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Essay on pseudoscience
Essay on pseudoscience
Essay on pseudoscience
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Abe Kobo was involved in a critical discussion on science fiction when it started to be popular in the early 1960s. In this article, Abe argues that “pseudo-science is a huge pillar that supports science fiction world” (28). He details that the characteristics of pseudo-science in SF allow its readers to find their wonder on its description rather than to doubt whether it is true or not, which is a way of literature. In such a way, pseudo-science could become a creative feature as hypothesis helping to make the story intriguing. It was interesting to see how Abe details the aesthetics of pseudo-science in relation to everydayness: he emphasizes that scientific hypothesis in the literature could make everyday unstable and shows it strange.
The first time I heard the name, Neil deGrasse Tyson, was when my grandfather showed me an article Tyson had written. In the article, Tyson suggested 7 books a person should read so they can be more intelligent. Not knowing Tyson was an astrophysicist at the time, I skimmed over the material because I saw no validity in the argument. However, I did wonder why Tyson recommended the Bible as the number one book to read. I asked my grandfather, who coincidentally is also a astrophysicist, why I should read the Bible, but he could not think of a reason. After getting the chance to research Tyson, I have begun to understand his intelligence and able to answer my question. Moreover, Tyson is a scientist who defies social barriers because he wants to inspire the world in several specific ways.
Arthur L. Caplan, in his news article, “Distinguishing Science from Nonsense,” warns the audience about the uncertain economic future of the United States of America due to the abandonment of science within society. Further, Caplan’s purpose is to inform the audience how the dwindling importance of science in children is not only due to schools, but also due to American culture. Therefore, Caplan uses a combination of rhetorical devices to not only warn and inform the public about the importance of science, but to also engage them to an extent that persuades the audience to take action.
The article, “Motivated Rejection of Science” stood out to me because the vast amount of scientific research to back up findings and the vast majority of the population that rejects it. Lewandowsky and Oberauer discuss the prevalence of false beliefs in the general population. They bring up the popular conspiracy theories that have either false or no scientific research, plaguing the minds of many. When the majority of the general population believe in a certain theory – like the vaccines that are ‘linked’ to measles, Autism, mumps, and rubella – the effects can be detrimental. The vaccine craze was felt worldwide and is the best example of misinformation.
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
Butler, Marilyn. "Frankenstein and Radical Science." Reprinted in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Norton Critical Edition. 1993; New York: W. W. Norton, 1996. 302-313.
Why do we fear the unknown? In the process of answering this question, science-fiction genre films successfully capture the history of American society at distinct points in time. The genre is so closely linked to social and historical contexts that its development relies solely on this connection. Sci-fi myths and conventions have remained static for decades, and the only measurable change in the genre lies in the films’ themes (Gehring 229-230). For example, Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) argues that fear of the unknown is a flaw in human nature and criticizes the social paranoia of post-war, 1940s America. Conversely, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) views the human existence through more positive outlook, wherein society can overcome such fear; this optimism reflects the escapist beliefs of the 70s. When juxtaposed, the films’ themes demonstrate the evolution of the sci-fi genre by expressing different social attitudes towards conventions such as foreign beings, unfamiliar technology, and unusual scientists. The films also represent the genre during two major aesthetic periods in cinema—the post-classical and the late modernist eras, respectively—but nonetheless serve a greater purpose in measuring America’s social progress.
While reading George Saunders’ Short story collection, In Persuasion Nation, it is easy to see that Saunders is using literary fiction with a hint of science fiction to convey a central message in each of his short stories. Saunders offers us a glimpse into a possible sad and scary future. Saunders’ loony characters play a huge role in the final production of a meaningful message. The protagonist is often the most morally sound of the characters, so this gives the reader a closer connection with them. Another factor in determining the way Saunders’ message is conveyed is the ridiculous unpredictableness of the plot. While the reader understands the message it makes it seem less scary or serious when the moral of the story is coated with humor. The use of outlandish story elements show the use of science fiction in his stories, but each story serves an intricate subject and this fundamentally shows Saunders’ rhetorical meaning. In Saunders’ short stories, Jon and My Flamboyant Grandson, the protagonists are well-developed characters that are easily relatable. The way Saunders separates the relation between reader and character is by placing them in the possible future. Because they live in an alternate universe these characters are also somewhat of an unreliable source for information; we cannot truly grasp what is happening in their minds. Saunders characterizes his protagonists as having better morals and a more clear thought process than the supporting characters by the way these characters either think, speak, or act.
The Hounds of Tindalos is a short science fiction story containing many and varied elements that have been long associated with the genre of science fiction. This essay will identify these elements, examining their placement within this short text and also the interchange of these elements with the characteristics of other genres, more specifically, horror. Belknap Long, the author, was clearly intent of incorporating the elements of horror within the genre of science fiction and this amalgamation of these two genres was a popular combination employed by future horror and SF writers. Perhaps the inclusion of horror within the SF genre is a comment in itself about perceptions of SF held by writers, the elements of horror being a cautionary warning to those in the science world.
Aliens, robots, rockets, shrunken heads that talk, and planets being sold, are some sort of science. It also adds in science references and terms dealing with space, like the...
When we think of 'Mad Science,' the modern, stereotypical, Hollywood vision of mad science floods the mind-of Dr. Frankenstein (Frankenstein); Dr. Jekyll (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); and Rotwang (Metropolis); along with many others-and for good reason. Many of these characters we know by heart, either from literature, theater, or film, while many others we've hardly heard of and are thus marked mundane and
In this argumentative essay written by Dr. Ron Kline a pediatrician who wrote his essay titled “A Scientist: I am the enemy”. The article gives an insight on how animal research has helped many people and shine a light on the benefits of animal research. Ron Kline is the director of bone marrow transplants at the University of Louisville. Furthermore, the essay explains his thoughts and his own reasons for his love of medical research. In addition, the essay include the opposing side of the argument which has a lot feedback from activist groups that think that animal research is horrible.
H.G. Wells was one of the fathers of modern science fiction. He made his reputation as a writer through what he called “scientific romances”[2], a comment he made about his own science fiction in the 1930’s. However, he himself said that there were radical differences between his science fiction and that of Jules Verne. Wells said that his own work was “an exercise of the imagination”,[2] as in The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. In these books he was not suggesting a serious possibility, just trying to imagine what might happen in a given situation.[2]
Edgar Allen Poe, a creative mind who wrote about things that were truly mind-boggling seems to be confused about science, this new genre of education, which seems to be proving all that he knew about life to be false. His reality is now being doubted and challenged as this new science turns his whole world in a different direction. “To Science,” is a poem he wrote asking and trying to figure out what is happening as he personifies “Science” and questions it as if science was a human. Poets are generally the only one’s who can get away with personification. Poe’s poetic traits are both proven and challenged, as he beings to argue with a non-humanistic figure, while trying to fight for his imaginative state of mind, all while wanting his ideas to be proven true rather than being classified as false.
Several differences between Foundation, and therefore science fiction exemplified by Foundation, and the other divisions of literature must be considered before judging the genre. First, a whole different approach must be taken before judgment. Foundation deals with a nearly limitless range of possibilities. Therefore, the mind must be adapted to put aside incredulity and disbelief.
“Arguments Concerning Scientific Realism” is Bas van Fraassen’s attack on the positive construction of science. He starts by defining scientific realism as the goal of science to provide a “literally true story of what the world is like;” and the “acceptance of a scientific theory” necessitates the “belief that it is true”. This definition contains two important attributes. The first attribute describes scientific realism as practical. The aim of science is to reach an exact truth of the world. The second attribute is that scientific realism is epistemic. To accept a theory one must believe that it is true. Van Fraassen acknowledges that a “literally true account” divides anti-realists into two camps. The first camp holds the belief that science’s aim is to give proper descriptions of what the world is like. On the other hand, the second camp believes that a proper description of the world must be given, but acceptance of corresponding theories as true is not necessary.