Category Archives: Natural Sciences

Metaphors We Live By and Metaphors in Science

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Were you aware of how often we paint mental pictures with our figures of speech? It happens just as regularly as the moon chases the sun. You just can’t seem to escape from them.

1. Read and consider these two articles Metaphors We Live By and In Defense of Metaphors in Science. If you are having trouble viewing the second document, click on this link to a word document, In Defense of Metaphors in Science. Then develop a comment and post on this web site.

2. Argue both for and against using metaphors in our language. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of such expressions? What knowledge questions emerge from this discussion?

Bonus: Give an example of a metaphor in science.  Then think of a new metaphor for the concept. How does changing the metaphor change how with think? Example: “The Big Bang” could instead be “The Big Squeeze”

What does science hope to achieve?

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Welcome IB juniors! If you are a senior receiving this email, consider yourself lucky that I haven’t deleted your subscription! All of you, welcome! Let’s consider these questions as we study the natural sciences:

1. What does science hope to achieve?

2. How do we distinguish science from other academic disciplines?

3. Which of the ‘ways of knowing’–emotion, language, reason, sense perception, imagination, faith, memory, intuition– seem best suited to science? Argue for at least three of the ways of knowing and give reasons and examples.

4. Base your answers to these questions on your observations, experiences, and readings–including “How To Think Like A Scientist,” “How Science Works,” and “The Nature of Science,” which can be found on the side bar of this website under the topic heading, “Natural Science.”

5. Return to this website on Friday and comment (discuss) on at least three of your classmates posts.

Pseudoscience or Science?

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What is pseudoscience?

And how can you distinguish it from real science?

Click on the above links to begin your research.

One way to detect pseudoscience is to be observant of claims that are made, yet not tested under scientific conditions. Remember that scientific claims should be reproducible, predictable, and testable.  Isn’t it just easier to imagine that these actions have been taken rather than investigate it all for ourselves? Not only are we lazy, but apparently we are biologically hardwired to see patterns which seem to confirm our bias. To learn more about this idea, see this Ted.com presentation by Michael Shermer

Please reply to this post by explaining pseudoscience and by providing at least one example that you encounter in your everyday experiences and observations.  What makes your example pseudoscience? What scientific thinking could be applied to test the claims that are made? How can you defend yourself against such claims?

The Natural Sciences

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Dear Thinkers,

I hope to be with you all tomorrow, Tuesday.  Thank you for all of your awesome questions related to math as an area of knowledge. Special thanks to those of you who posted responses to your peers.

All of the ToK grades have been updated, and I believe that these are accurate and representative of the evidence and observations I have collected and made. Overall, there has been a class-wide effort to achieve greatness, so congratulations.

Included here is another example of a chapter reading response: Ch 8 Natural Sciences I hope you have a successful discussion today.

Tuesday and Wednesday we are likely going to have an auction of scientific ideas…more on that later.

Thursday and Friday we are likely investigating modern examples of pseudo-science…think energy drinks.

Kind Regards,

Coey

Intelligent Design: Claims and Counter-claims

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Intelligent Design and Creationism seem to be in the news every few months. This is one debate worth considering given the struggle to know how humans came to be. Are we here because of a higher power or did we evolve over millions of years?

1. Read this 2005 article about the claims and rebuttals to intelligent design.  What is intelligent design? What knowledge claims are made? What rebuttal, or counter-claims are given?

2. Learn more about these two very different perspectives. Visit this intelligent design web site http://www.intelligentdesign.org/ and explain the strengths and weaknesses of their claim.

3. Visit the National Center for Science Education web site http://ncse.com/creationism and explain the strengths and weaknesses of their claim.

4. In your knowledge issue question be sure to include reference to two ways of knowing.

5. Comment on one of your classmate’s responses