As Clever Hans, my mind reading scam and those fake
personality tests showed us, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary
evidence”. And let’s face it, there are all sorts of “extraordinary” claims out
there, from people trying to sell weight loss pills without dieting, to
psychics claiming that they can communicate with dead loved ones.
Believing in pseudoscientific claims can actually hurt
people in many ways; physically, emotionally, financially, and last but not
least intellectually. Don’t be a sucker and demand to “see the evidence!”
Take a look at the following videos and respond thoughtfully
in the comment section.
It’s kind of long, but if you never saw Billy Nye the
Science Guy when you were a kid, you’re gonna love his episode on Pseudoscience.
So, how do psychics do it? Watch Derren Brown's "Science of Scams" episode on psychics. The "reading" lasts until 5:28 and then the explanation takes place thereafter. You'll feel less bad about being a victim of the "Forer Effect"
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching the three videos , i feel as if i was highly informed. when watching the billy nye video i was blind sided by the bunny trick lol but when they talked about things such as the lochness monster , Greek mythology , and the deal with astrology i believe that in this century we just go to/ believe those things just for entertainment wise. i mean i used to read my horoscope everyday until i read someone else horoscope and it related to me but, as far as the video about the touch i think that it is just a mind thing , if you try something and you have high hopes for it most of the time your mind tricks you into thinking its going to work because that's what you want it to do and for the video on the psychic reading i some what believe that its true but at the same time i own a deck of tarot cards ^_^ but i will be putting them to use, just for entertainment .
ReplyDeleteFirst video..Lol, bill is an interesting man. He is convinced that the earth is round. I might have to agree with him on this one. I never thought about the earth curving. Claims need to be tested. Flat earth didn't stand up to test but round earth did. Some photos are not enough evidence. And wait, magic isn't really magic? Is there an explanation to everything? Bill didn't have extraordinary proof when he claimed he weighed a ton. I now see that things must be proven. An alien has never been seen?! I had no idea.. So people just guessed what they look like? Astrologers can't be proven.. They are kinda wishy washy! I don't believe horoscopes! They are ridiculous. And did he just break that spoon?! Oh no!
ReplyDeleteSecond video..This whole touching thing is out of whack like you said! The 4th grader is sooo smart for thinking of a test like this. I think the therapist felt "played" when she showed them what they actually got right and wrong. With the sugar pill, I think since people automatically thought that if should make them feel a certain way, that their mind was already programmed and made up. It's like they were waiting to feel something different so they assumed it affected them.
Third video..The key points that the "psychic" touched on we're really amazing. So there's a science behind it all.. She doesn't know the person at all so she's telling her what most people go through which is tough up bringings and pressure to achieve. This has really opened my eyes.
Watching these three videos have really been an eye opener for me. I always knew that there was no such things as psychics, but that third video really explained science behind it. In fact, I didn't even know there was a science behind it at all!I also learned that pseudoscience is scandalous. Bill Nye in the first video really influenced me to be more skeptical about I see in my everyday life. The second video was really funny. Where was this kid at when I needed her? She did a wonderful job with her testing. That therapist should quit their profession and find a new career because that little fourth grader had put that therapist to shame....lol
ReplyDeleteWatching Bill Nye really showed me that the human mind is susceptible to all types of tricks. If we actually took the time to ask for evidence there wouldn't be in pseudoscience. The therapeautic excersise video was a big haox. Who can really "feel energy" in their hands. Its just not possible. The fourth grader really proved to those so called "doctors" that there is no way this could be a real science.
ReplyDeleteAll three of these videos are great and they really helped to reinforce the information I already have from the summer session and from the summer work. Bill Nye, even at the age of 17, still kept me interested and reinforced how skeptic I already generally am. I've never believed in psychics, period. I always thought there was some trick to it like "magic" and the third video just proved that for me. I've known about placebos since I was a kid, I've even done something like that before to mess with my cousin.
ReplyDeleteWow. I truly enjoyed all three of the videos. I found that they held a lot of insight on things that we usually easily believe in. I really liked Bill Nye's video on Pseudoscience. I loved that he was able to explain the truth of extrodinary claims in an interesting way. I have to say I was very impressed by the nine year old Emma who proved that therapeutic touch has no evidence of being true. I think it was very brave and smart of her to seek answers. As for as the psychic, I had already had previous doubts and this just made me become more skeptical of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bill Nye extraordinary claims calls for extraordinary evidence. you should approach situations from a skeptical standpoint otherwise you'll be easily deceived. The young girl proved that those therapeutic practicers didn't really feel any energy between themselves and her. people just put faith in the things they believe and sometimes that's all you need. The pyshic didn't seem to do anything extraordinary. I could have set in that Same chair and told that lady some common information ....
ReplyDeleteThe first video shows the quote "Extraordinary claims needs etraordinary evidnece." Too see things that are mysterious and supernatural, it probably is a trick or just from people's imaginations. This video shows claims that are extreme but have no verifiable evidence. Facts are very importat and this video shows that their should be some kind of explanation for most things.
ReplyDeleteThe second video shows how therapeutic massages and how they claim they can feel spirits. A girl did an experiment to see if they could really feel the body's spirit. Unsurprisingly, they failed. It said that if the people felt it better their situation, then it is good for them. However, I think it wrong because it is not healthy for them to believe and depend on something that isn't real. They should come to those conclusion themselves. Nothing is being done unless it is a mental condition.
The third video shows how we can be manipulated into believing thins. We don't think skeptically when we are just introduced to things. So we fall into the traps. We do not think that maybe these things are based on common morlae or have a trick. We just see how it seemingly relates to us, just as the personality test we did in class.
Ugh so like I'm writing this response again after it just got deleted.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, all three of the videos were very interesting. It just remind us ALWAYS BE SKEPTICAL! Bill Nye really showed great examples. Why we should not believe everything we see. Also with the second video, how can a nine year old be more skeptical than adults? Yes, she was pretty brilliant. How can a massage make you connect with your spirits? I don't know. We should always ask where's the evidence. That goes into the third video do not let them trick you to believe everything, just like Ms.Rious did us a couple of times. Once again always ask show me more evidence.
After watching all three videos above I found it teaches us that everything is not what it appears to be. The videos teach us to not only be skeptical but also give us examples on how science can make these “extraordinary” claims seem so real.Don’t be fooled pay attention to the details around you. I learned from these videos and from the class room to be incredulous, ask questions, and look for evidence.
ReplyDeleteYou know what Ms. Rious I had already wrote my responses but i wrote them all on Youtube because i couldn'tfind this section then you tell my mother that I didnt do it, shame on you!
ReplyDelete#1 So Ms. Rious I always wanted to know how that bunny trick worked. i liked this video Bill Nye explained alot of the pseudopsychological things in a very funny way.
#2 haha this video was really funny it reminded me of the personality test that my psychology teacher Ms. Rious (YOU) gave to our class and had us all fooled. It really explains how someone can convince you of something and from there you believe that what they've given you or what trick they're playing on you is true until you get the results, then you feel really stupid.
#3 I always wanted to go to a psychic reading lady and even though i've seen this video and im pretty sure its all a hoax i still think it's interesting to see these people all into their little tricks, if anything i think it would be completely funny to watch them try and fool me. Note to Ms. Rious: take us on a field trip to one of these things!
From the videos, especially Bill Nye the Science Guy, I learned that extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof. That is a great motto to live by so you won’t get fooled by crazy information. The magician showing the truth behind his tricks was kind of a punch right in the childhood but it proves that you can’t live by the “I’ll believe when I see it” rule. Even when something miraculous happens before your eyes, that does not make it magical but means it needs to be farther investigated to understand what happened. From the tarot cards and my own experience with being fooled to believe information about my personality or life, I now see how easy it is to fool someone who isn’t skeptical into believing that someone can tell them about their life. Rule number one and the most important rule: Always be general and give information that most people can relate to and would like to relate to. Everyone will love to hear news that they’ll have good fortune and prosperity, so we’ll accept this information. Plus throw in some information about being a good person that has faced some hard decision and will face some more and there you go, tricking someone who wasn’t skeptical to believe your trick. This knowledge really help me understand that you have to ask questions if you don’t understand what happen.
ReplyDelete1. If you haven't seen Bill Nye the science guy as a kid, your childhood was horrible. 2. These science mind tricks suck. They hurt ya heads man.
ReplyDeleteThe Bill Nye video brought me back to my childhood when I use to go to magic shows and wonder how they did it , and the other videos made me think how come people just accept things and don't question how this works or show me the evidence, people are just so stupid these days and they believe anything they are told!
ReplyDeletei think that these videos were very informative and i learned a lot by watching the bill nye video.it showed me about old magic tricks and gave me a feeling of the old days but now with an actual explination of what i thought was magic even though it sucked for spoiling the trick.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the videos it made me extra skeptical. Even though I always asked questions there still was this thought in my mind that some of this can be true. These videos made me realize that I was dead wrong. Bill nye really showed me everything has a scientific explanation
ReplyDeleteFirst video was all about "pseudoscience" and extraordinary claims. The mirror in the box trick, Bill Nye weighing a ton, and a variety of extraordinary claims.
ReplyDeleteThe second video was about testing the therapeutic touch. People used it even though it didn't really affect them. I liked the girl who proved the "special touch" wasn't accurate at all.
And the third video with the tarot cards was hard to understand but it was in line with the mindset of believing what you want regardless of the missed predictions.