1) Recap

2) Non-scientific bases for claims

claims: statements about what is true or valid

bases: evidence (and assumptions about valid evidence) that support those claims

Transparent procedures

Systematic use of evidence

Test claim against alternatives

Acknowledge uncertainty

LaCour and Green (2014)

Experiment on contact with gay canvasser and prejudice toward gay people.

• Hit all the key criteria

But…

This American Life Story Here

On one hand, yes. Fraud is bad.

BUT

• Researchers saw important question
• Uncertainty \(\rightarrow\) more work needed
• Attempt to reproduce the study
• Could not come up with same result
• Discovered Fraud

Do we need to believe every study?

Individual studies may be wrong, but…

A community of researchers can:

• Evaluate work of others (transparency)
• Replicate prior work (transparency)
• Identify/eliminate errors (systematic evidence, acknowledge statistical uncertainty)
• Test claims against additional counter arguments (consider alternatives)

• Many fallacies in giving evidence
• We will consider a few
• Aim to see where they fail to meet scientific criteria

Foreign aid is beneficial

Basis for the claim:

"The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty." Who said that? Not me. Not some beatnik peace group. Secretary of State [and retired General] Colin Powell. And when a military man starts talking like that perhaps we should listen.

• Bono

Appeal to authority (argumentum ad verecundiam)

Arguing that claim is true because a person with authority says it is true.

1. Experts may be wrong/expertise irrelevant
2. Experts may have an agenda
3. We can "cherry pick" supportive experts
4. Experts can disagree

Claim:

As far as the cyber, I agree to parts of what Secretary Clinton said. We should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we're not. I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. … So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is — it is a huge problem. … The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it's hardly doable.

• Donald Trump

Basis for the claim:

I have a son. He's 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it's unbelievable.

What's wrong with this?

lack of transparency, unacknowledged uncertainty

Claim:

"Climate change is not caused by human activity"

Basis for the claim:

"These scientists say the evidence does not support the claim."

• These scientists also have had work paid for by Exxon Mobil

Claim:

"Given your condition, you should take this new drug, X."

Basis for the claim:

"I am a doctor."

• This doctor receives gifts, meals, money from manufacturer of drug X.

What's wrong with this?

Best case to worst-case:

• unacknowledged uncertainty; lack of transparency; may not consider alternatives; unsystematic use of evidence

Claim:

Millions of immigrants vote illegally in the United States

Basis for the claim:

Two political scientists wrote an article finding more than 10% of non-citizens vote

• This ignores the hundreds of political scientists who suggest the study has major flaws

What's wrong with this?

• no systematic use of evidence, lack of transparency, unacknowledged uncertainty

Claim:

Millions of immigrants vote illegally in the United States

What do we do when some experts say one thing, and others say another?

What's wrong with this?

• no transparency, no systematic use of evidence

Beware:

• The basis of authority is often "science."

• Turns science into something magic and should not make it persuasive

Studies Show That You Should Come Into This Room Right Over Here, And That You Should Come Alone

Foreign aid is beneficial

Basis for the claim:

If developing countries are poor, then obviously the problem is a lack of money. So giving them more money has to help.

Claims from common sense:

• arguing that a claim is true because it is something "everyone knows" or "just makes sense"

Problems with common sense

• Often based on superficial similarities

• Often based on analogy between very different situations

• Often good reasons what the opposite claim also makes sense

Claim:

"Running a large deficit will lead a country to bankruptcy and instability through large interest rates"

Basis for the claim:

"When people or families spend more than they make, they receive higher interest rates and risk bankruptcy"

• Individuals/families have budgets, so do governments. But they are otherwise very dissimilar.

What's the problem here?

• unsystematic use of evidence
• failure to consider alternatives

Claim:

In 2003:

"US military invasion in Iraq will bring peace, democracy, and economic growth to the country."

Basis for the claim:

"The occupation of Germany promoted demilitarization, denazification, democratization and capitalist development while garnering widespread support within Germany and outside"

• But the places, context of invasion, and the ways they were undertaken were totally different.

What's the problem here?

• unsystematic use of evidence
• failure to consider alternatives

Claim and basis:

"Guns kill people, so of course gun control will reduce murders."

Counterclaim and basis:

"People kill people, so gun control will not stop murderers, because other weapons are available."

• unacknowledged uncertainty
• failure to consider alternatives

A claim from personal experience:

A claim based on one's own personal (nonsystematic) observation or one's own reaction to an observation

Examples

"No one I know is voting for ____, so they won't win."

"I've had two identical watches from Timex that broke; they make poor quality products."

Personal experience can be misleading:

• We generalize too quickly from a small number of cases and our experience

• Our exposure to the world may be skewed

• We observe the world selectively

Claim

"I have a gluten intolerance".

Basis

"I had [some product] a few times and each time I felt sick to my stomach afterwards."

What's wrong with this?

• failure to consider alternatives
• unsystematic use of evidence
• unacknowledged uncertainty

Claim

"X won't win the election" "X couldn't have legally won the election"

Basis

"No one I know is voting/voted for her."

What's wrong with this?

• unsystematic use of evidence
• unacknowledged uncertainty

Claim

"Large, public places like mass transit are more dangerous than driving."

Basis

"Remember all those terrorist attacks or mass shootings in public places and public transit?"

What's wrong with this?

• unsystematic use of evidence
• lack of transparency
• failure to consider alternatives

Many kinds of errors

• You need to recognize where they deviate from scientific bases for evidence.

1) Types of claims