5. The Art of Science: Scientific Methods vs Pseudoscience (Marvin Zelkowitz)
378 views · Published 24 December 2009 · 9:32 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS) · 2009 · Science & Technology
This is part 5 of a 6-part talk Everyone has been exposed to the scientific method in grade school: Develop an hypothesis; Develop an experiment to test that hypothesis; Collect relevant data; Evaluate the data; Modify the hypothesis to account for differences in the observed and predicted results; and Repeat the process to improve your theory. However, is this the way science works in practice? Do working scientists follow this method? Using computer science as a sample domain, the answer is "Sometimes." Looking at science in general, the differences between good and bad science and what levels of validation various experimental methods produce is discussed. Understanding when scientists do science and when they are venturing into the realm of pseudoscience is the focus of this talk. Marvin Zelkowitz is a Professor Emeritus and Research Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Maryland. He has been studying software development issues and technology transfer for the past 40 years. He is also on the Board of Directors of NCAS and is currently the Treasurer. Views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics.
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