1
00:00:02,003 --> 00:00:05,943
- [Voiceover] Once someone
has found out some information

2
00:00:05,943 --> 00:00:10,394
or gone through experiment
and obtained some data,

3
00:00:10,394 --> 00:00:15,231
you have to somehow allow that
information to be spread out

4
00:00:15,231 --> 00:00:19,980
or that information to be
disseminated to other individuals.

5
00:00:19,980 --> 00:00:23,119
One of the major ways that
scientific information

6
00:00:23,119 --> 00:00:26,042
is disseminated, or spread around,

7
00:00:26,042 --> 00:00:29,479
is through peer-reviewed journals.

8
00:00:29,479 --> 00:00:32,146
Now these peer-reviewed journals

9
00:00:32,996 --> 00:00:35,323
are exactly as they sound, peers.

10
00:00:35,323 --> 00:00:38,405
So other scientists are gonna go through,

11
00:00:38,405 --> 00:00:41,916
look at the data, look at the writings,

12
00:00:41,916 --> 00:00:44,014
and either approve the article or say,

13
00:00:44,014 --> 00:00:45,322
"This doesn't quite add up,"

14
00:00:45,322 --> 00:00:47,740
or "Something's not quite right here."

15
00:00:47,740 --> 00:00:49,959
What this allows is a whole panel,

16
00:00:49,959 --> 00:00:52,101
a whole grouping of experts,

17
00:00:52,101 --> 00:00:55,115
to see an article, to see the information

18
00:00:55,115 --> 00:00:58,865
before it's publicly
put out for publication.

19
00:01:00,097 --> 00:01:04,656
And by doing this, the results
are assumed to be valid

20
00:01:04,656 --> 00:01:08,547
only for the conditions of the experiment.

21
00:01:08,547 --> 00:01:11,095
Remember, the conditions
are what it was run under,

22
00:01:11,095 --> 00:01:13,673
what was the temperature
during the experimentation,

23
00:01:13,673 --> 00:01:15,966
what was the population size,

24
00:01:15,966 --> 00:01:17,978
what was the sampling size.

25
00:01:17,978 --> 00:01:20,952
There's so many variables.

26
00:01:20,952 --> 00:01:24,535
So you could only
assume, only rationalize,

27
00:01:25,819 --> 00:01:29,854
that the data is valid for those exact,

28
00:01:29,854 --> 00:01:31,320
specific

29
00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:32,555
conditions

30
00:01:32,555 --> 00:01:33,972
it was run under.

31
00:01:36,194 --> 00:01:40,575
Now, you also will find
information in the popular press.

32
00:01:40,575 --> 00:01:44,348
Newspapers, could find it
in different magazines.

33
00:01:44,348 --> 00:01:47,184
Do you think these would be as accurate

34
00:01:47,184 --> 00:01:50,434
as the peer-reviewed journals would be?

35
00:01:51,283 --> 00:01:54,759
Some might be, but some might not be.

36
00:01:54,759 --> 00:01:59,012
A lot of times, any
reputable popular press

37
00:01:59,012 --> 00:02:01,508
will have someone look
through and make sure

38
00:02:01,508 --> 00:02:04,092
it's valid before it's printed.

39
00:02:04,092 --> 00:02:08,467
A lot of times, the
reputable popular press

40
00:02:08,467 --> 00:02:09,564
actually gets their information

41
00:02:09,564 --> 00:02:12,724
from some peer-reviewed journals.

42
00:02:12,724 --> 00:02:14,693
But just because it's in the newspapers,

43
00:02:14,693 --> 00:02:16,869
that means it's 100% true?

44
00:02:16,869 --> 00:02:18,536
No, not necessarily.

45
00:02:19,643 --> 00:02:21,483
And then we start thinking about the ads

46
00:02:21,483 --> 00:02:25,650
or the advertisements, those
aren't always forthcoming.

47
00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:28,322
A lot of times the advertisements are

48
00:02:28,322 --> 00:02:31,405
taking information in,
making it look really good

49
00:02:31,405 --> 00:02:33,712
for what they're advertising.

50
00:02:33,712 --> 00:02:36,223
You always have to be
very critical and careful.

51
00:02:36,223 --> 00:02:38,719
Think about what it's saying,

52
00:02:38,719 --> 00:02:41,093
and is it trying to use information

53
00:02:41,093 --> 00:02:43,343
to benefit its own process?

54
00:02:44,957 --> 00:02:48,740
Then you have the internet,
electronic publications.

55
00:02:48,740 --> 00:02:53,520
Does anybody regulate what's
put onto a personal blog,

56
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,505
or what's put into a personal homepage?

57
00:02:56,505 --> 00:02:58,228
No, there's no regulation there.

58
00:02:58,228 --> 00:03:01,019
Anyone can make any claim they want.

59
00:03:01,019 --> 00:03:04,422
Now if you're on a,
again, a reputable site.

60
00:03:04,422 --> 00:03:07,774
You're looking at a major news outlet,

61
00:03:07,774 --> 00:03:11,127
or looking at one of the
peer-reviewed journals

62
00:03:11,127 --> 00:03:13,407
that has an online presence,

63
00:03:13,407 --> 00:03:16,571
good chance those are probably
a little more accurate

64
00:03:16,571 --> 00:03:18,154
in the information.

65
00:03:19,346 --> 00:03:21,658
But smaller companies or smaller sites

66
00:03:21,658 --> 00:03:23,913
that are run by small media outlets,

67
00:03:23,913 --> 00:03:27,061
maybe they're just trying to
grab headlines, who knows?

68
00:03:27,061 --> 00:03:29,559
Again, the key thing is be critical.

69
00:03:29,559 --> 00:03:31,650
Think about what you're seeing.

70
00:03:31,650 --> 00:03:34,451
Not everything you see
on the internet is true.

71
00:03:34,451 --> 00:03:37,000
Constantly, there are
things being put out there

72
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,715
that are just spoofs.

73
00:03:38,715 --> 00:03:41,931
They're just practical
jokes seeing how many people

74
00:03:41,931 --> 00:03:46,305
they can get to believe the
fallacy they've made up.

75
00:03:46,305 --> 00:03:49,151
So there a lot of ways to
get your information out,

76
00:03:49,151 --> 00:03:50,803
but as the general
public, we have to think

77
00:03:50,803 --> 00:03:52,836
in a critical manner.

78
00:03:52,836 --> 00:03:54,538
Think, "Is this really true?

79
00:03:54,538 --> 00:03:56,466
"Could this be possible?"

80
00:03:56,466 --> 00:03:59,470
And think about what other
information you know.

81
00:03:59,470 --> 00:04:01,401
If someone's quoting saying, "This is true

82
00:04:01,401 --> 00:04:04,100
"because I have a study of three people."

83
00:04:04,100 --> 00:04:07,868
Well, a study on three people
probably isn't as accurate

84
00:04:07,868 --> 00:04:09,285
as a study on 300

85
00:04:10,878 --> 00:04:12,211
or 3,000 people.

86
00:04:13,738 --> 00:04:15,948
Again, the larger the sampling,

87
00:04:15,948 --> 00:04:20,031
the better chance of
covering more possibilities.

88
00:04:22,262 --> 00:04:25,393
Now we all talked about
this hypothesis already.

89
00:04:25,393 --> 00:04:26,994
The hypothesis was the idea

90
00:04:26,994 --> 00:04:29,595
of what you think is gonna happen.

91
00:04:29,595 --> 00:04:32,845
Well, a hypothesis can become a theory.

92
00:04:34,679 --> 00:04:37,898
Was a few things that must occur first.

93
00:04:37,898 --> 00:04:41,035
A theory is more of a concrete idea,

94
00:04:41,035 --> 00:04:43,673
one that's more readily accepted.

95
00:04:43,673 --> 00:04:47,840
A hypothesis is something
you're trying to accept.

96
00:04:49,230 --> 00:04:52,313
So first off, a theory must be broad.

97
00:04:53,507 --> 00:04:57,674
Has to be very general, and it
has to be extensively tested.

98
00:04:59,213 --> 00:05:02,988
And it doesn't mean extensively
tested by one scientist

99
00:05:02,988 --> 00:05:06,103
just over and over and over.

100
00:05:06,103 --> 00:05:10,270
That means extensively tested
by many different people

101
00:05:11,361 --> 00:05:14,428
in many different situations,

102
00:05:14,428 --> 00:05:18,290
and all of them coming
back with the same results

103
00:05:18,290 --> 00:05:19,790
or the same ideas.

104
00:05:22,122 --> 00:05:24,964
Has to be supported over time.

105
00:05:24,964 --> 00:05:29,487
One that's been pretty good
as a theory is gravity.

106
00:05:29,487 --> 00:05:30,607
It's pretty broad.

107
00:05:30,607 --> 00:05:33,416
Gravity pulls things down towards Earth.

108
00:05:33,416 --> 00:05:35,115
It's been pretty extensively tested.

109
00:05:35,115 --> 00:05:37,468
Anyone drops anything on Earth,

110
00:05:37,468 --> 00:05:39,872
it gets pulled down to the earth.

111
00:05:39,872 --> 00:05:41,769
Supported over time.

112
00:05:41,769 --> 00:05:43,581
I'm pretty sure things
have been dropping to Earth

113
00:05:43,581 --> 00:05:47,435
because of gravity for quite a while now.

114
00:05:47,435 --> 00:05:50,075
Can explain a broad range of facts.

115
00:05:50,075 --> 00:05:52,817
Sure, why if you let
something go in your hand,

116
00:05:52,817 --> 00:05:54,133
does it fall?

117
00:05:54,133 --> 00:05:55,813
Why do leaves fall from trees?

118
00:05:55,813 --> 00:05:57,707
Why does water run downhill?

119
00:05:57,707 --> 00:06:00,878
I mean, it can explain a ton of things.

120
00:06:00,878 --> 00:06:04,270
And having a high degree of reliability.

121
00:06:04,270 --> 00:06:05,550
Is there a time where gravity

122
00:06:05,550 --> 00:06:07,948
just all of a sudden disappears?

123
00:06:07,948 --> 00:06:09,387
Or maybe just shifts and all of a sudden,

124
00:06:09,387 --> 00:06:11,479
things float up?

125
00:06:11,479 --> 00:06:15,026
No, not unless you're
in some special chambers

126
00:06:15,026 --> 00:06:17,776
or in a free fall in an airplane.

127
00:06:19,303 --> 00:06:21,062
So the reliability is pretty good.

128
00:06:21,062 --> 00:06:25,229
Gravity is there, is gonna
cause things to fall to Earth.

129
00:06:28,703 --> 00:06:31,774
Now, theories can be refuted.

130
00:06:31,774 --> 00:06:34,691
They can be proven to be incorrect.

131
00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,779
If all of a sudden in 100
years, for some reason,

132
00:06:39,779 --> 00:06:43,379
gravity has reversed,
and everything on Earth

133
00:06:43,379 --> 00:06:47,020
starts to float instead
of being pulled to Earth.

134
00:06:47,020 --> 00:06:48,376
Kind of a crazy idea right now,

135
00:06:48,376 --> 00:06:52,326
but in that case, you're
probably gonna refute

136
00:06:52,326 --> 00:06:53,993
the idea of gravity.

137
00:06:55,022 --> 00:06:58,027
Because all of a sudden,
this theory of gravity

138
00:06:58,027 --> 00:07:01,592
pulling things to Earth isn't happening.

139
00:07:01,592 --> 00:07:02,931
So, hopefully, that one doesn't happen

140
00:07:02,931 --> 00:07:05,384
'cause there'll be some real problems,

141
00:07:05,384 --> 00:07:06,961
but just the idea.

142
00:07:06,961 --> 00:07:09,294
You can refute theories if all of a sudden

143
00:07:09,294 --> 00:07:11,044
they become not true.

144
00:07:12,844 --> 00:07:14,060
So we have to learn to be

145
00:07:14,060 --> 00:07:16,709
this critical thinker I'm talking about.

146
00:07:16,709 --> 00:07:19,008
We're talking about
information being passed down

147
00:07:19,008 --> 00:07:22,017
on the internet, in mass media.

148
00:07:22,017 --> 00:07:23,919
You have to think, "Is this really true?

149
00:07:23,919 --> 00:07:25,336
"Is it possible?"

150
00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,703
So the idea of becoming a skeptic.

151
00:07:28,703 --> 00:07:30,704
Now, I'm not saying
think everything is false

152
00:07:30,704 --> 00:07:33,371
all the time no matter what, no.

153
00:07:34,431 --> 00:07:36,783
Certain times, sure, accept as a truth,

154
00:07:36,783 --> 00:07:39,482
you know that's a reputable source.

155
00:07:39,482 --> 00:07:41,828
But other times, if it's the first time

156
00:07:41,828 --> 00:07:43,312
you've heard from this source

157
00:07:43,312 --> 00:07:44,931
or first time you've
heard it from this person,

158
00:07:44,931 --> 00:07:46,704
just think about it for a second.

159
00:07:46,704 --> 00:07:51,464
Don't just instantaneously
jump on the bandwagon.

160
00:07:51,464 --> 00:07:53,623
So, things to think about it.

161
00:07:53,623 --> 00:07:55,499
Who is stating it is true?

162
00:07:55,499 --> 00:07:58,434
Is it someone that has a
really solid reputation

163
00:07:58,434 --> 00:07:59,601
in that field?

164
00:08:01,496 --> 00:08:04,772
Or someone that's being
paid for their opinion?

165
00:08:04,772 --> 00:08:07,850
If they're being paid by a company

166
00:08:07,850 --> 00:08:09,961
that's trying to promote something,

167
00:08:09,961 --> 00:08:13,138
odds are, they're gonna
only put someone out there

168
00:08:13,138 --> 00:08:15,483
as their spokesperson that will concur

169
00:08:15,483 --> 00:08:18,451
with what they believe, that will agree

170
00:08:18,451 --> 00:08:21,201
with what they're trying to sell.

171
00:08:23,592 --> 00:08:27,684
Now, most media outlets,
most of the typical ones

172
00:08:27,684 --> 00:08:29,911
summarize the source data.

173
00:08:29,911 --> 00:08:31,787
They don't just give it all to you.

174
00:08:31,787 --> 00:08:34,756
They say, "All of this data means this."

175
00:08:34,756 --> 00:08:36,373
They kind of summarize it for you.

176
00:08:36,373 --> 00:08:39,444
They bring it into one nice, neat package.

177
00:08:39,444 --> 00:08:43,929
Something that's easier for
most people to understand.

178
00:08:43,929 --> 00:08:48,290
So we start thinking about
the sources for science,

179
00:08:48,290 --> 00:08:51,458
our peer-reviewed journals
as in "Nature" and "Science."

180
00:08:51,458 --> 00:08:53,433
The journal, "Nature" and
the journal, "Science"

181
00:08:53,433 --> 00:08:58,299
are two of the largest, most
respected journals there are.

182
00:08:58,299 --> 00:08:59,961
If you ever pick up a copy of "Nature,"

183
00:08:59,961 --> 00:09:01,626
or pick up a copy of "Science,"

184
00:09:01,626 --> 00:09:04,016
whether digital or in print,

185
00:09:04,016 --> 00:09:06,051
and start reading through it,

186
00:09:06,051 --> 00:09:09,148
each article, each
scientific paper in there

187
00:09:09,148 --> 00:09:13,677
will have tons and tons
of data backing it up.

188
00:09:13,677 --> 00:09:16,167
With plenty of citations
saying where it came from

189
00:09:16,167 --> 00:09:19,055
and what the conditions were.

190
00:09:19,055 --> 00:09:20,483
Well for most individuals,

191
00:09:20,483 --> 00:09:23,388
that reading isn't the
most exciting in the world.

192
00:09:23,388 --> 00:09:26,811
A few of us love doing that,
but it's not for everyone.

193
00:09:26,811 --> 00:09:28,971
Everyone has their own interests.

194
00:09:28,971 --> 00:09:31,420
So what the typical media outlets will do

195
00:09:31,420 --> 00:09:34,449
is take that very technical piece

196
00:09:34,449 --> 00:09:36,254
where you had to have a lot of background

197
00:09:36,254 --> 00:09:38,138
in the field to understand,

198
00:09:38,138 --> 00:09:41,638
summarize it into more
of a general statements.

199
00:09:41,638 --> 00:09:45,055
So a larger population can understand it.