Day 13

Context

Having finished the introductory logic activities and having explored several easy-to-see physical situations we again step back and look at science and some of the things to look out for as we prepare to start a more detailed study of some phenomena that we can't see as easily.

Explanation

We will look at some excerpts from two different well-know writers, one an educator and one a scientist.

After this class you should be able to:

• Explain the difference between a theory and a fact.
• List some of the reasons that someone might not believe what is being presented to them.

Model

The first quote is from Mary Budd Rowe: "Science is a special kind of story-making with no right or wrong answers, just better and better stories."

What do you think she is trying to say? Do you agree? What does she mean by story-making? Do you believe there are no right or wrong answers?

The second quote is from Richard Feynman. Clicking on the page will make it bigger. In the book by Feynman the page before this, which we can't see, says that a listener may not believe what is being said because of the tie that the presenter is wearing, or the cut of their hair, etc. Who bears the most responsibility for not understanding in that case, the presenter or the listener?

Can you identify the three other reasons that someone might not believe that are given on this page?

Homework

The homework for this class is on Canvas.