Lehman College professor separates ‘science from bunk’

Professor Massimo Pigliucci, chair of the philosophy department at Lehman College, is taking aim at controversial beliefs with his new book, Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk.

The book delves into a realm known to skeptics as ‘pseudoscience.'

Such topics include the global warming debate, UFOs, intelligent design and vaccines that cause autism.

According to Pigliucci, beliefs that seemingly have no scientific basis provide a dangerous slippery slope for creating misconceptions about these topics in the media.

Pigliucci singled out the belief that vaccinations cause autism as one of the primary reasons he wanted to write the book.

"[The belief] is being propagated by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Jenny McCarthy, but the science tells us that there is no connection. So, as a result of believing in pseudoscience, a good number of parents are putting their kids (and the rest of us) at risk because they are afraid of vaccinating them," said Pigliucci in an e-mail.

The Lehman professor also believes that this is an issue not just for philosophy, but to the scientific community as well.

"Science is where we get the best information we can about how the world really is. Philosophy is the best way we have to learn how to think critically," said Pigliucci.

"Of course, neither science nor philosophy are infallible, but they are the best bets for an intelligent person who doesn't want to fall for bunk and quackery."

According to Pigliucci, the idea of critical thinking may be one of the core reasons why people tend to hold such beliefs, regardless of how unlikely they may seem.

He also said that people love to hear a good story.

"Human beings have a natural tendency to tell stories, and we like fantastic stories because they seem less mundane than mere reality. Unfortunately, critical thinking does not come natural to us at all, and it is hard to work to learn it," said Pigliucci.

Though such issues like global warming, vaccinations and intelligent design are more relevant in today's society, other subjects like astrology, magic and UFOs have mostly waned from the public eye.

When asked what the overall trend of pseudoscientific beliefs was, Pigliucci noted a difference in how much history you try to analyze.

"It depends on how far in the past one goes. Belief in […] pseudosciences has held pretty constant in the U.S. over the past several decades […] However, if one takes the long view, then belief in magic and pseudoscience has certainly decreased dramatically during the past few centuries., said Pigliucci. "And that's very good news for humanity."

Hearing fantastic stories about alien abductions, plots by the government to poison medicines and believing that evolution played no role in the development of modern man can all sound appealing to people with various perspectives.

Some may even indulge themselves in these beliefs just for the entertainment of it. Pigliucci warns against such thinking.

"I do read science fiction, and I enjoy suspending disbelief at the movies or while reading a novel. But when one starts actually believing things ‘for fun' I think the step is pretty short to actually believing them seriously, and then to making one's decisions in life based on fantasy, which I think is a recipe for disaster," said Pigliucci.

As the book examines a wide variety of pseudoscientific beliefs, Pigliucci also offers a little advice on how to steer clear of bad science and the ideas arose because of it.

"It takes constant vigilance to be able to reality checks against all sorts of pseudoscientific notions that bombard us from the media," said Pigliucci. "But I think it is important to keep one's baloney detector always on yellow alert."