Great Blunders in Science: A Journey Through Scientific Mistakes

Join me on an exciting adventure through the world of scientific discovery as we explore some of the greatest mistakes ever made in science! "Great Blunders in Science" is a fun and engaging course designed  for learners aged 12-17. Through interactive lessons and hands-on activities, students will uncover the mysteries behind famous scientific errors and learn valuable lessons in logic and critical thinking.

Highlights will include:

Famous Scientific Mistakes: Discover the stories behind well-known scientific blunders like the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe and the misunderstood theory of heat called phlogiston.

Detective Work: Become a science detective and find out what led to these mistakes. Was it a wrong idea, a silly assumption, or something else?

Think Like a Scientist: Learn about logical fallacies and how to avoid them. Practice thinking like a scientist and develop skills to spot errors in reasoning.

Lessons from the Past: Explore how these mistakes were corrected and what we can learn from them.

Schedule of Topics:

Week 1: Clever Hans: What can we learn from a horse that seemed to be able to do math?

Week 2: Lamarckian Evolution: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory that organisms could pass on traits acquired during their lifetime to their offspring. This was replaced by Darwin's theory of natural selection.

Week 3: Phlogiston Theory: The idea that a substance called "phlogiston" was released during combustion, later debunked by the discovery of oxygen.

Week 4: Spontaneous Generation: The belief that living organisms could arise from non-living matter, disproven by experiments like those conducted by Louis Pasteur.

Week 5: Miasma Theory of Disease: The idea that diseases were caused by "bad air," replaced by the understanding that microorganisms cause illness.

Week 6: Geocentric Model: The belief that the Earth was the center of the universe, later corrected by the heliocentric model.

Week 7: Theories about aliens on the moon or Mars: for example, early telescopic observations led to the belief in artificial canals on Mars, later found to be optical illusions and natural features.

Week 8: Final Projects and/or a review game

This course is perfect for curious young minds who love science, history, or just enjoy solving puzzles and mysteries. No prior knowledge of science is needed, just a willingness to explore and learn!