Scientists told how to distinguish science from superstition.
The study claims that Occam's razor principle is "a key factor in distinguishing science from superstition."
Occam's razor-the principle of choosing the simplest explanation from a set of competing ones that matches the facts-is not just a tool of science. It is a science in itself, says a renowned molecular geneticist at the University of Surrey. In an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Professor Jonjo McFadden argues that Occam's razor, attributed to the Surrey-born Franciscan monk William of Occam (1285-1347), is the only feature that distinguishes science from superstition, pseudoscience, and fake news.
Professor McFadden stated: "What is science? The rise of issues such as skepticism about vaccination, climate change, alternative medicine, and mysticism shows a significant level of distrust or misunderstanding of science among the public. The current COVID-19 investigation also highlights how scientific ignorance is getting to the heart of government. Part of the problem is that most people, even most scientists, don't have a clear idea of what science really is."
Frequently mentioned factors, such as experimentation or mathematics, are widely used in fields as diverse as gardening, accounting, cooking, or astrology. Alchemists have conducted thousands of experiments trying to turn a simple metal into gold, but to no avail, whereas astrologers use mathematics to calculate horoscopes. Neither is considered a science. But why?
William of Occam insisted that science is about finding the simplest solutions. Occam's razor was adopted by Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around, because it's easier. They used the razor to work their way through mysticism, superstition, and religion to lay the foundations of modern science. Occam's razor continues to be invaluable in predicting, for example, the Higgs boson.
Professor McFadden continued: "While practitioners of mysticism, alternative medicine, pseudoscience, or fake news may invent spirits, demons, conspiracies, or Elvis on the moon to explain their world, scientists will always stick to the simplest solution to even the most difficult problems. That's the beauty of Occam's razor."
"While mysticism, alternative medicine, and fake news often resort to complex explanations, such as spirits or moon landing conspiracy theories, scientists are looking for the simplest solutions to complex problems. Today's world, filled with pseudoscience and misinformation, is partly the result of a poor understanding of science."
"Often taught as a mixture of obscure theories and complex equations, science can overwhelm students, alienating them. However, by presenting science as a method of finding simple explanations for the complexities of our world using experimentation, mathematics, and logic, it can be made accessible to everyone, including politicians."
The study claims that Occam's razor principle is "a key factor in distinguishing science from superstition."
Occam's razor-the principle of choosing the simplest explanation from a set of competing ones that matches the facts-is not just a tool of science. It is a science in itself, says a renowned molecular geneticist at the University of Surrey. In an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Professor Jonjo McFadden argues that Occam's razor, attributed to the Surrey-born Franciscan monk William of Occam (1285-1347), is the only feature that distinguishes science from superstition, pseudoscience, and fake news.
Professor McFadden stated: "What is science? The rise of issues such as skepticism about vaccination, climate change, alternative medicine, and mysticism shows a significant level of distrust or misunderstanding of science among the public. The current COVID-19 investigation also highlights how scientific ignorance is getting to the heart of government. Part of the problem is that most people, even most scientists, don't have a clear idea of what science really is."
Frequently mentioned factors, such as experimentation or mathematics, are widely used in fields as diverse as gardening, accounting, cooking, or astrology. Alchemists have conducted thousands of experiments trying to turn a simple metal into gold, but to no avail, whereas astrologers use mathematics to calculate horoscopes. Neither is considered a science. But why?
William of Occam insisted that science is about finding the simplest solutions. Occam's razor was adopted by Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around, because it's easier. They used the razor to work their way through mysticism, superstition, and religion to lay the foundations of modern science. Occam's razor continues to be invaluable in predicting, for example, the Higgs boson.
Professor McFadden continued: "While practitioners of mysticism, alternative medicine, pseudoscience, or fake news may invent spirits, demons, conspiracies, or Elvis on the moon to explain their world, scientists will always stick to the simplest solution to even the most difficult problems. That's the beauty of Occam's razor."
"While mysticism, alternative medicine, and fake news often resort to complex explanations, such as spirits or moon landing conspiracy theories, scientists are looking for the simplest solutions to complex problems. Today's world, filled with pseudoscience and misinformation, is partly the result of a poor understanding of science."
"Often taught as a mixture of obscure theories and complex equations, science can overwhelm students, alienating them. However, by presenting science as a method of finding simple explanations for the complexities of our world using experimentation, mathematics, and logic, it can be made accessible to everyone, including politicians."
