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ANTRO 2020 CU BOULDER

Terms in this set (82)

Science is...
a process of trying to understand the world by making models, or THEORIES, which have predictive power. involves observation, hypothesis construction, data collection, hypothesis testing, communication of results. science is a self correcting process: falsifiability is key defining train of scientific process.
science is Empirical
based on knowledge gained thru observation NOT a belief
Theory
hypothesis that has held up to repeated rounds of testing, does NOT mean uncertain
Kanechiro Takaki
tested beriberi caused by diet. Japanese Imperial Navy: 1/3 men ill with beriberi, changed diet>greaty improved. Takaki concluded it was diet
Christiqan Eijkman
sent to indonesia by Dutch authorities. observations and experiments with chickens. polished vs unpolished rice>but was the wrong conclusion. beriberi only occurs in humans, pigeons, and chickens, his experiment was "luck" and he didn't control experiment enough
model
accounts for all existing results, generates testable predictions
TED Adam Savage, how simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries
Adam Savage walks through two examples of profound scientific discoveries that came from simple, creative methods anyone could have followed — Eratosthenes' calculation of the Earth's circumference around 200 BC and Hippolyte Fizeau's measurement of the speed of light in 1849.
Pseudoscience
based on post-diction, not pre-diction. explains things people care about that may not have other explanations. uses scientific-sounding language and jargon. does NOT use the scientific method of clearly stating the hypothesis and then making a test. usually has an explanation even when the idea fails. rarely discusses what we don't know.
"good" Science
should be logical, based on facts and data not opinions. clear references are given so that you can do your own fact checking. info has been published in peer reviewed journals/other formats. contrary info is given when it exists, not only the info. what is not known is identified.
experiences that influenced Darwin's thinking
1. observation of diversity of flora and fauna on his voyage abroad the HMS beagle.
2. experience of an earthquake in chile
3. in argentina, darwin collected fossil bones of extinct animal forms.
4. observation of diversity in ground finches across the Galapagos Island chain.
5. His reading of Thomas Malthus' An essay of the Principle of Population (1798)
6. Observation of the power of artificial selection by plant and animal breeders.
time line of experiences that influenced Darwin's thinking
1836: Darwin returns from the voyage of the HMS beagle
1844: he prepares his first lengthy "sketch" on his theory of evolution by means of natural selection
1858: he receives a manuscript, in which Alfred Russel Wallace had independently conceived of evolution by means of natural selection
1858: he and Wallace present their ideas to the Linnean Society in London, detailing their proposed mechanism for evolutionary change.
Main Themes Origin Of Species
-biological evolution is fact
-all life descended form a single common ancestor (common descent of modification)
-gradualism
-natural selection is a mechanism of evolution
-Conclusion: individuals of a species w/ particularly advantageous characteristics would be more likely to survive in limiting conditions, and would thus reproduce more successfully than individuals with less advantageous attributes
How Natural Selection works
1. species produce more offspring than can be supported by resources.
2. limited resources leads to competition between individuals
3. there is biological variation among individuals of a species
4. the characteristics of some individuals are more favorably adapted to their environments than those of other, leading to
-differential survival/reproduction
-both lead to greater "fitness"
5. favorable traits are inherited by offspring
6. geographical isolation may be a force in the origin of species
population
a group of organisms potentially capable of successful reproduction. individuals of a population tend to choose mates fro within a group. the largest reproductive population is the species
Gene Pool
the sum of all alleles carried by the members of a population
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