{"id":1080,"date":"2014-11-04T16:51:06","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T15:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.venco.com.pl\/~cozy\/blog\/?p=1080"},"modified":"2014-11-04T16:51:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T15:51:06","slug":"the-six-most-misused-words-in-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/2014\/11\/04\/the-six-most-misused-words-in-science\/","title":{"rendered":"The Six Most Misused Words in Science"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-5324\" class=\"post-5324 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-debunkings tag-fs tag-hypothesis tag-law tag-theory\">\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<aside id=\"meta-5324\" class=\"entry-meta\"><span class=\"posted-on\">Posted on <\/span><a class=\"post-time\" title=\"09:44\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/the-six-most-misused-words-in-science\/\"><time class=\"entry-date updated\" datetime=\"2013-08-31T09:44:05+00:00\">August 31, 2013<\/time><\/a><span class=\"by-author\"> by <\/span><span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" title=\"View all posts by Joshua Filmer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/author\/joshuafqtq\/\" rel=\"author\">Joshua Filmer<\/a><\/span><span class=\"posted-in\"> in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/category\/debunkings\/\" rel=\"tag\">Debunkings<\/a><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"entry-meta\"><\/aside>\n<aside class=\"entry-meta\">Many phrases and words have a different meanings in science than they do when spoken by the general public. Some scientists argue that the misunderstood terms should simply be replaced, but that just prolongs the problem. If \u201ctheory\u201d is replaced with some other word, then it\u2019s almost inevitable that his \u201cnew\u201d word will also be misused every now and again. Instead, a better science education is needed in order to help people understand the terms scientists use to define our reality. So, without further adieu\u2026<\/aside>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h2>1) Theory<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-5327\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/theory.png\" alt=\"theory\" width=\"284\" height=\"101\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Theory is probably one of the most abused scientific terms out there. The phrase <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/hypothesis-theory-or-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cthat\u2019s just a theory\u201d <\/a>is a common attack on scientific theories by people who don\u2019t understand the term. How many times have you heard anti-evolutionists use the phrase \u201cwell, evolution is just a theory. Get back to me when it\u2019s a law.\u201d Theories are one of the pinnacles of science and are widely accepted in the scientific community as being true. A theory is not a random idea that scientists came up with on the spur of the moment; they have been well tested and shown to be true under the rigors of scientific experiment. Whereas a theory can never be proven true, they do have evidence that supports the original idea, demonstrating its \u201ctrueness.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>2) Model<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-5330 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/model_process.gif\" alt=\"model_process\" width=\"222\" height=\"106\" \/>Model is also a troublesome word for several reasons. Firstly, a scientific model (in most contexts) is a way of quantifying a particular natural event to help us understand it better. They vary a little in the exact usage of the definition in different fields of science, but the basic idea is the same.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists spend a ton of time comparing competing models to one another, refining their models, and generally working to make the model as accurate as possible.\u00a0The overwhelming consensus of climate change comes from our climate models. As we collected more data, and studied the way the biosphere operates, we were able to refine our climate models. This gave us insight to more pieces of the climate puzzle, which lead to the unsettling realization that current human activity is having a severe and unfavorable impact on the environment.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a03) Skeptic<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cBe skeptical. But when you get proof, accept proof.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5333\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/kep.jpg\" alt=\"kep\" width=\"172\" height=\"138\" \/>That quote by Michael Specter is brilliant for describing what true skepticism should be. In the media machine today, the term \u201cskeptic\u201d is often applied to people <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/do-scientists-fear-the-things-that-go-bump-in-the-night\/\" target=\"_blank\">who accept pseudoscience <\/a>because they are \u201cskeptical\u201d of mainstream science: \u201cvaccine skeptics,\u201d \u201cclimate skeptics,\u201d \u201cpharmaceutical skeptics,\u201d and so on. The term gives these people (and other similar groups) a bit too much credit. Generally, they are ignoring proof and evidence. \u00a0Michael Mann, a climate scientist from Pennsylvania State University, summarized it best when he said, \u201cDenying mainstream science based on flimsy, invalid, and too-often agenda-driven critiques of science is not skepticism at all. It is contrarianism \u2026 or denial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A true skeptic is willing to look at all of the scientific evidence available and is willing to analyze it without bias. When the evidence says something, a skeptic can accept the outcome before them\u2026until new evidence is presented.<\/p>\n<h2>4) Significant<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.micahfk.com\/data-marketeer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/bell_curve2.gif\" rel=\"fancybox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-5334  \" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/graph.jpg\" alt=\"Click to see a larger image (Source)\" width=\"176\" height=\"119\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ah, significant\u2026 That is a huge problem, and it is often used in the phrase \u201cstatistically significant\u201d or an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/science-environment-13719510\" target=\"_blank\">epic misuse of the term<\/a>. Statistically significant is thrown around in everyday life to describe something very important. \u201cThere has been a statistically significant increase in autism for children who got vaccines,\u201d that\u2019s a phrase I\u2019ve heard plenty of times. Firstly, in a scientific setting, \u201csignificant\u201d doesn\u2019t mean \u201cimportant.\u201d Statistically speaking, something that is \u201csignificant\u201d is simply something that is unlikely to occur given random chance. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean there is a meaningful result. If a scientific experiment is set up correctly, then a statistical significance might reveal a lot. If the experiment is set up poorly, as is the case with many pseudosciences, then significance doesn\u2019t mean anything because all of the variables weren\u2019t controlled.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a05 Natural<\/h2>\n<p>Natural has turned into a word to define health and vitality;\u00a0\u201cPharmaceutical companies are the enemy, They promote drug dependency t the cost of the natural remedies that are all our bodies need. They are immoral and driven by greed. Why take drugs when herbs can solve it? Why use chemicals when homoeopathic solvents can resolve it? It\u2019s time we all return-to-live with natural medical alternatives.\u201d Though quoted from Tim Minchin\u2019s Storm, that basically sums up the argument for \u201cnatural\u201d things. Natural is a term that\u2019s often equated with health and vitality. A \u201cnatural\u201d drug is *always* better than pumping your body full of chemicals made in a lab.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, not everything that\u2019s \u201cnatural\u201d is good for you. \u201cNatural\u201d simply means \u201cexisting in nature.\u201d Arsenic is natural, and I\u2019m pretty sure you don\u2019t want to take it as a natural remedy. Even natural things that are good for you should only be taken in moderation, including salt and water (it\u2019s hard to die from water poisoning, but it\u2019s possible). Even using the pseudoscience definition of what is \u201cnatural\u201di.e., alternative medicines, natural still isn\u2019t always a good thing. Advertising companies promoting natural products <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/3345-natural-products-dubious-claims.html\" target=\"_blank\">have been known to make all sorts of fraudulent claims,\u00a0<\/a>and when people buy into the natural remedy over real medicine, then some serious health complications can occur.<\/p>\n<h2>6) Chemical<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5336\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/nono.jpg\" alt=\"nono\" width=\"221\" height=\"187\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019re talking about natural remedies, we have to mention chemicals. The <a href=\"http:\/\/gawker.com\/quacks-of-all-political-persuations-fight-fluoridation-508884755\" target=\"_blank\">anti-fluoride movement<\/a> gets a lot out of calling fluoride a chemical, proposing that it\u2019s bad to add to the water because we don\u2019t want to be ingesting those evil chemicals. Scientifically speaking, chemicals are everywhere. A chemical is something that\u2019s studied in chemistry; that\u2019s pretty much anything made from atoms (since chemists don\u2019t concern themselves with particle physics, atoms is about as small as they go). Oxygen, water, nitrogen, everything you\u2019re eating, drinking, and interacting with is made from chemicals. There are chemicals that are required for life to exist and there are chemicals that will kill humans (among other animals) very quickly. Too much of any chemical will kill you, and not enough of several of them will too.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with the prevailing<a href=\"http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article.cfm?id=just-a-theory-7-misused-science-words\" target=\"_blank\"> culture of scientific illiteracy <\/a>lies with the school system. In America, and other parts of the world, middle and high school students aren\u2019t given a rigorous scientific education. These terms are then misinterpreted and, as a result, we get a lot of denial of scientific facts and a distrust of the scientific process running around. So try and remember the real definition of these words the next time you hear them used in conversation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"author-info\">\n<div class=\"author-avatar\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"avatar avatar-64 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-64 alignnone photo\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fromquarkstoquasars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/1464863_10201615710548806_525962836_n-88x150.jpg\" alt=\"Joshua Filmer\" width=\"37\" height=\"64\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-description\">\n<h3>About Joshua Filmer<\/h3>\n<p>Joshua specializes in Mathematics and Physics at Portland State University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"excerpt\">Posted on August 31, 2013 by Joshua Filmer in Debunkings Many phrases and words have a different meanings in science than they do when spoken by the general public. Some scientists argue that the misunderstood terms should simply be replaced, but that just prolongs the problem. If \u201ctheory\u201d is replaced with some other word, then&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/2014\/11\/04\/the-six-most-misused-words-in-science\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-1080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bez-kategorii","tag-nauka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}