Stephen- It should catch the unwary- yes! But sometimes even knowing the source isn't enough. Recently we had covered using internet sources in our Research and Design course- on a Friday. I'd used some example from neuropsychology about CJD and the "mad cow" connections. I'd pointed out that there were several internet sites referencing the problem and provided one good source (through the Society for Neuroscience) and another from a company that sold beef products. They said pretty much the same thing so I asked them for a brief discussion on how to decide which was the more valid or useful as a reference.
A student provided me with a surprizing finding over the weekend. They sent an article saying that there was a direct link from Humans BACK to cattle and that, essentially, we were the source of BSE in cattle. Hmmmmm. I did a quick search and, yep- the Onion. So I sent an email, backchannel, to the student and pointed out that they 1) had missed the point which was about source credibility- not BSE and 2) done so badly since they needed to look at the source of their article. They sent me an note saying that the Onion was truly a legit web-source. They'd used it before - gulp- in other classes! Imagine how far my jaw dropped!! Needless to say I called them aside after class on Monday and had a looooong talk with them. :) Tim Shearon -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Fri 8/19/2005 7:41 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Cc: Subject: Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity Rick Froman defended my honour by saying that I had indeed identified the source of the "Intelligent Falling" article as _The Onion_ (thanks, Rick). Mike Palij replied: > > Hmmm, you're right. Can I plead being a victim of momentary > "inattentional blindness"? ;-) But now that I think of it, I shouldn't have. More fun that way. Good satire should be just believable enough to catch the unwary and outrage them. This piece, sans source, would likely have done that. Next time. Stephen -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax:(819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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