lot of info and are funny and make you want to learn more. After watching this video, I do not believe in magic anymore.

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  7. pscott7August 23, 2011 at 8:40 PM

    Bill is the best. Even though this video is old as DUST, the points that were emphasized were exhibited in a way that can relate to today. I loved how the people who made scientific claims were shown as the real idiots. The video was great and now I'm gonna be very very Skeptical because I dont know what to believe :(

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  8. AnonymousAugust 23, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    Ah, Bill Nye the Science Guy! He makes science so fun and interesting. I love that he explained how magic is only tricking the eye, because a lot of people find it hard to believe that it's all false. Anyhow, Bill is amazing and I love him! :)

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  9. JosephAugust 24, 2011 at 3:05 AM

    I personally found the Bill Nye video to be hilarious. The bed of nails trick was amazing, as I had always wondered how people would do that.I would still like to know how he "melted" the spoon and how he made the pin fall. The only thing that I didn't really like about the video was the music video at the end. Other than that, it was an amazing video!

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  10. TravonAugust 24, 2011 at 5:00 AM

    This is very relevant to chapter 2 and helps me to understand why empirical research is so important to back up TRUE science..

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  11. michelle augustineAugust 24, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    Bill Nye video is very informative and entertaining. He makes you question things that are said to be proven. I am looking forward to seeing more videos from him. I LOVE THIS SCIENCE GUY!

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  12. Paisley WaisleyAugust 24, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    I love Bill Nye the Science guy. He always makes it so easy for me to understand things. I like how he gave a lot of examples of pseudosciences.

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  13. Nyjha1August 24, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    I love BILL. He is really easy to understand. He has a gift of taking something complex and turning into something my little brother will be able to understand. There is never a dull moment with him.

    Expect for that video...it was kinda dull, LOL:/

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  14. LeonishaAugust 24, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    Bill Nye is quite a character. His ability to discuss and address topics accurately is very admiring. He mentioned claim making and testing claims. It is a big part of science and it is very important. For anyone who didn't understand pseudopsychology, you need to be watching Bill Nye, "the science guy". His lessons are a great breakdown that are easily understood. He's ridiculously hilarious also, he kind of remind me of pee wee herman. The podcast was interesting but I liked the video more.

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  15. AnonymousAugust 24, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    Bill Nye really reinforces the concept of the "personality" test we took in class. The designers of these pseudosciences (astrology, fortune telling, palmistry) make the results SO vague that they can pretty much apply to anyone. Also, people actually want to believe these things because it appears to be so fascinating. It doesn't even occur to them to ask, "Why?" or "How?" Bottom line, people get their heads bucked up which makes it easier for them to be deceived.(:

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  16. LashondaAugust 25, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    Bill Nye's video was the bomb.com! It made since about how a lot of people believe anything without have evidence that is able to be replicated. I am glad I am a skeptic!

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  17. CalvinAugust 26, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Bill Nye is the truth lol. He really made me think about not believing everything you hear. Bill gave a good explanation of pseudoscience.
    The show should make a come back.

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  18. GeAugust 26, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    *blog comment*

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  19. GeAugust 26, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    really tho, it reiterates the importance of empirical investigation ..... why everybody have a papragraph on their comments & stff -_-

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  20. Jas SanchezAugust 26, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    Bill Nye !! He makes this science "stuff" interesting. He basically covered every aspect of psuedoscience. It was a easy way to understand what he was talking about. thumbs up !

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  21. RichGirlAugust 26, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Bill Nye i watched him as a kid, he really breaks down the stufff, i really get pseudo science now, ! he was agreat addition to what we learned in the book

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  22. BrandonAugust 29, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    Lol, i remember watching this as a youngling!!

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