171-406: Pseudoscientific beliefs in a flat Earth are promoted by a number of organizations and individuals. The claims of modern flat Earth proponents are not based on scientific knowledge and are contrary to over two millennia of scientific consensus based on multiple confirming lines of evidence that Earth is roughly spherical . Flat Earth beliefs are classified by experts in philosophy and physics as
342-575: A conspiracy against flat Earth: "The idea of a spinning globe is only a conspiracy of error that Moses, Columbus, and FDR all fought..." His article was published in the magazine Science Digest in 1980. It goes on to state: "If it is a sphere, the surface of a large body of water must be curved. The Johnsons have checked the surfaces of Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea without detecting any curvature." Johnson issued many publications and handled all membership applications. The most famous publication
513-542: A royal charter on the advice of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland Adam Loftus , it is Ireland's oldest university and was modelled after the collegiate universities of both Oxford and Cambridge , with whom it shares a symbiotic history. The epithets "Trinity College Dublin" and "University of Dublin" are usually considered as synonyms, as only one such college was ever established in Ireland. The university
684-515: A writ of mandamus requiring the case to be adjudicated by the Archbishop of Dublin and the Primate of Ireland . The decision of Richard Whately and John George de la Poer Beresford was that Heron would remain excluded from Scholarship. This decision confirmed that persons who were not Anglicans (Presbyterians were also affected) could not be elected to Scholarship or Fellowship or be made
855-624: A 150-foot-high (46 m) wall of ice, Antarctica, at the outer edge. The resulting map resembles the symbol of the United Nations , which Johnson used as evidence for his position. In this model, the Sun and Moon are each 32 miles (51 km) in diameter. The Flat Earth Society recruited members by speaking against the US government and all its agencies, particularly NASA . Much of the society's literature in its early days focused on interpreting
1026-547: A 2018 YouGov opinion poll, "just 66% of millennials firmly believe" that the earth is round, with celebrities (rapper B.o.B. , basketball players Kyrie Irving , Wilson Chandler , Draymond Green ) advocating for flatness. In the Information Age , the availability of communications technology and social media such as YouTube , Facebook and Twitter have made it easy for individuals, famous or not, to spread disinformation and attract others to erroneous ideas. One of
1197-536: A Globe Review , which sold for twopence and remained active well into the early 20th century. A flat Earth journal, Earth: a Monthly Magazine of Sense and Science , was published between 1901 and 1904, edited by Lady Blount. She held that the Bible was the unquestionable authority on the natural world and argued that one could not be a Christian and believe the Earth is a globe. Well-known members included E. W. Bullinger of
1368-601: A Zetetic Society in England and New York, shipping over a thousand copies of Zetetic Astronomy to the New York branch. Wallace repeated the Bedford Level experiment in 1870, correcting for atmospheric refraction and showing a spherical Earth. In 1877, John Hampden produced a book A New Manual of Biblical Cosmography . Rowbotham also produced studies that purported to show that the effects of ships disappearing below
1539-614: A body of knowledge, method, or practice is scientific. Experimental results should be reproducible and verified by other researchers. These principles are intended to ensure experiments can be reproduced measurably given the same conditions, allowing further investigation to determine whether a hypothesis or theory related to given phenomena is valid and reliable. Standards require the scientific method to be applied throughout, and bias to be controlled for or eliminated through randomization , fair sampling procedures, blinding of studies, and other methods. All gathered data, including
1710-410: A book, an advertisement or the testimony of others are the basis of pseudoscience beliefs. It is assumed that illusions are not unusual, and given the right conditions, illusions are able to occur systematically even in normal emotional situations. One of the things pseudoscience believers quibble most about is that academic science usually treats them as fools. Minimizing these illusions in the real world
1881-609: A branch of science, to have been a pseudo-science, composed merely of so-called facts, connected together by misapprehensions under the disguise of principles. An earlier use of the term was in 1843 by the French physiologist François Magendie , that refers to phrenology as " a pseudo-science of the present day ". During the 20th century, the word was used pejoratively to describe explanations of phenomena which were claimed to be scientific, but which were not in fact supported by reliable experimental evidence. From time to time, however,
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#17327829640692052-479: A century of study by philosophers of science and scientists , and despite some basic agreements on the fundamentals of the scientific method. The concept of pseudoscience rests on an understanding that the scientific method has been misrepresented or misapplied with respect to a given theory, but many philosophers of science maintain that different kinds of methods are held as appropriate across different fields and different eras of human history. According to Lakatos,
2223-669: A correspondent from California, inherited part of Shenton's library from Shenton's wife; he incorporated and became president of the International Flat Earth Research Society of America and Covenant People's Church in California. Over the next three decades, under his leadership, the Flat Earth Society grew to a reported 3,500 members. Johnson spent years examining the studies of flat- and round-Earth theories and proposed evidence of
2394-422: A different set of rules compared to rational thinking, experiential thinking regards an explanation as valid if the explanation is "personally functional, satisfying and sufficient", offering a description of the world that may be more personal than can be provided by science and reducing the amount of potential work involved in understanding complex events and outcomes. Anyone searching for psychological help that
2565-415: A disc-shaped Earth, some are convinced the Earth is diamond-shaped. Furthermore, while most believers do not believe in outer space and none believe humans have ever travelled there, they vary widely in their views of the universe. (Flat Earth International Conferences, organized by Robbie Davidson, are unaffiliated with the Flat Earth Society. According to Davidson, the "Earth is ... a stationary plane, with
2736-547: A faith-based conflict in which atheists use science to suppress the Christian faith. Their argument is that atheists use pseudo-science – evolution, Big Bang , and the round Earth – to make people believe that God is an abstract idea, not real. Instead, their arguments use the Scripture – word-by-word – to support an argument that enables God to really exist. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as revelatory. (For example,
2907-425: A flat Earth. To Marshall, one of the most telling moments at the convention was the "Flat Earth Addiction" test that was based on a checklist used to determine whether someone is in a cult , without the convention attendees realising the possibility of themselves being in a cult. Based on the speakers at the 2018 UK's Flat Earth UK Convention, believers in a flat Earth vary widely in their views. While most agree upon
3078-574: A flat, stationary Earth, including Terra Firma by David Wardlaw Scott. Other notable flat Earthers from this time period include: In 1956, Samuel Shenton created the International Flat Earth Research Society, better known as the "Flat Earth Society", as a successor to the Universal Zetetic Society, running it as "organising secretary" from his home in Dover , England. Given Shenton's interest in alternative science and technology,
3249-492: A form of science denial . Flat Earth groups of the modern era date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by religion or conspiracy theories . Through the use of social media , flat Earth theories have been increasingly espoused and promoted by individuals unaffiliated with larger groups. Many believers make use of social media to spread their views. Many ancient cultures may have believed that
3420-473: A forward-minded species pursuing greater avenues of happiness and satisfaction, but we are all too frequently willing to grasp at unrealistic promises of a better life. Psychology has much to discuss about pseudoscience thinking, as it is the illusory perceptions of causality and effectiveness of numerous individuals that needs to be illuminated. Research suggests that illusionary thinking happens in most people when exposed to certain circumstances such as reading
3591-399: A given field can be tested experimentally and standards are upheld, it is not pseudoscience, regardless of how odd, astonishing, or counterintuitive those claims are. If claims made are inconsistent with existing experimental results or established theory, but the method is sound, caution should be used, since science consists of testing hypotheses which may turn out to be false. In such a case,
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#17327829640693762-894: A graduate of either Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin can be conferred the equivalent degree ( Oxon, Cantab et Dubl ) at either of the other two without further examination. The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit for Ireland and the United Kingdom . It is the largest library in the country and has housed the Book of Kells since 1661 and the Brian Boru harp since 1782. The university has produced many eminent poets, playwrights, authors, novelists and filmmakers, including Oscar Wilde ( The Happy Prince ) , Jonathan Swift ( Gulliver's Travels ) , Sheridan Le Fanu ( Carmilla ) , Bram Stoker ( Dracula ) , Oliver Goldsmith ( The Vicar of Wakefield ) , William Congreve ( The Way of
3933-704: A herb garden on the main campus, is located in Dartry , around four kilometres south of the main campus, and it also owns a large set of residences on the Dartry Road , in Rathmines , called Trinity Hall . A new physic or herb garden was opened in 2011, and there are also small gardens in the space known as Botany Bay and at the rear of the Provost's House. In November 2018, Trinity announced plans, estimated at €230 million, to develop university research facilities on
4104-485: A literal interpretation of Revelation 7 -- "I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth ..."—indicates the earth must have four corners.) This is in spite of the fact that a circular flat earth would also not have corners, contradicting the central model of flat earth. This contradiction seems to imply that god created a 2D quadrilateral or 3D tetrahedral earth. The second faction believes in an overarching conspiracy for knowledge suppression. Building upon
4275-486: A man who pushes a child into the water with the intention of drowning it; and that of a man who sacrifices his life in an attempt to save the child." From Freud's perspective, the first man would have suffered from psychological repression , probably originating from an Oedipus complex , whereas the second man had attained sublimation . From Adler's perspective, the first and second man suffered from feelings of inferiority and had to prove himself, which drove him to commit
4446-625: A matter of controversy, given George Berkeley 's history as a slave trader, leading to a petition for renaming from the Students Union. In August 2022, incoming Student Union President Gabi Fullam announced that the Students Union would refer to the library as the "X Library" in all official communications pending renaming. In April 2023, Trinity College announced that it would dename the Berkeley Library, and in October 2024 it
4617-579: A meta-bias called the bias blind spot , or the tendency to recognize the power of cognitive biases in other people but to be blind to their influence on our own beliefs". Lindeman states that social motives (i.e., "to comprehend self and the world, to have a sense of control over outcomes, to belong, to find the world benevolent and to maintain one's self-esteem") are often "more easily" fulfilled by pseudoscience than by scientific information. Furthermore, pseudoscientific explanations are generally not analyzed rationally, but instead experientially. Operating within
4788-573: A new university, which on account of Trinity College would be part Anglican. Ultimately this episode led to the creation of the National University of Ireland . Trinity College was one of the targets of the Volunteer and Citizen Army forces during the 1916 Easter Rising but was successfully defended by a small number of unionist students, most of whom were members of the university Officers' Training Corps . From July 1917 to March 1918
4959-467: A number of buildings nearby in central Dublin, as well as an enterprise centre near Ringsend and a botanic garden in Dartry . Patrick Wyse Jackson, curator of the Geological Museum at Trinity, assessed the architectural merits of the entrance and entry buildings in 1993: "The imposing entrance to Trinity College, consisting of a central area flanked by two square pavilions, was built in
5130-479: A period, graduation required the taking of an oath that was objectionable to them. In 1793, this requirement was removed but certain restrictions on membership of the college remained, as professorships, fellowships and scholarships were reserved for Protestants. During the 18th century, Trinity College was seen as the university of the Protestant Ascendancy . The Parliament of Ireland , meeting on
5301-424: A professor. But within three decades of this, all disabilities imposed on Catholics were repealed. In 1873, all religious tests, except for those relating to entry to the divinity school , were abolished by an Act of Parliament. Just prior to the full repeal of limitations on Catholic attendance, in 1871, Irish Catholic bishops, responding to the increased ease with which Catholics could attend an institution which
Modern flat Earth beliefs - Misplaced Pages Continue
5472-437: A programme could evolve, driven by its heuristic to make predictions that can be supported by evidence. Feyerabend claimed that Lakatos was selective in his examples, and the whole history of science shows there is no universal rule of scientific method, and imposing one on the scientific community impedes progress. Laudan maintained that the demarcation between science and non-science was a pseudo-problem, preferring to focus on
5643-441: A public collection of flat Earth literature and a wiki . Moreover, the society began accepting new members for the first time since 2001. Dolby accepted Shenton's offer of membership number 00001, although he does not believe the Earth is flat. As of July 2017, over 500 people had become members. In 2013, part of this society broke away to form a new web-based group also featuring a forum and wiki. Flat Earth Society of Canada
5814-454: A scientific field. Karl Popper stated it is insufficient to distinguish science from pseudoscience, or from metaphysics (such as the philosophical question of what existence means), by the criterion of rigorous adherence to the empirical method , which is essentially inductive, based on observation or experimentation. He proposed a method to distinguish between genuine empirical, nonempirical or even pseudoempirical methods. The latter case
5985-679: A site in Grand Canal Dock as part of an "Innovation District" for the area. These plans were later scaled back. In addition to College Park, Botany Bay and other on-campus facilities, the college also owns sports grounds in Santry and Crumlin, and a boathouse in Islandbridge. Trinity is governed in accordance with amended versions of the Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, as well as various other statutes. On several occasions
6156-422: A statement may be pseudoscientific even if it is eminently 'plausible' and everybody believes in it, and it may be scientifically valuable even if it is unbelievable and nobody believes in it. A theory may even be of supreme scientific value even if no one understands it, let alone believes in it. The boundary between science and pseudoscience is disputed and difficult to determine analytically, even after more than
6327-474: A third of adult Americans consider astrology to be scientific. In Russia, in the late 20th and early 21st century, significant budgetary funds were spent on programs for the experimental study of " torsion fields ", the extraction of energy from granite, the study of " cold nuclear fusion ", and astrological and extrasensory "research" by the Ministry of Defense , the Ministry of Emergency Situations ,
6498-426: A tranquil collegiate atmosphere despite its location in the centre of a capital city (and despite its being one of Dublin's most prominent tourist attractions). This is, in large part, due to the enclosed and compact design of the college, with the main buildings looking inwards, largely arranged in quadrangles (called squares), and the existence of only a few public entrances. In addition to the core campus, Trinity owns
6669-559: A visitor programme. In 2021, Linda Doyle was elected the first woman provost, succeeding Patrick Prendergast. In 2024 students set up an encampment outside the Book of Kells Museum regarding the university's ties to Israel. After five nights of protests, the administration declared that it would not renew its business relationships with Israeli companies, and the last contract will expire in March 2025. The main site of Trinity College retains
6840-520: Is Frank Collin , a self-proclaimed Nazi who goes by Frank Joseph in his writings. The majority of his works include the topics of Atlantis , extraterrestrial encounters, and Lemuria as well as other ancient civilizations, often with white supremacist undertones. For example, he posited that European peoples migrated to North America before Columbus , and that all Native American civilizations were initiated by descendants of white people . The Alt-Right using pseudoscience to base their ideologies on
7011-666: Is a legal deposit library (as per Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 ) for the United Kingdom, and has a similar standing in Irish law. The college is therefore legally entitled to a copy of every book published in Great Britain and Ireland, and consequently receives over 100,000 new items every year. The library contains about five million books, including 30,000 current serials and significant collections of manuscripts, maps, and printed music. Three million books are held in
Modern flat Earth beliefs - Misplaced Pages Continue
7182-494: Is a horrifically simplistic view of the world that ignores (partly out of ignorance, and partly out of motivated reasoning ) to [ sic ] real complexities of our civilisation. It is ultimately lazy, childish, and self-indulgent, resulting in a profound level of ignorance drowning in motivated reasoning. The British sceptical activist Michael Marshall attended the annual Flat Earth UK Convention on 27–29 April 2018 and noted disagreement on several views among believers in
7353-645: Is based in science should seek a licensed therapist whose techniques are not based in pseudoscience. Hupp and Santa Maria provide a complete explanation of what that person should look for. There is a trend to believe in pseudoscience more than scientific evidence . Some people believe the prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs is due to widespread scientific illiteracy . Individuals lacking scientific literacy are more susceptible to wishful thinking, since they are likely to turn to immediate gratification powered by System 1, our default operating system which requires little to no effort. This system encourages one to accept
7524-679: Is dominated by the identical Corinthian fronts, in Leinster Granite and Portland Stone, of the Chapel on the left and the Examination Hall on the right. Further into the square on the left-hand side is the Dining Hall, restored after a fire in 1984. For reasons unknown, until 1870 the clock in the portico was set fifteen minutes after Dublin time." The main college grounds are approximately 190,000 m (47 acres), including
7695-418: Is driven by the belief that the brain is essentially a "belief engine" which scans data perceived by the senses and looks for patterns and meaning. There is also the tendency for the brain to create cognitive biases , as a result of inferences and assumptions made without logic and based on instinct – usually resulting in patterns in cognition. These tendencies of patternicity and agenticity are also driven "by
7866-419: Is mathematics a formal science that is closer to the empirical ones, or is pure mathematics closer to the philosophical study of logic and therefore not a science? – but all agree that all of the ideas that are not scientific are non-scientific. The large category of non-science includes all matters outside the natural and social sciences, such as the study of history , metaphysics , religion , art , and
8037-674: Is no credible efficacy or scientific basis of any of these forms of treatment. In his book The Demon-Haunted World , Carl Sagan discusses the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party 's concern about Western pseudoscience developments and certain ancient Chinese practices in China. He sees pseudoscience occurring in the United States as part of a worldwide trend and suggests its causes, dangers, diagnosis and treatment may be universal. A large percentage of
8208-491: Is not a new issue. The entire foundation of anti-semitism is based on pseudoscience, or scientific racism . In an article from Newsweek by Sander Gilman, Gilman describes the pseudoscience community's anti-semitic views. "Jews as they appear in this world of pseudoscience are an invented group of ill, stupid or stupidly smart people who use science to their own nefarious ends. Other groups, too, are painted similarly in 'race science', as it used to call itself: African-Americans,
8379-426: Is not simple. To this aim, designing evidence-based educational programs can be effective to help people identify and reduce their own illusions. Philosophers classify types of knowledge . In English, the word science is used to indicate specifically the natural sciences and related fields, which are called the social sciences . Different philosophers of science may disagree on the exact limits – for example,
8550-606: Is not the same as junk science . The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific , philosophical , and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is widespread agreement "that creationism , astrology , homeopathy , Kirlian photography , dowsing , ufology , ancient astronaut theory , Holocaust denialism , Velikovskian catastrophism , and climate change denialism are pseudosciences." There are implications for health care ,
8721-595: Is often considered pejorative , particularly by its purveyors, because it suggests something is being presented as science inaccurately or even deceptively. Therefore, practitioners and advocates of pseudoscience frequently dispute the characterization. The word pseudoscience is derived from the Greek root pseudo meaning "false" and the English word science , from the Latin word scientia , meaning "knowledge". Although
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#17327829640698892-592: Is older, featuring the Campanile , as well as many fine buildings, including the Chapel and Examination Hall (designed by Sir William Chambers ), Graduates Memorial Building , Museum Building , and the Rubrics (the sole surviving section of the original 17th-century quadrangle), all spread across the college's five squares. The Provost's House sits a little way up from the College Front Gate such that
9063-609: Is part of science education and developing scientific literacy. Pseudoscience can have dangerous effects. For example, pseudoscientific anti-vaccine activism and promotion of homeopathic remedies as alternative disease treatments can result in people forgoing important medical treatments with demonstrable health benefits, leading to ill-health and deaths. Furthermore, people who refuse legitimate medical treatments for contagious diseases may put others at risk. Pseudoscientific theories about racial and ethnic classifications have led to racism and genocide . The term pseudoscience
9234-695: Is subset of non-science. Science is also distinguishable from revelation, theology, or spirituality in that it offers insight into the physical world obtained by empirical research and testing. The most notable disputes concern the evolution of living organisms, the idea of common descent, the geologic history of the Earth, the formation of the Solar System , and the origin of the universe. Systems of belief that derive from divine or inspired knowledge are not considered pseudoscience if they do not claim either to be scientific or to overturn well-established science. Moreover, some specific religious claims, such as
9405-404: Is the most powerful theory science has yet produced, but Newton himself never believed that bodies attract each other at a distance. So no degree of commitment to beliefs makes them knowledge. Indeed, the hallmark of scientific behaviour is a certain scepticism even towards one's most cherished theories. Blind commitment to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual crime. Thus
9576-407: Is the study of pseudoscientific theories over time. A pseudoscience is a set of ideas that presents itself as science, while it does not meet the criteria to be properly called such. Distinguishing between proper science and pseudoscience is sometimes difficult. One proposal for demarcation between the two is the falsification criterion, attributed most notably to the philosopher Karl Popper . In
9747-517: Is their common belief that the United States has a plan to create in Europe a new America open to everyone , where the only value is consumerism and that George Soros commands a satanic globalist conspiracy. They reject the past existence of dinosaurs, the Darwinian theory of evolution , and the authority of the scientific community , claiming scientists are Freemasons . Former leader of
9918-506: Is to make ridiculous claims about flat Earth and therefore discredit the flat Earth movement. According to Charles K. Johnson, the membership of the group rose to 3,500 under his leadership but began to decline after a fire at his house in 1997 which destroyed all of the records and contacts of the society's members. Johnson's wife, who helped manage the membership database, died shortly thereafter. Johnson himself died on 19 March 2001. In 2004, Daniel Shenton (not related to Samuel) resurrected
10089-435: Is what determines the scientific status of a theory. Taking a historical approach, Kuhn observed that scientists did not follow Popper's rule, and might ignore falsifying data, unless overwhelming. To Kuhn, puzzle-solving within a paradigm is science. Lakatos attempted to resolve this debate, by suggesting history shows that science occurs in research programmes, competing according to how progressive they are. The leading idea of
10260-517: Is your evidence?" For philosophers Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz "pseudo-science may be defined as one where the uncertainty of its inputs must be suppressed, lest they render its outputs totally indeterminate". The definition, in the book Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy , alludes to the loss of craft skills in handling quantitative information, and to the bad practice of achieving precision in prediction (inference) only at
10431-468: The Dunning-Kruger effect (the phenomenon whereby ignorance in a given field makes people unable to recognize their own ignorance or lack of ability in that field); misunderstandings of simple observation; pseudoscientific practices which fail to separate reliable from unreliable conclusions; and a progressive divergence from reality that starts with a belief that conventional information sources and
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#173278296406910602-607: The Irish Times that certain state-funded County Council scholarships excluded Trinity College from the list of approved institutions. This, he suggested, amounted to religious discrimination, which was forbidden by the Constitution. It has been said of the period before Éire left the Commonwealth that "The overwhelming majority of the undergraduates were ex-unionists or, if from Northern Ireland, unionists. Loyalty to
10773-523: The Bilderbergers , Rothschilds , Illuminati – "Each thing started to make that much more sense. I was already primed to receive the whole flat-Earth idea, because we had already come to the conclusion that we were being deceived about so many other things. So of course they would lie to us about this." Conspiracy belief is often intertwined with conservative Christian belief . According to internet influencer Rob Skiba, "the ultimate motivation" of
10944-765: The Chief Secretary for Ireland proposed the reconstitution of the University of Dublin . A "Dublin University Defence Committee" was created and successfully campaigned against any change to the status quo, while the Catholic bishops' rejection of the idea ensured its failure among the Catholic population. Chief among the bishops' concerns was the remains of the Catholic University of Ireland, which would become subsumed into
11115-539: The Hellenistic period (323 BCE–31 BCE). It was not until the 19th century that the Flat Earth concept had a resurgence, due to Samuel Rowbotham. Flat Earth beliefs have had a notable recent resurgence since 2015, due to the internet. Modern flat Earth belief originated with the English writer Samuel Rowbotham (1816–1884). Based on conclusions derived from his 1838 Bedford Level experiment , Rowbotham published
11286-617: The Immigration Act of 1924 in the United States, which sought to prevent immigration from Asia and parts of Europe. In a 1981 report Singer and Benassi wrote that pseudoscientific beliefs have their origin from at least four sources. A 1990 study by Eve and Dunn supported the findings of Singer and Benassi and found pseudoscientific belief being promoted by high school life science and biology teachers. The psychology of pseudoscience attempts to explore and analyze pseudoscientific thinking by means of thorough clarification on making
11457-655: The Irish Convention met in the college in an attempt to address the political aftermath of the Easter Rising. (Subsequently, following the failure of the Convention to reach "substantial agreement", the Irish Free State was set up in 1922.) In the post-independence period, Trinity College suffered from a cool relationship with the new state. On 3 May 1955, the provost, A.J. McConnell, wrote in
11628-674: The Lecky Library, attached to the Arts building; and the Ussher Library, which, opening in 2003, overlooks College Park and houses the Glucksman Map Library. The Glucksman Library contains half a million printed maps, the largest collection of cartographic materials in Ireland. This includes the first Ordnance Surveys of Ireland, conducted in the early 19th century. The name of the Berkeley Library recently became
11799-744: The Ministry of Internal Affairs , and the State Duma (see Military Unit 10003 ). In 2006, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Spassky published an article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta , where among the priority areas for the development of the Russian energy sector , the task of extracting energy from a vacuum was in the first place. The Clean Water project
11970-543: The Reformation . After that, and some debate about a new university at St. Patrick's Cathedral, in 1592 a small group of Dublin citizens obtained a charter by way of letters patent from Queen Elizabeth incorporating Trinity College at the former site of the disbanded Augustinian Priory of All Hallows , immediately southeast of the city walls, provided by the Corporation of Dublin . The college's first provost
12141-635: The Trinitarian Bible Society , Edward Haughton, senior moderator in natural science in Trinity College Dublin and an archbishop. She repeated Rowbotham's experiments, generating some counter-experiments, but interest declined after the First World War. The Universal Zetetic Society "was revived under different names over the years—in 1956, 1972, and 2004". The movement gave rise to several books that argued for
12312-486: The history of science and the history of pseudoscience it can be especially difficult to separate the two, because some sciences developed from pseudosciences. An example of this transformation is the science of chemistry , which traces its origins to the pseudoscientific or pre-scientific study of alchemy . The vast diversity in pseudosciences further complicates the history of science. Some modern pseudosciences, such as astrology and acupuncture , originated before
12483-444: The humanities . Dividing the category again, unscientific claims are a subset of the large category of non-scientific claims. This category specifically includes all matters that are directly opposed to good science. Un-science includes both "bad science" (such as an error made in a good-faith attempt at learning something about the natural world) and pseudoscience. Thus pseudoscience is a subset of un-science, and un-science, in turn,
12654-676: The precession of equinoxes in astronomy. Third, alternative theories of personality and behavior have grown progressively to encompass explanations of phenomena which astrology statically attributes to heavenly forces. Fourth, astrologers have remained uninterested in furthering the theory to deal with outstanding problems or in critically evaluating the theory in relation to other theories. Thagard intended this criterion to be extended to areas other than astrology. He believed it would delineate as pseudoscientific such practices as witchcraft and pyramidology , while leaving physics , chemistry , astronomy , geoscience , biology , and archaeology in
12825-418: The scientific method . Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims ; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts ; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses ; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. It
12996-425: The undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Admissions to the college are based exclusively on academic merit, with its courses in law, literature and humanities being highly selective. Trinity College Dublin is one of the seven ancient universities of Great Britain and Ireland, and it is a sister college to both St John's College, Cambridge , and Oriel College, Oxford . By incorporation ( Ad eundem ) ,
13167-586: The (alleged) conspiracy of a round earth in space, "many of us have come to believe, is hiding God." Reading the Bible, "when you break down the text of what it represents, there's no way you can get a spinning heliocentric globe out of anything in the Bible." (According to author Alan Burdick, "in style and substance, the flat-Earth movement is a close cousin of creationism.") They tend to not trust observations they have not made themselves, and often distrust or disagree with each other. Patricia Steere admitted in Behind
13338-521: The 10 commonly believed examples of paranormal phenomena listed in the poll were "pseudoscientific beliefs". The items were "extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted , ghosts , telepathy , clairvoyance , astrology, that people can mentally communicate with the dead , witches , reincarnation , and channelling ". Such beliefs in pseudoscience represent a lack of knowledge of how science works. The scientific community may attempt to communicate information about science out of concern for
13509-448: The 1750s of Leinster Granite from Golden Hill, Co Wicklow, and Portland Stone was used for the architraves , swags , and Corinthian pilasters and half-columns... The masonry cost £27,000. Between 1990 and 1992 the central portion of the building was cleaned. Passing through the gateway one walks over a wooden floor of interlocking hexagonal setts (similar in pattern to the basaltic Giant's Causeway ), and into Parliament Square, which
13680-535: The 1849 pamphlet titled Zetetic Astronomy , writing under the pseudonym "Parallax". He later expanded this into the book Earth Not a Globe , proposing the Earth is a flat disc centred at the North Pole and bounded along its southern edge by a wall of ice, Antarctica . Rowbotham further held that the Sun and Moon were 3,000 miles (4,800 km) above Earth and that the "cosmos" was 3,100 miles (5,000 km) above
13851-650: The 1950s, at the height of Archbishop McQuaid's efforts In 1944 Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid required Catholics in the Dublin archdiocese to obtain a special dispensation before entering the university, under threat of automatic excommunication . The ban was extended nationally at the Plenary Synod of Maynooth in August 1956. Despite this sectarianism, 1958 saw the first Catholic reach
14022-409: The Bible to mean that the Earth is flat, although they did try to offer scientific explanations and evidence. Eugenie Scott called the group an example of "extreme Biblical-literalist theology: The earth is flat because the Bible says it is flat, regardless of what science tells us". According to some flat Earthers, the Flat Earth Society is a government-controlled organization whose true purpose
14193-449: The Bible's supposed flat Earth language. On 3 May 2018, Steven Novella analysed the modern belief in a flat Earth, and concluded that, despite what most people think about the subject, the believers are being sincere in their belief that the Earth is flat, and are not "just saying that to wind us up". He stated that: In the end that is the core malfunction of the flat-earthers, and the modern populist rejection of expertise in general. It
14364-546: The Board of Trinity as a Senior Fellow . In 1962 the School of Commerce and the School of Social Studies amalgamated to form the School of Business and Social Studies. In 1969 several schools and departments were grouped into Faculties as follows: Arts (Humanities and Letters); Business, Economic and Social Studies; Engineering and Systems Sciences; Health Sciences (since October 1977 all undergraduate teaching in dental science in
14535-664: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin , is headed by the provost. Linda Doyle has been provost since August 2021. The terms " University of Dublin " and "Trinity College" are generally considered synonymous for all practical purposes. Trinity was originally founded using the model of the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in England , which are collegiate universities that each comprise several quasi-independent colleges. In one sense,
14706-520: The Crown was instinctive and they were proud to be British subjects and Commonwealth citizens", and that "The College still clung, so far as circumstances permitted, to its pre-Treaty loyalties, symbolized by the flying of the Union Jack on suitable occasions and a universal wearing of poppies on Armistice Day, the chapel being packed for the two minutes' silence followed by a lusty rendering of 'God Save
14877-582: The Curve pointed to confirmation bias as a way to maintain a counterfactual belief, by cherry-picking only supporting evidence, and dismissing any disconfirming evidence as part of the purported global conspiracy. Some flat Earth believers, such as authors Zen Garcia and Edward Hendrie, cite the Christian Bible as evidence. Some critics of the flat Earth idea, such as astronomer Danny R. Faulkner, are young Earth creationists and attempt to explain away
15048-522: The Curve that she wouldn't believe an event like the Boston Marathon bombing was real unless she had gotten her own leg blown off. Flat Earth believers in the documentary also professed belief in conspiracy theories about vaccines , genetically modified organisms , chemtrails , 9/11 , and transgender people; some said dinosaurs and evolution were also fake, and that heliocentrism is a form of Sun worship . The scientific experts in Behind
15219-566: The DIT obtained degree-granting powers of its own. The School of Pharmacy was established in 1977, and around the same time, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was transferred to University College Dublin in exchange for its Dental School. Student numbers increased sharply during the 1980s and 1990s, with total enrolment more than doubling, leading to pressure on resources and a subsequent investment programme. In 1991, Thomas Noel Mitchell became
15390-700: The Dublin area has been in Trinity College); and Science. In the late 1960s, there was a proposal for University College Dublin , of the National University of Ireland, to become a constituent college of a newly reconstituted University of Dublin. This plan, suggested by Brian Lenihan and Donogh O'Malley , was dropped after officials of both universities opposed it. In 1970 the Catholic Church lifted its ban on Catholics attending
15561-474: The Earth, Sun, Moon, stars, and planets were flat as they can sometimes appear so on a local level. The Greeks deduced that they were instead a sphere, and that became the scientific consensus. Contrary to the popular belief that the Earth was generally believed to be flat until a few hundred years ago, Earth's sphericity has been widely accepted in the Western world (and universally by scholars) since at least
15732-588: The Earth. He also published a leaflet titled The Inconsistency of Modern Astronomy and its Opposition to the Scriptures , which argued that the " Bible , alongside our senses, supported the idea that the Earth was flat and immovable and this essential truth should not be set aside for a system based solely on human conjecture". Rowbotham and followers like William Carpenter gained attention by successful use of pseudoscience in public debates with leading scientists such as Alfred Russel Wallace . Rowbotham created
15903-666: The Edge by Pancake Productions (a reference to the expression "as flat as a pancake"). In the accompanying study guide, Ferrari is outed as a "globularist", a nonce word for someone who believes the Earth is spherical. The real intent of the film, which was part-funded by the Ontario Arts Council and National Film Board of Canada , was to promote schoolchildren's critical thinking and media literacy by "[attempting] to prove in convincing fashion, something everyone knew to be false." Multi-media artist Kay Burns re-created
16074-532: The Five Star Movement political party Beppe Grillo showed interest in the group, admitting to admiring their free speech spirit and to wanting to participate at the May 2019 conference. However, Grillo did not appear. In November 2017 "more than five hundred people ... paid as much as $ 249 each to attend "the first-ever Flat Earth Conference", in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina , U.S. According to
16245-468: The Flat Earth Society and other flat-Earthers claim that NASA and other government agencies conspire to fabricate evidence that the Earth is spherical. According to the most widely spread version of current flat-Earth theory, NASA is guarding the Antarctic ice wall that surrounds Earth. Flat-Earthers argue that NASA manipulates and fabricates its satellite images , based on observations that the color of
16416-978: The Flat Earth Society of Canada as an art project with her alter ego Iris Taylor as its president. Burns created an installation entitled the Museum of the Flat Earth, which included some artefacts from the 1970 group. It was exhibited in 2016 at the Flat Earth Outpost Café in Shoal Bay , Newfoundland. In Italy there are no centralised societies on flat Earth. However, since the 2010s, small groups of conspiracy theorists, who carry out meetings, started to emerge and to spread flat Earth theories. Among these are Calogero Greco, Albino Galuppini and Agostino Favari, who in 2018–2019 organised several meetings in Palermo , Sicily , with an entry price of € 20. Among their claims, some include: In addition to these, it
16587-422: The Flat Earth Society, basing it around a web-based discussion forum . In the late 1990s, Thomas Dolby 's 1984 album The Flat Earth inspired Shenton to look into the Flat Earth Society, and he came to believe in its ideas. He believes that no one has provided proof that the world is not flat. This eventually led to the official relaunch of the society in October 2009, and the creation of a new website, featuring
16758-722: The House is actually on Grafton Street , one of the two principal shopping streets in the city, while its garden faces into the college. The Douglas Hyde Gallery , a contemporary art gallery, is in the college, as is the Samuel Beckett Theatre. It hosts national and international performances and is used by the Dublin International Theatre Festival, the Dublin Dance Festival, and The Fringe Festival, among others. During
16929-538: The Irish, the Chinese and, well, any and all groups that you want to prove inferior to yourself". Neo-Nazis and white supremacist often try to support their claims with studies that "prove" that their claims are more than just harmful stereotypes. For example Bret Stephens published a column in The New York Times where he claimed that Ashkenazi Jews had the highest IQ among any ethnic group. However,
17100-637: The King...". "But by the close of the 1960s... Trinity, with the overwhelming majority of its undergraduate population coming from the Republic, to a great extent conformed to local patterns". The School of Commerce was established in 1925, and the School of Social Studies in 1934. Also in 1934, the first female professor was appointed. Young men may loot, perjure and shoot And even have carnal knowledge. But however depraved, their souls will be saved If they don't go to Trinity College. —verse popular in
17271-615: The Land part may have been square, all in one mass at one time, then as now, the magnetic north being the Center. Vast cataclysmic events and shaking no doubt broke the land apart, divided the Land to be our present continents or islands as they exist today. One thing we know for sure about this world...the known inhabited world is Flat, Level, a Plain World. – Flyer written by Charles K. Johnson, 1984. Shenton died in 1971. Charles K. Johnson ,
17442-536: The Naughton Institute on the college's Pearse Street side, includes an Innovation and Entrepreneurial hub, a 600-seat auditorium, "smart classrooms" with digital technology, and an "executive education centre". The near-zero energy building provides a link between the city and the main University grounds. Trinity also incorporates a number of buildings and facilities spread throughout the city, from
17613-630: The Old Library receives 600,000 visitors per year, making it Dublin's third-most visited tourist destination. In the 18th century, the college received the Brian Boru harp , one of the three surviving medieval Gaelic harps, and a national symbol of Ireland, now housed in the library. The buildings known as the college's BLU ( B erkeley L ecky U ssher) Arts library complex consist of the Berkeley Library in Fellow's Square, built in 1956;
17784-561: The Sun), precisely as material bodies were attracted." Following from this, stars closer to the Sun would appear to have moved a small distance away from the Sun, and away from each other. This prediction was particularly striking to Popper because it involved considerable risk. The brightness of the Sun prevented this effect from being observed under normal circumstances, so photographs had to be taken during an eclipse and compared to photographs taken at night. Popper states, "If observation shows that
17955-492: The Trinity College Enterprise Centre some distance away, and buildings provide around 200,000 m of floor space, ranging from works of older architecture to more modern buildings. The college's main entrance is on College Green, and its grounds are bounded by Nassau and Pearse Streets. The college is bisected by College Park , which has both a cricket and a rugby pitch. The college's western side
18126-464: The United States population lacks scientific literacy, not adequately understanding scientific principles and method . In the Journal of College Science Teaching , Art Hobson writes, "Pseudoscientific beliefs are surprisingly widespread in our culture even among public school science teachers and newspaper editors, and are closely related to scientific illiteracy." However, a 10,000-student study in
18297-543: The World ) , Samuel Beckett ( Waiting for Godot ) , Sally Rooney ( Normal People ) , Eoin Colfer ( Artemis Fowl ) , William Trevor ( Felicia's Journey ) , J. P. Donleavy ( The Ginger Man ) , Thomas Moore ( Lalla Rookh ) , Nahum Tate ( The History of King Lear ) , David Benioff ( Troy ) and D.B. Weiss ( Game of Thrones ) . Alumni also include 4 Presidents of Ireland and 4 Nobel Laureates , as well as academics, mathematicians and philosophers who shaped
18468-478: The academic term, it is predominantly used as a teaching and performance space for drama students and staff. The college's eastern side is occupied by science buildings, most of which are modern developments, arranged in three rows instead of quadrangles. In 2010, Forbes ranked it one of the 15 most beautiful college grounds in the world. The current chapel was completed in 1798, and was designed by George III's architect, Sir William Chambers , who also designed
18639-705: The bishops saw as thoroughly Protestant in ethos, and in light of the establishment of the Catholic University of Ireland , implemented a general ban on Catholics entering Trinity College, with few exceptions. "The ban", despite its longevity, is associated in the popular mind with Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid , as he was made responsible for enforcing it from 1956 until the Catholic Bishops of Ireland rescinded it in 1970, shortly before McQuaid's retirement. Until 1956, it
18810-488: The book depository, "Stacks", in Santry , from which requests are retrieved twice daily. The Library proper comprises several buildings in the college. The original (Old) Library is Thomas Burgh's masterpiece. A huge building, it originally towered over the university and city after its completion. Even today, surrounded by similarly scaled buildings, it is imposing and dominates the view of the university from Nassau Street. It
18981-594: The college seeks to compete for funding at the global level. Comparative funding statistics reviewing the difference in departmental unit costs and overall costs before and after this restructuring are not apparent. The Hamilton Mathematics Institute in Trinity College, named in honour of William Rowan Hamilton , was launched in 2005 and aims to improve the international profile of Irish mathematics, to raise public awareness of mathematics and to support local mathematical research through workshops, conferences and
19152-525: The college without special dispensation. At the same time, Trinity College authorities invited the appointment of a Catholic chaplain to be based in the college. There are now two such Catholic chaplains. From 1975, the Colleges of Technology that now form the Dublin Institute of Technology had their degrees conferred by the University of Dublin. This arrangement was discontinued in 1998 when
19323-564: The college's Roman Catholic members. In addition to the Anglican chaplain, who is known as the Dean of Residence, there are two Roman Catholic chaplains and one Methodist chaplain. Ecumenical events are often held in the chapel, such as the annual carol service and the service of thanksgiving on Trinity Monday. The Library of Trinity College is Ireland's largest research library. As a result of its historic standing, Trinity College Library Dublin
19494-453: The conclusions they believe , and reject the ones they do not. Further analysis of complex pseudoscientific phenomena require System 2, which follows rules, compares objects along multiple dimensions and weighs options. These two systems have several other differences which are further discussed in the dual-process theory . The scientific and secular systems of morality and meaning are generally unsatisfying to most people. Humans are, by nature,
19665-507: The crime or, in the second case, drove him to rescue the child. Popper was not able to find any counterexamples of human behavior in which the behavior could not be explained in the terms of Adler's or Freud's theory. Popper argued it was that the observation always fitted or confirmed the theory which, rather than being its strength, was actually its weakness. In contrast, Popper gave the example of Einstein's gravitational theory , which predicted "light must be attracted by heavy bodies (such as
19836-618: The criterion of falsifiability to distinguish science from non-science . Statements , hypotheses , or theories have falsifiability or refutability if there is the inherent possibility that they can be proven false , that is, if it is possible to conceive of an observation or an argument that negates them. Popper used astrology and psychoanalysis as examples of pseudoscience and Einstein's theory of relativity as an example of science. He subdivided non-science into philosophical, mathematical, mythological, religious and metaphysical formulations on one hand, and pseudoscientific formulations on
20007-504: The distinction of what is considered scientific vs. pseudoscientific. The human proclivity for seeking confirmation rather than refutation ( confirmation bias ), the tendency to hold comforting beliefs, and the tendency to overgeneralize have been proposed as reasons for pseudoscientific thinking. According to Beyerstein, humans are prone to associations based on resemblances only, and often prone to misattribution in cause-effect thinking. Michael Shermer 's theory of belief-dependent realism
20178-530: The emphasis on religious arguments was less than in the predecessor society. This was just before the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite , Sputnik ; he responded: "Would sailing round the Isle of Wight prove that it were spherical? It is just the same for those satellites." His primary aim was to reach children before they were convinced about a spherical Earth. Despite plenty of publicity,
20349-421: The endowments, considerable landed estates were secured and new fellowships were founded. The books which formed the foundation of the great library were acquired, a curriculum was devised and statutes were framed. Trinity was originally the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history, given the conditions for its establishment. While Catholics were admitted from the college's foundation, for
20520-461: The equivalent change at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford . Certain disabilities remained. In December 1845 Denis Caulfield Heron was the subject of a hearing at Trinity College. He had previously been examined and, on merit, declared a Scholar of the college, but had not been allowed to take up his place due to his Catholic religion. Heron appealed to the Courts, which issued
20691-476: The evidence of their own senses." The parodic intention of the Society appeared in the writings of Ferrari, as he attributed everything from gender to racial inequality on the globularist and the spherical Earth model. Ferrari even claimed to have nearly fallen off "the Edge" of the Earth at Brimstone Head on Fogo Island . Ferrari was interviewed as an "expert" in the 1990 flat Earth mockumentary In Search of
20862-421: The expenses of ignoring uncertainty in the input which was used to formulate the prediction. This use of the term is common among practitioners of post-normal science . Understood in this way, pseudoscience can be fought using good practices to assess uncertainty in quantitative information, such as NUSAP and – in the case of mathematical modelling – sensitivity auditing . The history of pseudoscience
21033-410: The experimental or environmental conditions, are expected to be documented for scrutiny and made available for peer review , allowing further experiments or studies to be conducted to confirm or falsify results. Statistical quantification of significance , confidence , and error are also important tools for the scientific method. During the mid-20th century, the philosopher Karl Popper emphasized
21204-455: The first Roman Catholic elected Provost of Trinity College. Trinity College is today in the centre of Dublin. At the beginning of the new century, it embarked on a radical overhaul of academic structures to reallocate funds and reduce administration costs, resulting in, for instance, the reduction from six to five to eventually three faculties under a subsequent restructuring. The ten-year strategic plan prioritises four research themes with which
21375-458: The following terms: a statement constitutes knowledge if sufficiently many people believe it sufficiently strongly. But the history of thought shows us that many people were totally committed to absurd beliefs. If the strengths of beliefs were a hallmark of knowledge, we should have to rank some tales about demons, angels, devils, and of heaven and hell as knowledge. Scientists, on the other hand, are very sceptical even of their best theories. Newton's
21546-417: The force of Kuhn's historical criticism of Popper – all important theories have been surrounded by an 'ocean of anomalies', which on a falsificationist view would require the rejection of the theory outright...Lakatos sought to reconcile the rationalism of Popperian falsificationism with what seemed to be its own refutation by history". Many philosophers have tried to solve the problem of demarcation in
21717-557: The founding Letters Patent were amended by succeeding monarchs, such as James I in 1613 and most notably Charles I in 1637 - he increased the number of fellows from seven to 16, established the Board – then the Provost and the seven senior Fellows – and reduced the panel of Visitors in size. Further major changes were made in the reign of Queen Victoria, and more again by the Oireachtas , including in 2000. The college, officially incorporated as The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of
21888-589: The government cannot be trusted. Out of the necessity to explain photographs of the earth in space, the observations of astronauts, why all major institutions such as governments, media outlets, schools, scientists, and airlines assert that the world is a sphere, etc., modern flat-Earthers very commonly embrace some form of conspiracy theory. As Darryle Marble, a speaker at the Flat Earth Conference, told his audience, after watching hours of YouTube conspiracy videos on Sandy Hook , 9/11 , false flags ,
22059-470: The horizon could be explained by the laws of perspective in relation to the human eye. After Rowbotham's death, Lady Elizabeth Blount established the Universal Zetetic Society in 1893, whose objective was "the propagation of knowledge related to Natural Cosmogony in confirmation of the Holy Scriptures, based on practical scientific investigation". The society published a magazine, The Earth Not
22230-518: The intellectual heritage of western Europe. Notable faculty and lecturers at the university included Humphrey Lloyd , J. B. Bury , Erwin Schrödinger and E. T. Whittaker . A medieval University of Dublin was founded in 1320 under a papal brief issued by Pope Clement V in 1311, and the university maintained an intermittent existence at St. Patrick's Cathedral over the following centuries, but it did not flourish and finally came to an end at
22401-410: The invisible dragon, so one can never prove that the initial claim is wrong. Sagan concludes; "Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all?". He states that "your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true", once again explaining that even if such a claim were true, it would be outside
22572-809: The major features of pseudoscience. Larry Laudan has suggested pseudoscience has no scientific meaning and is mostly used to describe human emotions: "If we would stand up and be counted on the side of reason, we ought to drop terms like 'pseudo-science' and 'unscientific' from our vocabulary; they are just hollow phrases which do only emotive work for us". Likewise, Richard McNally states, "The term 'pseudoscience' has become little more than an inflammatory buzzword for quickly dismissing one's opponents in media sound-bites" and "When therapeutic entrepreneurs make claims on behalf of their interventions, we should not waste our time trying to determine whether their interventions qualify as pseudoscientific. Rather, we should ask them: How do you know that your intervention works? What
22743-489: The more general distinction between reliable and unreliable knowledge. Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin ( Irish : Coláiste na Tríonóide, Bhaile Átha Cliath ), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin , is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin , Ireland . Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I who issued
22914-730: The norms of scientific research, but it demonstrably fails to meet these norms. The Ministry of AYUSH in the Government of India is purposed with developing education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India. The ministry has faced significant criticism for funding systems that lack biological plausibility and are either untested or conclusively proven as ineffective. Quality of research has been poor, and drugs have been launched without any rigorous pharmacological studies and meaningful clinical trials on Ayurveda or other alternative healthcare systems. There
23085-473: The oceans changes from image to image and that continents seem to be in different places. The publicly perpetuated image is kept up through a large-scale practice of "compartmentalization", according to which only a select number of individuals have knowledge about the truth. Research by Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Tomas Nilsson on the arguments that flat Earthers wield, shows three factions, each one subscribing to its own set of beliefs. The first faction subscribes to
23256-436: The other side of College Green, made generous grants for building. The first building of this period was the Old Library, begun in 1712, followed by The Printing House and the Dining Hall. During the second half of the century, Parliament Square slowly emerged. The great building drive was completed in the early 19th century by Botany Bay, the square which derives its name in part from the herb garden it once contained (and which
23427-468: The other. Another example which shows the distinct need for a claim to be falsifiable was stated in Carl Sagan 's publication The Demon-Haunted World when he discusses an invisible dragon that he has in his garage. The point is made that there is no physical test to refute the claim of the presence of this dragon. Whatever test one thinks can be devised, there is a reason why it does not apply to
23598-497: The politics and sociology departments on Dame Street to the Faculty of Health Sciences buildings, located at St. James's Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital . The Trinity Centre at St James's Hospital incorporates additional teaching rooms, as well as the Institute of Molecular Medicine and John Durkan Leukaemia Institute. The library has a large book depository in Santry. The college's botanic garden, which developed from
23769-535: The power of intercessory prayer to heal the sick , although they may be based on untestable beliefs, can be tested by the scientific method. Some statements and common beliefs of popular science may not meet the criteria of science. "Pop" science may blur the divide between science and pseudoscience among the general public, and may also involve science fiction . Indeed, pop science is disseminated to, and can also easily emanate from, persons not accountable to scientific methodology and expert peer review. If claims of
23940-535: The predicted effect is definitely absent, then the theory is simply refuted." Popper summed up his criterion for the scientific status of a theory as depending on its falsifiability, refutability, or testability . Paul R. Thagard used astrology as a case study to distinguish science from pseudoscience and proposed principles and criteria to delineate them. First, astrology has not progressed in that it has not been updated nor added any explanatory power since Ptolemy . Second, it has ignored outstanding problems such as
24111-495: The premise that knowledge is power, the flat Earth conspiracy argues that a shadowy group of "elites" control knowledge to remain in power. In their view, lying about the fundamental nature of the Earth primes the population to believe a host of other conspiracies. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as liberatory. Pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs , or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with
24282-574: The public and it isn't right". In 1969, Shenton persuaded Ellis Hillman , a Polytechnic of East London lecturer, to become president of the Flat Earth Society after attempts to convince Eden Thomas, a former chairman, to take on the role; but there is little evidence of any activity on his part until after Shenton's death, when he added most of Shenton's library to the archives of the Science Fiction Foundation he helped to establish. Historical accounts and spoken history tell us
24453-404: The public theatre opposite the chapel on Parliament Square. Reflecting the college's Anglican heritage, there are daily services of Morning prayer , weekly services of Evensong , and Holy Communion is celebrated on Tuesdays and Sundays. It is no longer compulsory for students to attend these. The chapel has been ecumenical since 1970, and is now also used daily in the celebration of Mass for
24624-470: The public's susceptibility to unproven claims. The NSF stated that pseudoscientific beliefs in the U.S. became more widespread during the 1990s, peaked about 2001, and then decreased slightly since with pseudoscientific beliefs remaining common. According to the NSF report, there is a lack of knowledge of pseudoscientific issues in society and pseudoscientific practices are commonly followed. Surveys indicate about
24795-479: The realm of scientific inquiry . During 1942, Robert K. Merton identified a set of five "norms" which characterize real science. If any of the norms were violated, Merton considered the enterprise to be non-science. His norms were: In 1978, Paul Thagard proposed that pseudoscience is primarily distinguishable from science when it is less progressive than alternative theories over a long period of time, and its proponents fail to acknowledge or address problems with
24966-443: The realm of science. In the philosophy and history of science, Imre Lakatos stresses the social and political importance of the demarcation problem, the normative methodological problem of distinguishing between science and pseudoscience. His distinctive historical analysis of scientific methodology based on research programmes suggests: "scientists regard the successful theoretical prediction of stunning novel facts – such as
25137-599: The return of Halley's comet or the gravitational bending of light rays – as what demarcates good scientific theories from pseudo-scientific and degenerate theories, and in spite of all scientific theories being forever confronted by 'an ocean of counterexamples'". Lakatos offers a "novel fallibilist analysis of the development of Newton's celestial dynamics, [his] favourite historical example of his methodology" and argues in light of this historical turn, that his account answers for certain inadequacies in those of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn. "Nonetheless, Lakatos did recognize
25308-420: The same journal concluded there was no strong correlation between science knowledge and belief in pseudoscience. During 2006, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) issued an executive summary of a paper on science and engineering which briefly discussed the prevalence of pseudoscience in modern times. It said, "belief in pseudoscience is widespread" and, referencing a Gallup Poll , stated that belief in
25479-423: The scientific era. Others developed as part of an ideology, such as Lysenkoism , or as a response to perceived threats to an ideology. Examples of this ideological process are creation science and intelligent design , which were developed in response to the scientific theory of evolution . A topic, practice, or body of knowledge might reasonably be termed pseudoscientific when it is presented as consistent with
25650-914: The scientific methodology and conclusions reached by the article Stephens cited has been called into question repeatedly since its publication. It has been found that at least one of that study's authors has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist. The journal Nature has published a number of editorials in the last few years warning researchers about extremists looking to abuse their work, particularly population geneticists and those working with ancient DNA . One article in Nature , titled "Racism in Science: The Taint That Lingers" notes that early-twentieth-century eugenic pseudoscience has been used to influence public policy, such as
25821-519: The space race eroded Shenton's support in Britain until 1967, when he started to gain attention during the Apollo program . When satellite images showed Earth as a sphere, Shenton remarked: "It's easy to see how a photograph like that could fool the untrained eye". Later asked about similar photographs taken by astronauts, he attributed curvature to the use of wide-angle lens , adding, "It's a deception of
25992-441: The sun, moon, and stars inside a dome", while the Flat Earth Society promotes a model in which Earth is "a disk flying through space", and which Davidson finds "incredibly ridiculous".) Filmmakers of Behind the Curve attended another flat Earth conference at which a substantial number of people believed the Earth was an infinite plane, potentially with more continents beyond the purported circular ice wall of Antarctica. Members of
26163-530: The term has been in use since at least the late 18th century (e.g., in 1796 by James Pettit Andrews in reference to alchemy ), the concept of pseudoscience as distinct from real or proper science seems to have become more widespread during the mid-19th century. Among the earliest uses of "pseudo-science" was in an 1844 article in the Northern Journal of Medicine , issue 387: That opposite kind of innovation which pronounces what has been recognized as
26334-471: The theory. In 1983, Mario Bunge suggested the categories of "belief fields" and "research fields" to help distinguish between pseudoscience and science, where the former is primarily personal and subjective and the latter involves a certain systematic method. The 2018 book about scientific skepticism by Steven Novella , et al. The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe lists hostility to criticism as one of
26505-463: The topics that has flourished in this environment is that of the flat Earth. These sites have made it easier for like-minded theorists to connect with one another and mutually reinforce their beliefs. Social media has had a "levelling effect", in that experts have less sway in the public mind than they used to. YouTube had faced criticism for allowing the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories through its platform. In 2019, YouTube stated that it
26676-405: The typical descriptive unit of great scientific achievements is not an isolated hypothesis but "a powerful problem-solving machinery, which, with the help of sophisticated mathematical techniques, digests anomalies and even turns them into positive evidence". To Popper, pseudoscience uses induction to generate theories, and only performs experiments to seek to verify them. To Popper, falsifiability
26847-519: The usage of the word occurred in a more formal, technical manner in response to a perceived threat to individual and institutional security in a social and cultural setting. Pseudoscience is differentiated from science because – although it usually claims to be science – pseudoscience does not adhere to scientific standards, such as the scientific method , falsifiability of claims , and Mertonian norms . A number of basic principles are accepted by scientists as standards for determining whether
27018-425: The use of expert testimony , and weighing environmental policies . Recent empirical research has shown that individuals who indulge in pseudoscientific beliefs generally show lower evidential criteria, meaning they often require significantly less evidence before coming to conclusions. This can be coined as a 'jump-to-conclusions' bias that can increase the spread of pseudoscientific beliefs. Addressing pseudoscience
27189-423: The work may be better described as ideas that are "not yet generally accepted". Protoscience is a term sometimes used to describe a hypothesis that has not yet been tested adequately by the scientific method, but which is otherwise consistent with existing science or which, where inconsistent, offers reasonable account of the inconsistency. It may also describe the transition from a body of practical knowledge into
27360-426: Was Flat Earth News, a quarterly, four-page tabloid . Johnson paid for these publications through annual member dues costing US$ 6 to US$ 10 over the course of his leadership. Johnson cited the Bible for his beliefs, and he saw scientists as pulling a hoax which would replace religion with science. The Flat Earth Society's most recent planet model is that humanity lives on a disc, with the North Pole at its centre and
27531-401: Was adopted as a United Russia party project; in the version submitted to the government, the program budget for 2010–2017 exceeded $ 14 billion. There have been many connections between pseudoscientific writers and researchers and their anti-semitic, racist and neo-Nazi backgrounds. They often use pseudoscience to reinforce their beliefs. One of the most predominant pseudoscientific writers
27702-450: Was established on 8 November 1970 by philosopher Leo Ferrari , writer Raymond Fraser and poet Alden Nowlan ; and was active until 1984. Its archives are held at the University of New Brunswick. Calling themselves "planoterrestrialists", their aims were quite different from other flat Earth societies. They claimed a prevailing problem of the new technological age was the willingness of people to accept theories "on blind faith and to reject
27873-598: Was established to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland. Named after the Holy Trinity , it stands on the former grounds of the Augustinian Priory of All Hallows , and served as the principal university of the ruling Protestant Ascendancy elites for over two centuries. Academically, it is divided into three faculties comprising 23 schools, offering degree and diploma courses at both
28044-490: Was exemplified by astrology, which appeals to observation and experimentation. While it had empirical evidence based on observation, on horoscopes and biographies , it crucially failed to use acceptable scientific standards. Popper proposed falsifiability as an important criterion in distinguishing science from pseudoscience. To demonstrate this point, Popper gave two cases of human behavior and typical explanations from Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler 's theories: "that of
28215-520: Was founded with the college and first endowed by James Ussher (1625–56), Archbishop of Armagh, who endowed his own valuable library, comprising several thousand printed books and manuscripts, to the college. The Book of Kells is by far the Library's most famous book and is in the Old Library, along with the Book of Durrow , the Book of Howth and other ancient texts. Also incorporating the Long Room,
28386-544: Was in a position to play its full part, with such teachers as Graves and Stokes, in the great age of Dublin medicine. The Engineering School was established in 1842 and was one of the first of its kind in Ireland and Britain. While Catholics were officially admitted from the foundation, graduation was complicated by the requirement of oaths. Following early steps in Catholic Emancipation , these oaths were removed, allowing Catholics to graduate in 1793, before
28557-408: Was making changes in its software to reduce the distribution of videos based on conspiracy theories including flat Earth. In the documentary Behind the Curve (2018) (which follows prominent modern flat-Earthers including Mark Sargent and Patricia Steere, as well as astrophysicists and psychologists who attempt to explain the growing fad), professor of psychiatry Joe Pierre offers as explanations:
28728-764: Was renamed the Eavan Boland Library after the Irish poet Eavan Boland . The Library also includes the William Hamilton Science and Engineering Library and the John Stearne Medical Library, housed at St James's Hospital. The Trinity College Business School's building is in an €80 million construction project and was inaugurated on 23 May 2019 by the Taoiseach , Leo Varadkar , an alumnus of Trinity College School of Medicine. The six-storey building, adjoining
28899-416: Was succeeded by Trinity College's own Botanic Gardens). The 19th century was also marked by important developments in the professional schools. The law school was reorganized after the middle of the century. Medical teaching had been given in the college since 1711, but it was only after the establishment of the school on a firm basis by legislation in 1800, and under the inspiration of one Macartney, that it
29070-409: Was the Archbishop of Dublin , Adam Loftus (after whose former college at Cambridge the institution was named), and he was provided with two initial Fellows, James Hamilton and James Fullerton . Two years after the foundation, a few Fellows and students began to work in the new college, which then lay around one small square. During the 50 years following the foundation, the community increased
29241-459: Was the responsibility of each local bishop. In April 1900, Queen Victoria visited College Green in Dublin. Women were admitted to Trinity College as full members for the first time in 1904. From 1904 to 1907, women from Oxford and Cambridge, who were admitted but not granted degrees, came to Trinity College to receive their ad eundem degree ; they were known as Steamboat ladies and the fees they paid helped to fund Trinity Hall . In 1907,
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