GE CLST M1A Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Thomas Kuhn, Habitat Destruction, Water Pollution
2 Nov 2016
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10,000 years ago: < 10 million people. 2000: los angeles county >10 million people. Based on faith, beliefs, or cultural and personal choices. If i add fertilizer to plant a and none to b, then a will grow faster. Did plant a get more light or water. Observations of nature questions hypothesis predictions . Test of hypothesis results reject hypothesis. If not, return to predictions: repeat and get same results, repeated by different scientist and get same results, peer review process of finding and publishing, vstablishqaqconsensusqthat"sq(cid:291)idel(cid:297)qaccepted. Scientific theory: offers broad, fundamental explanation of many observations. Deals with how or why something happens. Law: simple empirical statement that summarizes things as they are. States that something happens, allows you to predict what will happen;qdoesn"tqe(cid:296)plainq(cid:291)h(cid:297) Theories and inferences large and small progress in fits and starts. Scientific theories are based on consensus built among scientists. Uncertainty is difficult for people to process. Uncertainty is sometimes used to discount scientific conclusions.
