the old ways

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keannu

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Which do you think this "the old ways" refers to? "reliance on the supernatural" or "fake science ―pseudoscience"? The answer goes for ""fake science ―pseudoscience", but I think "psuedeo science" is a part of "reliance on the supernatural".

28) In prehistoric times, any attempt to harness nature meant forcing nature against her will. Nature had to be challenged, usually with some form of magic or by means that were above nature ―that is, supernatural. Science does just the opposite, and it works within nature’s laws. The methods of science havelargely taken away reliance on the supernatural ―but not entirely. The old ways persist full force in primitive cultures. They even survive in technologically advanced cultures too, sometimes disguised as science. This is fake science ―pseudoscience. The characteristic of a pseudoscience is that it lacks the key ingredients of science: evidence and having a test for wrongness. In pseudoscience, doubts and tests for possible wrongness are firmly accepted.
 
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Barb_D

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"The old ways" refers to the supernatural, still in use in primitive cultures. It does not refer to pseudo-science (like astrology) of advanced cultures.
 

MikeNewYork

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Which do you think this "the old ways" refers to? "reliance on the supernatural" or "fake science ―pseudoscience"? The answer goes for ""fake science ―pseudoscience", but I think "psuedeo science" is a part of "reliance on the supernatural".

28) In prehistoric times, any attempt to harness nature meant forcing nature against her will. Nature had to be challenged, usually with some form of magic or by means that were above nature ―that is, supernatural. Science does just the opposite, and it works within nature’s laws. The methods of science havelargely taken away reliance on the supernatural ―but not entirely. The old ways persist full force in primitive cultures. They even survive in technologically advanced cultures too, sometimes disguised as science. This is fake science ―pseudoscience. The characteristic of a pseudoscience is that it lacks the key ingredients of science: evidence and having a test for wrongness. In pseudoscience, doubts and tests for possible wrongness are firmly accepted.

I agree with Barb. In addition, the hallmark of true science is designing unbiased experiments that are aimed at disproving the hypothesis rather than proving it. It is too easy to set up experiments designed to prove a hypothesis. That practice leads to junk science.
 
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