Consider the Scientific Method.
Remember our work with the scientific method? As scientists, we observe, then we attempt to explain. A hypothesis in IF…THEN format is created, and then
it is used as the basis for testing our explanation.
An example: As I study the skeleton of Turkana Boy, I note that he had a hole in his tooth, and it extended to the bone at the base of his tooth. The bone was
actually shrinking around the base of the tooth. I think, as an explanation for this, that he may have had a dental abscess which might have been his cause of
death.
My hypothesis would be: “IF Turkana Boy died of a dental abscess, I will see a serious abcess in his tooth root when I x-ray it.” My test is clear: I x-ray the jaw,
and there will be an abscess (confirmation of my hypothesis) or there would not be an abscess (refutation of my hypothesis)
For this assignment, you may choose to respond to the presentations in First Peoples: Africa, First Peoples: Asia, or the following assigned media lesson:
First Peoples: Europe. Do the researchers adequately present their results, and is the scientific method clear? How is it, or is it not, clearly logical and based
in evidentiary science? Final question to answer: are the researchers convincing to you in their presentation of the evidence supporting their hypotheses, or
not? And why?