Since when has the activity of debunking something equaled being closed minded? I am open minded to the possibility, I collect the evidence, I discover it's very unlikely that UFOs occur (although we are almost certainly not the only life in this vast universe - the fact that there is probably life elsewhere does not mean they are coming here) and I decide against it, after having been very distinctly ready to accept it if the evidence was good. I am open-minded, and I debunk. Not mutually exclusive. Dr. S's statement is a great illustration of how students confuse open-mindedness with accepting that anything can be true regardless of the quality of the evidence or lack of it. I think we can all use the statement to illustrate for that. For once, something useful comes out of all the annoying, pathetic trolling, Nancy Melucci Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA. Make a Small Loan, Make a Big Difference - Check out Kiva.org to Learn How! In a message dated 8/20/2009 6:05:53 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, peter...@svsu.edu writes:
To educate students (and others) about open-mindedness, science and critical thinking, the following video may be of some class-value. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 peter...@svsu.edu ----- Original Message ----- From: "michael sylvester" <msylves...@copper.net> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:44:26 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] UFOs/British open minded The Brits have released i9 years of data collection on UFO and alien visitations.In contrast to the debunking of such alleged appearances in the U.S,the Brits appear open-minded to the possibility. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
