Lecture on Pseudoscience, Global Warming, and Environmental Issues

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on pseudoscience, global warming, and environmental issues.

Pseudoscience

Beliefs that claim to be scientific but are either non-testable or have been tested and refuted.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Medical treatments that lack biological plausibility or have failed to be demonstrated effective.

Biological plausibility

The expectation that a treatment is effective based on established biological mechanisms.

Pathological Science

Science where researchers might be misled by nature or data, as exemplified by Richard Feynman's caution against being fooled.

Correlation-Causation Fallacy

The error of assuming that correlation implies causation; demonstrated through the example of bacterium and ulcers.

Mortality Rates

Statistical measures indicating the number of deaths in a given population, often compared across different clinics.

Standardization

The process of establishing common units of measure to ensure consistency in research and data collection.

Global Warming

The long-term rise in Earth's average temperature due to increased levels of greenhouse gases.

Cap and Trade

An environmental policy that allows companies to buy and sell allowances for emitting greenhouse gases.

Carbon Tax

A tax imposed on entities for their carbon emissions, intended to encourage reduced fossil fuel usage.

Neurotoxin

A substance that is harmful to nerve cells and may affect the nervous system's structure and function.

Toxicology

The study of toxins and poisons that negatively affect living systems.

The dose makes the poison

A principle stating that the toxicity of a substance is dependent on the amount consumed.

Environmental Pollution

Widespread contamination of the environment, exemplified by historical air quality crises.

Clean Air Act

Legislation aimed at regulating air emissions from stationary and mobile sources.

Vaccines

Biological preparations that provide immunity against specific diseases, with varying degrees of safety and side effects.

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)

The maximum amount of a substance that can be consumed daily without posing a risk to health.

Artificial sweeteners

Substances that are significantly sweeter than natural sugars and used as sugar substitutes.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising animals for food and other products.

Anthropogenic CO₂

Carbon dioxide emissions that are a direct result of human activities.

Beer-Lambert Law

A relationship in optics that explains how the absorption of light by substances decreases with increased concentration.