The march of pseudoscience - in medicine, and climate conversations

Pseudoscience and misinformation has long plagued the climate change conversation.

Those who doubt the unequivocal and evidential science illustrating that humanity has disrupted earth’s climate system, continually turn to both pseudoscience and misinformation too support their views, either in the hope of stopping completely the conversation or at least derailing it sufficiently to allow profits from their undertakings to accrue before reality changes our behaviour.

Something similar has happened in medicine and Neuroscience PhD student Diana Lucia scientists discusses that on Radio National’s Ockham’s Razor.

She wonders whether science and the scientific method being replaced by the misinformation of pseudoscience, new-age therapies and quantum mysticism?

Diana has been trained to know that beliefs must be based on sufficient scientific evidence.

So, she argues, what place do courses in alternative medicine have in public Australian universities?

Listen to Ockham’s Razor on Radio National - “The march of pseudoscience.”

Science literacy in Parliament

An understanding, or appreciation of climate change, pushes us to have some grasp of science.

And that can range from acute (such as a climate scientist) or little more than a passing interest, as would be the case for those who might consider themselves, laymen.

However, as our world becomes more complex and more dependent on the intricacies of science (it always has been we now just have a sounder grasp of what it does, how it works and what its impacts are), we each have an inherent responsibility, at least pay some heed to how our lives depend upon it.

And just this morning on the ABC’s “Ockham’s Razor”, Robyn Williams allowed us to hear Nick Sharp talk about science literacy,

Listen to Nick Sharp (it’s just 11 minutes) on Radio National - “Science literacy in Parliament.”