Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology
Real Science or Pseudoscience?
This introductory chapter presents an overview of cryptozoology by distinguishing real science from pseudoscience. The scientific method is often in direct conflict with many notions and beliefs that humans use to make decisions and guide their lives. Sometimes, a belief not only contradicts the discoveries of science and even common sense, but can also harm the believers. Science is about testing hypotheses, or offering ideas that may explain some facet of nature, and seeing if they hold up to critical scrutiny. Scientific hypotheses must always be tentative and subject to examination and modification. However, many non-scientific belief systems try to sound “scientific,” even though their ideas and methods do not correspond to those of science. This practice of making claims that appear to be scientific, but do not actually follow the scientific method of testability and falsification of hypotheses, is usually called pseudoscience.
Keywords: cryptozoology, real science, pseudoscience, scientific method, belief, scientific hypotheses, testability, falsification
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