Science, Rhetoric, Climate, and Nuclear Energy Lecture Notes

Flashcards based on lecture notes about Science, Rhetoric, Climate, and Nuclear Energy.

Science (definition 1)

A body of knowledge about the physical & living world.

Science (definition 2)

The process by which that knowledge is produced.

Science (definition 3)

A set of social practices that guard against enduring error, including reciprocal criticism, ongoing investigation, open communication, and peer review.

Demarcation of Science

The method to differentiate what is and isn't science.

Karl Popper's Falsifiability

Scientific theories can be tested and falsified; science is about eliminating theories.

Systematically Collected Data

Data systematically collected through observation, technology, or experiments that, once interpreted, becomes evidence.

Testable & Falsifiable

Hypothesis and observations must be impactful and have the possibility of being proven wrong.

Logically & Internally Consistent

Being logically and internally consistent.

Publically Shared & Evaluated

Methods, findings, and conclusions are made available to the public for evaluation.

Peer Review

A formal and informal commitment to sharing methods, findings, and conclusions to allow analysis of research for validity, significance, originality, and clarity.

Pseudoscience

Relying on reasoning fallacies.

Appealing to false authority

Using someone for credibility even though their expertise does not lie in the subject at hand.

Affirming the consequent

Drawing false conclusions from a true statement.

Bandwagon Appeal

If everyone is saying it, so it must be true.

Conspiratorial Appeal

Theories appeal to the idea of a conspiracy.

Shift burden of proof

Shifting the responsibility of proof to someone else.

Systems Modeling

Representing multiple factors impacting a system, showing causal relationships both social and scientific.

"+" in Systems Modeling

Both variables are experiencing the same kind of change; if one increases, so does the other, and vice versa.

"-" in Systems Modeling

Both variables are experiencing the opposite kind of change; when one variable increases, the other variable descreases.

Rhetorical Situation

What's going on in the context of where rhetoric is being used.

Framing

How the information is presented in terms of how it wants the audience to respond.

Exigence

The circumstances that lead to an argument.

Kairos

Timing for when to release a statement or make an argument.

Audience

Recipient of the information.

Discourse Community

The community involved in the subject matter.

Sophistry

Using fallacious arguments with the intention of deceiving or misleading others.

Dialectics

Critical questioning of generally accepted truths.

Ethos

Appealing to credibility.

Pathos

Appealing to emotions.

Logos

Appealing to logical reasoning.

Proemion

Introductions.

Narration

Background information.

Proposition

Thesis or main claim.

Proof

Confirmation and refutation (evidence).

Epilogue

Conclusion (counter arguments).

Syllogism

Three-part, deductive argument derived from two or more premises.

Enthymeme

Argument built off of a set of values or assumptions shared by the speaker and audience.

Good Faith Arguments

Both sides have mutual respect, are considerate, active listeners and open-minded, and the goal is mutual understanding.

Bad Faith Arguments

Each side wants to "win" by any means necessary; trickery is accepted and one side may not believe what they're saying.

Misinformation

Inaccurate & misleading information, unintentional.

Disinformation

False or fabricated information, deliberate, usually with the intention of discrediting a person or organization.

Malinformation

Based on fact but so far removed from it that it becomes exaggerated or is used dishonestly.

"Baloney" Detection Kit: Source assessment

How reliable is the source of the claim, whether they make similar claims, and how the claim fits with what is known.

"Baloney" Detection Kit: Claim verification

Claims should be verified by another source, and scrutinized for disproving evidence versus only affirming evidence.

"Baloney" Detection Kit: Evidence analysis

Evidence should lead to a solid conclusion, there should be accepted rules of reasoning, and alternative explanations for evidence.

"Baloney" Detection Kit: Conclusion evaluation

New theories should explain the original claim and previously unexplained anomalies. Conclusions shouldn't be driven by bias or personal beliefs.

Conspiracy Theory Detection Kit: Patternicity

Theories emerge from "connecting the dots", usually somewhat arbitrarily.

Conspiracy Theory Detection Kit: Agenticity

You would need borderline superpowers to pull off the claim.

Conspiracy Theory Detection Kit: Accuracy

Mixing facts with speculation to blur the line of real and fake.

Conspiracy Theory Detection Kit: Paranoia and Falsifiability

Theorists usually assume everything is out to get them and reject all other possible explanations, (Only seek affirming evidence).

Structure of a formal Debate: Team one presents

Argument & evidence are introduced for the affirmative position.

Structure of a formal Debate: Team one reintroduces

Secondary arguments & evidence, rebuttle against Team 2.

Plots of scatter plots

Relationship between two data sets.

Time Series

Repeated measurements or observations over time.

Maps

Spatial data.

Communicating data in graphs

Visualizations that cannot speak for themselves. Strategies include: comparisons, visual simplification, exaggeration & dramatization.

Graph limitations

Graphs can display correlations as causations, may not be impactful to the average person's area, and can draw attention to the wrong things.

Reading / Interpreting a Graph: Describe the Graph

Title, X-axis, y-axis, units of measurement, meaning of symbols & colors.

Reading / Interpreting a Graph: Describe the Data

Numerical Range and Patterns in distribution.

Reading / Interpreting a Graph: Interpret

How do the patterns relate to prior knowledge.

Techniques of Science Denial

Fake experts, Logical Fallacies, Impossible Expectation, Cherry-Picking, Conspiracies.

Can We Trust Data?: Assessment

Methods / Data robustness concerning instrument reliability, appropriateness of proxy data, & uncertainty.

Can We Trust Data?: Scientific question

Alignment of data with a scientific question by assessment of trivial, excess, or missing data .

Confidence Interval (CI)

A range of values which is likely to contain a specific value of interest, typically with 95% certainty.

Standard error

How far values are from the average, plus errors introduced due to sample size.

How Greenhouse Gases work

Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms Earth's surface, heat is radiated back toward space, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) molecules absorb most of the heat, Heat is re-emitted in all directions, warming Earth's surface.

Water Vapor

GHG with short residence time in the atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle: Geosphere

Carbon gets locked up and stuck in the ground for millions of years (coal, oil, etc.).

Carbon Cycle: Human Fluxes

Fossil fuel combustion, Deforestation, and Land use (farming / urbanization).

Greenhouse Gases absorption

Greenhouse gases primarily absorb and re-radiate long-wave (LR) radiation.

Movement of Energy: Absorption

Temperature increases.

Movement of Energy: Convection

Heat transfer through fluids.

Movement of Energy: Latent Heat

Phase change energy consumption or release.

Radiative Forcings

Mess up Earth's radiation budget, driving atmospheric heat absorption.

Climate Sensitivity

The change in temperature due to forcings.

Probabilistic risk assessment

What can go wrong, How likely is it, and Consequences.

Pros of Nuclear Energy

Clean energy, reliable, efficient, low cost after initial investment.

Cons of Nuclear Energy

Initially expensive, things go very wrong when they go wrong, Non-renewable fuel, Mining & purifying uranium isn't clean, No safe storage, Nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Fission

Large nucleus breaks into smaller nuclei, generating energy.

Critical Mass

Quantity of radioactive material needed to sustain the reaction.

Critical State

Neutron released from each reaction. Each new neutron triggers a new reaction.

Controlling Neutrons & Reactions

Light Water Reactors (LWR) use water as a coolant to control heat flux -> neutrons; Fast-neutron heaters use metal or molten salt coolants that do not moderate.

Fast Reactors

Advanced / Non-lightwater reactors that generate more fuel overtime, less fuel waste, and less efficient thermal energy.

Low-enriched Uranium (LEU)

<20% U-235; Used in LWR.

High-enriched Uranium (HEU)

20% U-235; Used in weapons, naval propulsion reactors, and research reactors.

High-Assay, low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)

5-20% U-235; Used in advanced and smaller reactors that have more efficient energy and require enrichment.

Cons for Solar & Wind Renewable Energy

Energy generated is dependent on climate, require large areas of land, and still require energy-intensive mineral resource extraction & processing.

Why are spent fuels Dangerous?

Spent fuels include Plutonium (Pu), Neptunium (Np), and Americium (Am) which have long-half lives. Radioactive decay releases heat.