ESP Biography

Lots of people talk about what "Scientists say" and what is "experimentally proven". We all want to be rational and make good decisions. But what is science, really? And how do you know when someone is just trying to BS you by throwing around the word "science"? We'll talk about that, and, like real scientists, do some real experiments.

Bank bailouts. Stealing to feed your hungry kid. Lying to save Jews in your basement. Waterboarding. What's right and what's wrong? And how do we know? This will be a crash course in Ethics, the rigorous discipline of determining what's right. This lost science will be critical for anyone who will have to make decisions in their life. I'm modeling this course after the enormously popular class and book taught by Michael Sandel at Harvard (Google my course title).

Have you ever heard something is "Scientifically proven to..." or been told to believe something that, "Scientists believe that..."? What is science? How do you know who's telling the truth and who's lying? Who is making real scientific claims, and who is just using scientific words to persuade? This is a crash course in the definition, power and limits of science. Learn how to spot BS claims scientists and non-scientists make. Useful for everyone who will be making science-based decisions (including non-scientists).