-Two weeks of class left!
- Like this class? Recommend it to a friend for Spring!
-Final project due Sunday 12/11 (early submission okay/encouraged)
- Posted on Canvas
- Groups of 3-5, or work individually*
- Start of class: find groups for people who don't have a group (esp. those absent on Monday) and want one.
- Reminders:
- Peer assessment figures in grade (groups)
- There are group & individual components to the project
- The individual component must be done and submitted individually even if you're working in a group on the rest of the project
- START NOW!!!1!
- Come see me with questions
-Final exam Friday 12/16 (exam schedule online)
- Mandatory attendance
- Replace your lowest quiz grade
Plan for today:
-Return Exam #2
- Remarks
- Review?
- Come see me with specific questions/concerns
-Discussion
- Class findings:
- Pseudoscience & scientific reasoning homework
- Comparative evaluation of evidence for efficacy of supplements/herbal remedies/alternative medicines
- Create your own fad diet
- *The fake news epidemic*
- Critically evaluating scientific findings
- Elements of a good clinical trial
- Things to look for when evaluating a scientific study
- From Monday (11/28): Phases of drug testing and strength of evidence
- Critically evaluating claims about scientific findings
- See criteria above, and consider:
- Second-hand reporting
- Misinterpreted results
- Sensationalized headlines
-Takeaway points:
- How to evaluate scientific studies and findings (features that make them more vs. less credible)
- Why we should be careful of second-hand reports of scientific findings, especially from non-experts/the media
- How the Interwebs facilitates the spread of pseudoscience (and false information, in general)
- Be a critical and skeptical reader!
Pseudoscience and scientific reasoning
FOR REVIEW. Not the focus of discussion. However, you need to be familiar with these concepts in order to meaningfully participate in discussion.
Elements of a Good Clinical Trial
1) Control Group
2) Double blinding
3) A third treatment group (this concept may not be familiar)
With some interventions we know that just about any intervention will be better than no intervention - and some intervention may be ethically obligatory (e.g., in cases of suicidal behavior).
So, rather that having only no treatment vs. treatment, you need to measure new treatments vs. the current standard of care/drug.
4) Objective outcome measures
5) Random sample (e.g., avoid self-selection).
6) Placebo control
Terminology
1) Ideomotor effect
2) Post-hoc (after-the-fact) rationalization
3) Placebo
4) Nocebo
Things to Look for When Evaluating a Study
1) Effect size
2) Duration of effect
3) Type of study
4) Funding
5) Reporting
6) Context in literature
7) Meta-analyses (this concept may not be familiar)
Meta analysis = def. A study that combines similar studies on a topic to evaluate the overall trend.
The rule of thumb for evaluating meta-analysis is "garbage in, garbage out."
In other words, if most of the studies included in the meta-analysis are of poor quality then this will be reflected in the conclusion of the meta-analysis. When evaluating meta-analysis always read the section on inclusion criteria.
8) Replication
9) Impact number of journal (this concept may not be familiar)
Impact number = def. A journal's credibility rating
-Google it!
-Credible academic journals are refereed, peer-reviewed, cited by experts, etc...
-High impact #
versus
-"Academic journals" that are really "pay to publish" journals
-Low (or nonexistent) impact #
*Careful! These poor excuses for academic publications often pick names that are very similar to the names of reputable journals!
The bogus academic journal racket is now officially out of control
10) Evidence-based vs. science-based approaches (in general, prefer the latter to the former)
Signs of bad science
Oh, the irony...
Sometimes pseudoscientists accuse "the establishment" of practicing bad science.
Discussion Q: List as many problems with the above image as you can.
Discussion: Homework
Pseudoscience and scientific reasoning 1
1. (a) Pick one supplement/herbal remedy/alternative medicine treatment that you or one of your family members uses or one that you are curious about.
(b) Find a website or article that promotes that treatment and read what their supporting evidence is.
Then go to quackwatch.com and/or http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ and search for the treatment.
If your supplement/treatment doesn't come up on one of those sites go to google and type in the name and the work "debunked."
Read the article you found.
(i) What does their interpretation of the evidence suggest?
(ii) In light of the concepts we've learned today and throughout the class, write a short 1/2 page summary of your findings.
Note: try not to focus too much on the issue of biases.
Instead, focus on comparing the quality of evidence and arguments. Use the Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science.
My pick: ThunderShirts for anxiety reduction in companion animals (esp. dogs). www.thundershirt.com
 |
| This is totes the calmest I've ever been |
2. How to Make a Fad Diet. Make your own fad diet by following this handy-dandy guide. (You can skip Step 5).
#2 – Make outrageous claims of success. The bigger the lie, the more people are inclined to think that it’s not a lie because no one would be that audacious. So just come up with a very impressive figure – a pound a day, 10 pounds a week, or whatever.
#3 – Testimonials. Personal stories, starting with your own, are the bedrock of fad diets. Don’t worry if there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support your claims – fad diets are not about evidence.
#4 – The Secret. Your fad diet has to have the secret or key to weight loss. Make this as compelling as possible, using language like, “unlocking the secret,” “hacking the body,” unleashing the genetic code,” or whatever.
(Optional) #5 – Cherry pick the research. If you want to add a little optional bling to your website, you can link to research supporting your diet. Now, there won’t be any research that actually indicates your diet works, but don’t worry about that. You can cherry pick studies that appear to support your diet.
#6 – Sciencey Explanations. This part can be real fun – make up BS explanations for why your diet works. There are some good old standbys if you can’t think of anything original, so don’t worry. You can’t go wrong with toxins. Just mention toxins a lot, and say that your diet eliminates toxins.
#7 – Demonize a food group. Every narrative needs a villain, and every fad diet needs a demonized food or food group. These are evil foods that make your body store fad and sap you of energy. Avoiding them is a key to the diet, and one of the secrets you discovered.
#8 – Attack your critics. You may get some blowback from scientists and doctors about how pseudoscientific and unhealthy your diet is, and be criticized because the research does not support your claims. Don’t worry about this… If you are feeling the pressure, however, then just attack your critics.
Gems from the class
(There are a lot of these, but they're worth a read. I was cracking up at your answers!)
"This diet hacks into your brain and tricks itself to erase all your fat! The chemicals and diet work like a dynamic duo to round up all of your fat cells and scientifically expel them from your anus!"
"Exercise and eating healthy were never my thing, so when I heard about the raisin diet I was intrigued. I mean, raisins come from grapes and grapes make wine, so it can’t be that bad...
It’s not even hard at all! All you have to do is ONLY eat raisins for ten days and the pounds just fall off!"
"Scientists said I was crazy to put worms into my body, but now I am 200lbs lighter and never have been healthier!"
"The secret of the fueled-up diet is to have the user drink nothing but kerosene and that’s it. Just drinking kerosene and not eating.
Kerosene is fuel and your body needs fuel to go and the more fuel you have in your body the more fat you will burn. Therefore, drinking kerosene will hyperburn fat cells at a high rate."
"[Our diet products contain] natural ingredients from the leaves of tropical plants located in the Caribbean Islands!... The leaves from the plants have special ingredients, ones that are activated through exercise and good eating habits."
"While on The Cat Diet try to avoid foods that dogs would eat. Foods such as beef and pork will sabotage the diet and should be avoided at all costs. For proteins, it’s best to stick with fish and other aquatic meats.
... We surveyed skeptics of our diet and it shows that 99% of people who don’t believe in our diet also don’t like cats. Therefore, they can’t be trusted."
"Listening to this DVD helps breaks down toxins by becoming a toxin then earning the trust of the other toxins so that the toxin can kill the other toxins. Then once all the other toxins are gone the toxin kills itself by infecting itself with a toxin."
"Fruit roll ups have a very important chemical called tastyaf that create a shield around your stomach that prevent toxins from entering your bloodstream."
"The Pancake and Beer Diet: The secret is in the way carbs unlock the real power of the body."
"Don’t listen to the naysayers! Our product is completely safe!* Science even says so! Would science lie to you? Also, results!"
*Tape-Pellet™ is safe until you die from malnutrition.
Please don't swallow a tapeworm to lose weight...
"Introducing The Hyper Drive Diet ™. Lose up to 5 pounds a week by eating science fiction novels. The fiber in the paper cleanses your body of toxins and helps to shed pounds fast!... The science in the books is absorbed into your blood, and neutralizes toxic chemicals!"
Another fun idea: Google "[Insert any food] diet" and skim the first page of results. Have you hit on a miraculous recipe for weight loss? (Remember our "[Insert any food] causes cancer" Google experiment?)
Pseudoscience: An added complication
Fake news and the Interwebs
As some of your classmates aptly noted in their homework responses, the Internet (fake info gains a foothold via social media, in particular) facilitates the spread of pseudoscientific B.S.
Critical thinking in the real world, or
Why this class is valuable:
Study Finds Students Have Dismaying Inability To Tell Fake News From Real
Top 20 fake news stories "out-shared" top 20 real news stories about the election on social media
(related: check out some examples of fake stories shared extensively on Facebook here)
Discussion Q
Have you or a friend come across a fake news story on social media recently? What was it? How did you figure out that the story was fake?
My example ...
Which people shared enough for it to end up on snopes.com
A rough but handy guide to distinguishing real vs. fake news stories on social media:
How to recognize a fake news story
And remember...
Snopes.com is your friend
Evaluating scientific findings, continued*
*Also applicable to evaluating claims about scientific findings (e.g., news headlines)
From Monday 11/28: Consider phase of testing, strength of evidence, and scope of findings when critically evaluating the efficacy of medical treatments.
Discussion: Homework
Pseudoscience #2
2. (a) Very often on social media and in the news you'll see reports or claims that "X has been found to cure cancer." Explain some of the things you'd need to know in order to properly evaluate this claim.
(b) Often, along with the claims that "X cures cancer" you'll read that the government or Big Pharma is suppressing it/making it illegal. Suggest some alternative explanation for why a government or drug research might not produce or continue research on a drug/plant, etc...
More food for thought:
1. Here's an awesome example of pseudoscience presented as credible science on the Internets:
Alzheimers caused by mercury in vaccines!!1!
(Be very, very, very skeptical of what you read on this website)
How many problems can you find in this article?
Refer to the criteria listed above (Elements of a good clinical trial, what to look for when evaluating studies, a rough guide to spotting bad science).
2. Peruse this site and compare headlines vs. what the scientific findings actually support.
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