Inquiry: Massimo Pigliucci: NONSENSE ON STILTS: HOW TO TELL SCIENCE FROM BUNK

Today there are hundreds of websites, television shows and vociferous people who will tell you that their idea is correct and that traditional science can be damned. There are people who deny global warming is occurring; that believe in creationism, swear by astrology and think AIDS can be cured with muddy water. Could they be right and science wrong? With so many conflicting opinions and ideas about the world, how can we tell truth from fiction? Tonight on Inquiry, we welcome MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI, Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York. He has written a thoughtful book on this problem titled NONSENSE ON STILTS: HOW TO TELL SCIENCE FROM BUNK. Tonight on part 1 of our conversation; Professor Pigliucci talks about what can be harmful about holding beliefs that are nonsense and why scientists should engage in public debates with pseudo scientists.