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DEFINITION: When certain events occur that cannot be logically explained but are still considered "real" and cannot be fully grasped or expressed, people will often label these paranormal events as unexplained. Again, despite the lack of depth and understanding, people will have a constant belief about the unexplained and are adamant about it's authenticity. For instance UFOs (as alien space craft from far off outer space) are considered to be real despite people lacking the necessary information to publicly and scientifically present the information to the masses.

CONNECTION: The YouTube clip featured below shows an unexplained occurrence during and airplane ride in which a UFO (Unexplained. Flying. Object) is seen travelling through the air. Because of the lack of information the viewers have, it is still assumed to be something unworldly or alien; despite occurring on our planet Earth.

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Bizarre midair UFO sighting freaks out plane passengers | New York Post

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DEFINITION: An important reason for people to believe in the paranormal and other pseudosciences would be the ideology in which they possess. Because ideology can be shaped by various means and at different stages of a person's life, their perception of the events and environment around them are greatly influenced based on their belief system at that time. For instance, being raised in a very religious home would make one sensitive to any forms of crime, regardless of it's level of significance; as opposed to another person having been raised in a more liberal household.

CONNECTION: Below is an article outlining how ideology can effect the development of children and how they interact with others simply due to the creed and culture they are raised in.

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Children from religious families are less kind and more punitive than those from non-religious households, according to a new study.

Academics from seven universities across the world studied Christian, Muslim and non-religious children to test the relationship between religion and morality.

They found that religious belief is a negative influence on children's altruism.

"Overall, our findings ... contradict the commonsense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind towards others," said the authors of The Negative Association Between Religiousness and Children's Altruism Across the World, published this week in Current Biology.

"More generally, they call into question whether religion is vital for moral development, supporting the idea that secularisation of moral discourse will not reduce human kindness - in fact, it will do just the opposite."

Almost 1,200 children, aged between five and 12, in the US, Canada, China, Jordan, Turkey and South Africa participated in the study. Almost 24% were Christian, 43% Muslim, and 27.6% non-religious. The numbers of Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic and other children were too small to be statistically valid.

They were asked to choose stickers and then told there were not enough to go round for all children in their school, to see if they would share. They were also shown film of children pushing and bumping one another to gauge their responses.

The findings "robustly demonstrate that children from households identifying as either of the two major world religions (Christianity and Islam) were less altruistic than children from non-religious households".

Older children, usually those with a longer exposure to religion, "exhibit[ed] the greatest negative relations".

The study also found that "religiosity affects children's punitive tendencies". Children from religious households "frequently appear to be more judgmental of others' actions", it said.

Muslim children judged "interpersonal harm as more mean" than children from Christian families, with non-religious children the least judgmental. Muslim children demanded harsher punishment than those from Christian or non-religious homes.

At the same time, the report said that religious parents were more likely than others to consider their children to be "more empathetic and more sensitive to the plight of others".

The report pointed out that 5.8 billion humans, representing 84% of the worldwide population, identify as religious. "While it is generally accepted that religion contours people's moral judgments and pro-social behaviour, the relation between religion and morality is a contentious one," it said.

The report was "a welcome antidote to the presumption that religion is a prerequisite of morality", said Keith Porteous Wood of the UK National Secular Society.

"It would be interesting to see further research in this area, but we hope this goes some way to undoing the idea that religious ethics are innately superior to the secular outlook. We suspect that people of all faiths and none share similar ethical principles in their day to day lives, albeit may express them differently depending on their worldview."

According to the respected Pew Research Center, which examines attitudes toward and practices of faith, most people around the world think it is necessary to believe in God to be a moral person. In the US, 53% of adults think that faith in God is necessary to morality, a figure which rose to seven of 10 adults in the Middle East and three-quarters of adults in six African countries surveyed by Pew.

* This article was amended on 10 November 2015 to correct the spelling of Keith Porteous Wood's name, from Keith Porteus Wood as an earlier version said.

Topics

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Religious children are meaner than their secular counterparts, study finds

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Children from religious families are less kind and more punitive than those from non-religious households, according to a new study. Academics from seven universities across the world studied Christian, Muslim and non-religious children to test the relationship between religion and morality. They found that religious belief is a negative influence on children's altruism.

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DEFINITION: People are often easily confused when dealing with complex concepts and often prefer a "watered-down" variation of the the explanation in order to grasp the overall idea. This can be seen many times in various aspects of modern life, from technology to medicine, to space travel and even cooking food. Numerous examples of our daily life are best explained in simple forms because of the efficiency it provides, regardless of how true or false it really can be.

CONNECTION: The video provided is a great resource in explaining how the economy around the world really works, and how important it is to know the detailed workings of monetary capital. By understanding the complexity of money, one can apply this knowledge in future endeavours or may gain insight in how to handle money better in the present. Simplicity is a red flag for all kinds of things, however assuming how something is or how it works by accepting whatever convenient explanation is available is a weak form of learning. By accepting simplicity, one limits their views of the world around them and will fall victim to pseudosciences.

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POST #3 RED FLAG: CONFUSION OF CORRELATION WITH CAUSATION

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POST #3 RED FLAG: CONFUSION OF CORRELATION WITH CAUSATION

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DEFINITION: When two events occur at the same time and are mistaken as being an example of "cause & effect". Causation can only occur when one of the variables is controlled, correlation cannot imply causation.

CONNECTION: The following YouTube video is a great tool in understanding the concepts of both Correlation and Causation, and how the confusion between both ideas can become red flags in examining pseudo-sciences.

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CRITICAL THINKING - Fundamentals: Correlation and Causation

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POST #6 RED FLAG: SUPPRESSION BY AUTHORITIES

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POST #6 RED FLAG: SUPPRESSION BY AUTHORITIES

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DEFINITION: This red flag switches the blame on authorities halting the sharing or publishing of information based on the fact of censorship and control. Conspiracy theories often arise from this form of red flag because it occurs often enough to be considered reality when in fact authorities may still be investigating.

CONNECTION: Below is a video featured within our course that explains all the red flags committed by members of the pseudo science community. Suppression by authorities is a frequently noted fallacy and assumption which can skew public perception of how authorities of media or politics, handle major events or crisis'.

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DEFINITION: A form of fallacy that overwhelms the opposition by producing a large amount of evidence and data in order to bolster claims or validity. This red flag is common in various aspects of society, particularly in marketing and advertisement. This is also a common tool utilized for political propaganda where politicians claim false information or promises in order to achieve or maintain positions of power.

CONNECTION: The video below is a YouTube clip explaining how proof of verbosity is a logical fallacy that should be avoided as much as possible. This red flag is very misleading due to its use of complex words and concepts, thus a very common tool in pseudosciences.

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DEFINITION: Term used to identify knowledge, philosophy, and beliefs gained in the ancient times. Often considered as "lost" with the assumption that it may be more advanced than today's current level of human intelligence (example: temple construction).

CONNECTION: The following YouTube video is one example of how Ancient Wisdom is a red flag, and why ancient Egyptian texts may have been the origin to today's modern understanding of complex concepts such as geography and medicine.

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Egypt: The Book of Thoth - Secret Teachings

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DEFINITION: The habit of interpreting new evidence as supporting factors for one's beliefs and theories. An example of this common occurrence is when, as a child, your parents would notice your messy room and would not acknowledge it when it was actually clean; still assuming that you are a messy child.

CONNECTION: The following YouTube video from HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. This is a great example of how confirmation bias is a major red flag, that may negatively affect scientific studies as well as public knowledge.

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Scientific Studies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

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