Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with 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.The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications.

4 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

  1. Lysenkoism

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the dark world of science under Joseph Stalin through the career of his chief geneticist Trofim Lysenko.

    5 June 2008

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    Featuring: Robert Service, Steve Jones, Catherine Merridale

     
  2. Perpetual motion

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the laws of thermodynamics put a stop to the idea perpetual motion.

    24 September 2015

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    Featuring: Ruth Gregory, Frank Close, Steven Bramwell

     
  3. Social Darwinism

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Social Darwinism, a school of thought which attempted to apply Darwin's ideas about evolution to human society.

    20 February 2014

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    Featuring: Adam Kuper, Gregory Radick, Charlotte Sleigh

     
  4. Vitalism

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Vitalism, an 18th and 19th century quest for the spark of life and the science behind Frankenstein.

    16 October 2008

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    Featuring: Patricia Fara, Andrew Mendelsohn, Pietro Corsi