Science, Pseudoscience, and Skepticism

Catalog description

In a chapter titled "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection," astrophysicist Carl Sagan reflected on our susceptibility to deception and flawed logic. With the explosion of social media platforms, the public has become inundated with information--some of which is factual and some of which is unsupported or bogus. This course explores the nature of science and pseudoscience and provides tools to distinguish between them. Students will learn the principles of scientific reasoning, critical thinking, and evidence-based practice while investigating various pseudoscientific, bogus, and unsupported practices in Communication Sciences and Disorders and related fields. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating evidence, recognizing fallacies, and understanding factors that influence belief in (and adoption of) unsupported practices. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Code of Ethics will be used to explore the ethical implications of promoting and adopting unsupported practices. Students’ oral communication skills will be developed throughout the semester.