Chancellor Martin

4/30/20
Seaboch, M.
Anthropology 1020
Anthropology 1020 Reflection

1. How is the scientific method used to study evolution?

 The theory of evolution started with an observation that organisms in different

environments had different traits that made them better suited for these
different environments, and we wanted a natural explanation for this, which is
the first step in the scientific method. Next, a hypothesis was made that stated
that all populations change over time through the process that we now call
natural selection. This is where organisms that are best suited for their
environment are able to reproduce more often than organisms that are not as
well suited, and as a result propagate more favorable traits in the population by
passing on their genes more frequently. In Darwin’s cases, he observed the finch
populations on many different islands in the Galapagos, and came to the
conclusion that all of these birds came from a common ancestor at some point in
the past, and that all of the differences that he observed between these
populations were selected for on these different islands through natural
selection. Since Darwin made these observations, science has been able to prove
him correct time and time again by making similar observations the world over,
as well as through things like DNA analysis, where we have been able to trace
the genetic split of many different organism that at one point shared a common
ancestor.

1. Describe two specific examples of scientific research from your textbook. 

 One example that came up frequently was where researchers would attempt to
replicate the process by which our ancestors did certain tasks, such as making
tools. They would attempt to make the same kinds of tools they did, exactly the
way they did, and would be able to find out how much planning went into
making tools from the various industries. Another would be archeology,
otherwise known as the study of past human’s material culture. By looking at the
things that have been left behind, we have been able to paint a picture of what
life was like for these past hominins that lived at during different time periods.
The farther back we go the less we know about them, but new sites are being
discovered ever year, and we are always building our knowledge.
2. Compare and contrast how scientific research is communicated in your textbook and
how it is communicated in scientific journals. 

 Scientific journals are typically much less layman friendly, where as the textbook
uses terms that are easier for someone with little expertise to understand. The
textbook is also more succinct, in that it only covers the basics of many different
topics, rather than going very in-depth into a small hand full of ideas. Finally, the
textbook does not usually go into a lot of detail when it is explaining the
methods of research that were used. It usually interprets the data for the reader,
rather than also giving all the raw data as well, which is more typical in scientific
journals. They will outline things like the exact strata that an artifact was found
in, or the raw numbers that they got when they were using something like
radiocarbon dating, where as the textbook tells us the date range outright.

1. Reflect on the pros and cons of each type of communication. 

 The textbook is a better for someone that is starting out with very little
knowledge in this field but is not going to be as useful for someone that is
already familiar with physical anthology. Conversely, a typical scientific journal is
going to be more useful for someone that already has a decent body of
knowledge in this field, as much of the jargon that is used will make more sense
to them, and they will have a better time interpreting the data themselves and
coming to their own conclusions as to whether or not the research that was
done was sound.

3. Reflect on how you could incorporate parts of the scientific method in your everyday
life. 

 Everyone would benefit from having a solid understanding of the scientific

method, as it is the best way to discover things about the world around us. For
example, something that I have seen throughout my entire life is people
conflating correlation with causation. If people had a better understanding of
how we collect and interpret data, than this mistake would no longer occur. The
scientific method is also useful for evaluating the claims that we see made in the
media every day. There are many times when the media publishes stories that
either contain outright false information, or at the very least wildly misinterpret
the data that they are presenting. It is beneficial to have the skills to notice when
this is happening, and to be able to do independent research of our own using
other reliable sources (such as peer reviewed scientific journals), in order to
dispute incorrect claims.

4. Why do you think all colleges and universities across the country require students to
learn about the scientific method; what is its value?
 For one, it is useful for new students to be exposed to this information because it
can help inform what they want to study in the future. If they find out that they
are interested in science after taking these introductory courses, then they can
pursue that further. It is also useful to know this information because the
scientific method is used in many different fields of study. Having a large portion
of our population that is educated on how science is conducted is good for
society at large, because having people that are better informed leads to more
innovations, as well as people that are less easily swayed by false information,
such as people that believe that the earth is flat, or people that believe that all
vaccines are dangerous.