9:00-9:20

Talk 1: From Boob Tube to Woo Tube: A Method for Examining Science and Pseudoscience in Video Social Media

Jessica E. Tuttle, Student Researcher, and Craig A. Foster, PhD, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, United States Air Force Academy.

Abstract:

Video social media now plays a major role in the promotion of scientific and pseudoscientific claims. We developed a method for examining these types of promotions and used it to analyze flat Earth videos. We believe that this method will help scholars quantify the nature of scientific and pseudoscientific promotions on YouTube and other social media platforms.

Bios:

Dr. Foster is currently a professor in the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership department at the United States Air Force Academy. He received his PhD in social psychology from the University of North Carolina. His research interests include scientific reasoning, pseudoscience, and concussion self-reporting.

Cadet Jessica E. Tuttle is in her final year at the United States Air Force Academy. She is currently majoring in Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. She will serve as an officer in United States Air Force after she graduates.

9:25-9:45

Talk 2: Belief in Psychics: What’s the Harm?

Rob Palmer, Software Systems Engineer, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia team member, Skeptical Inquirer online columnist

Abstract:

In this presentation, I will be highlighting the not so well-known, wide-spread problem of criminal psychic-fraud. I will provide examples of documented cases where victims were scammed out of their life savings, up to millions of dollars, by neighborhood psychics. I’ll also explain that – to attempt to curtail this human tragedy – the skeptic community must continue to expose psychics for the frauds that they are, and thereby shame the TV industry which promotes and enables them.

Bio:

Rob Palmer has a B.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering and has designed spacecraft for RCA, GE, and Lockheed Martin. His current day-job is in Software Systems Engineering, but he spends his off-time as a skeptical activist working for, and promoting, the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia project. In 2018 he began writing The Well-Known Skeptic column for Skeptical Inquirer.

9:50-10:10

Talk 3: Brazilians Love and Support Science! Or is it Pseudoscience?

Natalia Pasternak Taschner, PhD, University of Sao Paulo, and Carlos Orsi, Writer

Abstract:

Two surveys released this year, one by Institute Question of Science (IQC – with data from Datafolha Survey Institute), focusing mainly on the understanding of scientific facts, and another by the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), addressing scientific perception in general, show, at least on the surface, a strong adherence to science among Brazil’s adult population. Many in the scientific community are touting the results of the SBPC survey as a good omen – a sign that the people are on their side. Our analysis, however, suggests that caution, rather than optimism, ought to be the sensible position. What is it exactly that Brazilians love and support?

Bio:

Natalia Pasternak Taschner is currently a research fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, in the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She also works on science communication and advocacy, with special care to raise awareness on pseudoscience and bad science, trying to keep people from being fooled and governments from wasting public money.

10:15-10:35

Talk 4: The False Experts Among Us: Why Some (But Not All) Novices Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect

Kathleen Dyer, PhD, Professor, Department of Child and Family Science, California State University, Fresno.

Abstract:

After discovering that about one third of students in an introductory child development class over-estimated their expertise, Dr. Dyer set out to try to explain why some do so, while the rest of the class does not. Are they intellectually arrogant? Are they narcissistic? Do they confuse personal experiences for scholarly expertise? She will share the results of a study designed to test these explanations.

Bio:

Katie Dyer earned a PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2000. She worked teaching evidence-based medicine in a medical residency program for four years before assuming a faculty position at the California State University, Fresno, where she is currently a professor and department chair. Dr. Dyer primarily studies parenting practices pertaining to children’s sleep, as well as parent education. She has a secondary research interest in the development of curiosity and critical thinking in college students.

10:40-10:55

Talk 5: Promoting Science on Social Media: Is the Public Willing to Believe Physics is Fun?

Ray Hall, PhD, Professor, Department of Physics, California State University, Fresno.

Abstract:

Competing for viewers and the art of making science competitive over pseudoscience on social media- the social media platform Instagram allows the wide distribution of short (less than 60 seconds) high-resolution video clips, which turns out to be an ideal format for sharing interesting physics phenomena to engage the public in the excitement and joy of science. I will share the conception and design of my science outreach efforts concerning my Instagram stream @physicsfun, which features a daily short video post that showcases scientific curiosities to inspire and engage. The reaction thus far- over 1.6 million Instagram users subscribe to my social media museum of science and math.