Pseudo-science is a method, belief or practice that claims to be scientific. Each of the following was for a long time called a science, but each has since been rejected by the scientific community: phrenology; chiromancy; astrology.
In a group of three, each person should investigate one of these pseudo-sciences on the internet and then report back to the other members of the group. You should then discuss the following questions:
- How did each of these practices measure up against the scientific principles of openness, testability, falsifiability and evidence?
- How do these examples illustrate the ideas of a) science as a paradigm and b) science as socially constructed?
