科学における大失策: 科学的な間違いを巡る旅

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!