This re-boiling produces more steam, increasing the pressure, and thus raising the boiling point above the current water temperature, so boiling ceases. The time between two objects colliding due to gravity is inversely proportional to the sum of the two masses. It's understandable why we get it wrong though because our intuition is based on living in a world with air resistance. To address this issue, this study examines high school students' cognitive responses to three counterintuitive physics problems. What is the most surprising and counterintuitive finding in science that you can think of? Welcome to Forum 2.1 the upgrade to Version 2.1.2 of SMF, Started by Turbonegro, September 28, 2011, 07:45:31 AM. 4. Normally things contract, which makes intuitive sense. The interaction of salt and ice involves breaking the bonds that hold water molecules together in ice crystals, and separating the Na+ and Cl- ions in salt crystals. If youre in a happy, optimistic, ambitious mood, check the weather. Further rogue credentials revealed by Levitts online C.V. include an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a research fellowship with the American Bar Foundation, membership in the Harvard Society of Fellows, a fellowship at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a stint as a consultant for Corporate Decisions, Inc.. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Mating decisions are based partly on smell. Learn more. For example, it would sound odd to say some event in the Andromeda Galaxy caused a car to crash. Ask them to predict what will happen to the temperature before carrying out the experiments. We spread salt on icy roads and paths to melt the ice. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Reference-frame invariance of the speed of light. When treating someone badly makes him like you more instead of less, this is an example of something that is counterintuitive. There are millions of examples that pop into my mind about this theory. 1. 'Skydiving' is a pastime and while the main event is 'jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane' it also includes the bit where you and some friends sit around on the ground and decide to charter that very plane. A counterintuitive proposition is one that does not seem likely to be true when assessed using intuition or gut feelings. Kim Scott, once the head of Google's AdSense and . Honestly, take a moment to consider what the natural environment and current technologies are capable of. This doesn't really belong in this thread with the hard science examples, but I think it's a nice little verbal/logic trick to drop on people at a dinner party. By: Shea September 09, 2020. . After all, we are the field that specializes in measuring and explaining peoples intuitions. A good example is pedagogical use of discrepant events (Gonzlez-Espada et al 2010)counter-intuitive science demonstrations. When treating someone badly makes him like you more instead of less, this is an example of something that is counterintuitive. Heat the flask until the water boils and steam issues from the rubber tube. Paleontologists have identified five points in Earths history when, for whatever reason (asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions and atmospheric changes are the main suspects), mass extinctions eliminated many or most species. What I suspect that means is that counterintuitive is often justa rhetorical strategyfor writing introduction sections and marketing our work. Some temperature changes are counter-intuitive, as can be shown by simple investigations. Natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires are often attributed by the media to global warming. It seems intuitive to me that causal relationships rapidly weaken as the distance (both spatial and temporal) between two events increases. So, one year you make 50%, the next you lose 33% and you think you're . The Big Bang was a quantum event and the universe at one time was as tiny as a quantum particle. 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Are counterintuitive findings more valuable? Science itself is counterintuitive. As Simine points out, many people in psychology say that counterintuitive findings are more valuable so clearly there is an incentive to frame things that way. This article and paper from the USDA Forest Service argues that wildfires and droughts have always been a part of California ecology, and that prescribed burns and forest thinning are best for preventing bark beetle damage that contributes to out-of-control fires. Examples of Counterintuitive in a sentence. and mturk didnt exist.) One must not just take the word of a powerful consensus. So when we started reading about these "facts" that are supposedly counterintuitive, we just couldn't believe them. Everything you probably think of when you think of the universeplanets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dustmakes up just 4 percent of whatever is out there. Something we don't currently know could be unearthed tomorrow so that we can always broaden our horizons and our stock of random tidbits to amuse our friends. (But its true in other sciences too, probably more than we appreciate .) If something is counterintuitive it means its the opposite of intuitive in other words its not easily understood in an instinctive, unconscious way. Einsteins famous equation is certainly one of the most brilliant and beautiful scientific discoveriesbut its also one of the most disturbing. undergraduate science education course with their teaching practice experience in local classrooms. Laura Helmuth Students are familiar with everyday examples of freezing, melting and boiling, but are likely to think temperature always falls during freezing and rises during melting or boiling. Why dont we ask our colleaguesto back up their claims of being counterintuitive with data? After the previous experiment, students may predict that it rises. A look at a few examples of counter-intuitive conclusions will illustrate these problems. The influenza virus mutates so quickly that last years vaccination is usually ineffective against this years bug. The Machiavellian adage that it's better . I prefer instead of valuing being counter-intuitive, to value counter-examples to the idea that all good things go together (or all bad things go together). But some microbes are evolving faster than we can find ways to fight them. It is now salt water, which has a lower freezing point than fresh water. The fascinating story behind many people's favori Can you handle the (barometric) pressure? Science is amazing. The Bible gives a good general principle: Test all things; hold fast what is good (I Thessalonians 5:21). This is experimentally shown. (Counterintuitive framing is also a great way to sell a lot of books.). | READ MORE. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. i was somewhat surprised to realize that matthias mehl and i actually did survey lay people (only 61 of them though, we were young and naive. What are the most surprising and counterintuitive findings in science? And the water and land use required for beef contributes significantly to global warming, we are told. This can push students into a seeking explanation mode, setting the stage for discovery. The concept of extinction took a while to sink in. In a taste test, youre likely to have a strong preference for the first sample you tasteeven if all of the samples are identical. Don't be surprised if none of them want the spotl One goose, two geese. For me that brings up the question: what do we mean when we say something is counterintuitive?. Its kind of deflating, isnt it? But our love affair comes at a cost. Gender Identity Is More Nature Than Nurture. Thomas Jefferson saw mastodon bones from Kentucky, for example, and concluded that the giant animals must still be living somewhere in the interior of the continent. While intuition and misconceptions continue to be of great interest to mathematics and science educators, there has been little research, much less consensus or even internal consistency, in statistics curriculum . Exercise: Listen to some assertions in the media that claim to be scientific. Our analysis reveals that student success in arriving at counter-intuitive . I know what I'd choose. Be wary of scientific "facts" that are untrue (unlike the very real 34 on just this list). These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. You can pay the farmer, or you can pay the doctor. Here are 16 pleasant yet perplexing reminders that you may not know as much as you believe. the opposite of what makes sense. Most students will correctly say that to freeze a liquid, you need to cool it. In everyday language 'freezing' or 'melting' involves cooling or heating, but in science the term refers only to the changing physical . If so, perhaps general physics would be a place to go. If intuitions vary widely and so do results, across contexts and populations then we run the riskthat placing too much valueon counterintuitive findings will do more to incentiverhetorical flash than substantive discoveries. Many interesting behind-the-scenes bits have happened during the 20 years of telling tales about our favorite trailer-park residents. NTU Singapore scientists report that plastic bags could be eco-friendlier than paper and cotton bags in cities like Singapore (Nanyang Technological University). Sometime what we think is beneficial to us, actually harm us and what we think is harmful actually become useful. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Was the double-slit experiment counterintuitive? A graphical representation of the unified trust distribution mechanism is shown in Fig. Clamp the flask and insert the bung, ensuring that the clip is open. The gauge shift comes from the particle looping around a topological defect (the magnetic field threading the plane, effectively making the space into a punctured plane), in effect changes the topological quantum number (electric/magnetic charge) of the particle, since the punctured plane is not homotopically trivial. For example, you probably wouldntsay that the double-slit experiment was counterintuitive; youdsay it falsified classical mechanics. If something is counterintuitive it means it's the opposite of intuitive in other words it's not easily understood in an instinctive, unconscious way. * What gives you instant joy is almost always harmful i. A counterintuitive proposition is one that does not seem likely to be true when assessed using intuition or gut feelings.. Scientifically discovered, objective truths are often called counterintuitive when intuition, emotions, and other cognitive processes outside of deductive rationality interpret them to be wrong. Melting sodium thiosulfate crystals, then cooling them to a state well below the melting point causes the supercooled liquid to freeze rapidly when a crystal of sodium thiosulfate is added, or the mixture is stirred. A look at a few examples of counter-intuitive conclusions will illustrate these problems. For me, its got to be the delayed choice quantum eraser experiment. What is another word for counterintuitive? Coke was originally supposed to make you smarter or something. The contradictory ideas might even have made their way into cultural wisdom like birds of a feather flock together versus opposites attract.. Other low melting point compounds, such as ice, octadecanoic (stearic) acid or ethanamide (acetamide), can replace cyclohexane to show that constant temperature during melting and freezing is a general principle, not unique to cyclohexane. One thing I have to explain is why, if my idea is so great, people didnt consider it earlier. But if, after the experiment, you go back and erase the information about which slit each photon went through, then the interference pattern magically appears on the screen. Cookie Policy In order to enjoy things you always need to think about the negative side of them. Adding crystals or stirring seeds the crystallisation process. This is the so-called Simpson's . And here's an example from the April 1979 issue of Scientific American that describes a factual . Know that a sense of humor can be just as essential as understanding; you should also check out all these pretty funny science jokes--we we were not expecting these punchlines. 5. Did the funder lean on the researchers to get a favorable result for dairy farmers? I recall a quote that expressed this idea quite nicely. The Earth is not the center of the universe. counterintuitive. 4) When you don't have time to exercise or meditate, is when you need to exercise and meditate the most. How many (and whose) lives would you bet on yourtheory? A red light for go and a green light for stop would be highly counterintuitive, for example. 12 Essential Life Tips That Are Counterintuitive But True. Student cognition in response to intuitive and counterintuitive stimuli in the school science curriculum is not well understood. Send us feedback. (of an idea, proposal, etc) seemingly contrary to common sense. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Place the clamp stand and inverted flask in a sink or trough. You have to act in the short amount of time after crossing the slit and before impacting the screen. Even though the temperature has dropped well below 0oC, the melted ice does not re-freeze. Students can reverse the experiment starting with frozen cyclohexane and warming it in a beaker of hot water, recording temperatures until it returns to about 15oC. This is a simple demonstration, but even post-16 students often struggle to explain the results. You 100% wouldn't do it unless parachutes existed but because they do.people go skydiving and accidents happen. Does putting water in a smoothie count as water intake? When we heard that Barack Obama had chosen to sleep on his decision to authorize the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, we were pleasantly . Intuitively you would expect that the electrical resistance of a material would decrease as you decrease the temperature. These ideas, be it physics or biology . There is enough DNA in the average person's body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back 17 times. It's not so unintuitive with topological arguments. The effort to solve it has mobilized a generation of astronomers in a rethinking of physics and cosmology to rival and perhaps surpass the revolution Galileo inaugurated on an autumn evening in Padua. When we were in school, we always thought that we were pretty smart kids. Google is famous for its "20 percent time," the rough percentage of time that employees can dedicate to ancillary endeavors, research interests, or new ideas. One way to fascinate, engage, arouse curiosity, motivate, and stimulate intellectual development in learning scientific concepts is to use counterintuitive questions. If you are willing to push through a bit of added stress in the short term . Attributing any disaster to a century-long trend is very hard to prove. It does not store any personal data. Edit: for more information check out Schwarz's Quantum Field Theory and Topology. For example,when intuition systematically leads people to make consequentially bad decisionsit can be important to document that and understand why. A Counter-Intuitive Approach to Making Complex Decisions. The Aztecs slaughtered tens of thousands of people to inaugurate the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan; after sacredMayan ballgames, the losing team was sometimes sacrificed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGXqFOO8utA. What are Halloween costume masks made from? I would not claim thatthis describes all instances of counterintuitive, but I thinkit describes a lot of them. In this article, the author explores how tackling concepts from an . 11. Animal Testing Is Necessary. Counterintuitive claim: Prices are determined by supply and demand. Press J to jump to the feed. Pouring over further portions of cold water causes repeated re-boiling while the temperature gradually drops to around 30oC, or even lower. Are you able to include anything visual? It would take several generations to sink in. Small things act like waves except for the times they don't. 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I hate it and will tell you why in 5 minutes. Previously, she was a senior science editor at Smithsonian magazine. Environmental activists and vegans want to reduce the impact of beef production. The first truth actually relates to that very subject: the how and why of . In a final example of counterintuitive findings, Live Science now claims that brain size didn't . Cultures throughout history and around the world have engaged in ritual human sacrifice. But if, after the experiment, you go back and erase the information about which slit each photon went through, then the interference pattern magically appears on the screen. . Early empirical studies including those . In fact, there are a lot of things that people do every day that defy all logic. Record the temperature. Water will trickle into the beaker as ice melts. Another good example of a counterintuitive fact is the Banach-Tarski paradox stating that a ball can be decomposed in a finite number of pieces which can be glued together to build up two balls identical to the first one (I say that this is a paradox because the axiom of choice is clearly true:D). Please report trolls and incorrect/misleading comments. Before repeating such claims, one should investigate funding sources. All the good ones! Something that came up in another thread, the Mpemba effect i.e. For the general public that have not had the opportunity to be exposed to the process of science, one of the most counterintuitive things is this: Logic and Common Sense are not the same thing. Wtf is going on down there!? But being counterintuitive for counterintuitives sake? Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! Maybe; maybe not. The power explained by the equation really rests in the c, or the speed of light (186,282 miles per second) times itself, which equals 34,700,983,524. Cognitive science. This is why it irritates me that we lie to undergrads about these things so much. Suppose Im promoting a research idea. It's a macroscopic effect of quantum mechanics. If you detect which slit the photons go through, you dont get any interference pattern. It wouldn't be a popular sport. 3. They can also reinforce enthalpy changes, and bond breaking or making, for ages 1618. But you set it up in such a way that you can throw away the information about which slit the photon went through. Sure, some tasty things are healthyblueberries, snow peas, nuts and maybe even (oh, please) red wine. Removing energy from the surroundings causes cooling, so the temperature drops. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. If water didn't have this property, life on Earth as we know it probably wouldn't exist. Answer (1 of 13): The world is hardly what it appears to be. When Copernicus proposed that the Earth and other planets instead orbit the Sun, his contemporaries found his massive logical leap patently absurd, says Owen Gingerich of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. What is the meaning of counterintuitive science? Science can be glorious; it can bring clarity to a chaotic world. But after doing some more research, we realized that sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction. If you were to drop another earth on itself it would appear to accelerate towards earth at 19.6 m/s2. 1. So it seems like things should become more closely packed and thus contract. In the liquid the atoms (or molecules) are all moving about, while in the solid, they are in nice neat rows. Thats what scientists (both professional and citizen scientists) ought to be doing. Scientists have come to some surprising conclusions about the world and our place in it. Of course, it does not have to be that way. To save this word, you'll need to log in. Now I wonder what my intuitions are about the meaning of the word counterintuitive, and what sort of information about the way the word is used might contradict those intuitions. I tend to think of intuitions as thoughts that pop into our heads as the result of conditioned reflexes, even if that conditioning is part of scientific training. (first sentence from the conclusion: the results from these studies show that contrary to the strong intuitions of most, people are not always their own best expert.). The details require careful consideration, but basically, were surprising. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Since these researchers are moyboys, readers should take that into account. Testing hypotheses by experiment is supposed to be the hallmark of science. Papers from physics journals (free or otherwise) are encouraged. In any case, Sowey's characterization of striking examples groups together "counterintuitive" examples (such as example 3 in his Section 4.2) and "intuitive" examples/analogies (such as example 6a in Section 4.6 or example 1 in Section 4.5). There are no "machine values.". Frequency: The definition of counterintuitive is something that goes against what you believe would be logical, or something that goes against common sense. but it can also be frightening and mind-boggling at times. Beyond the reach of formal theory, scientists develop educated guesses, hunches, and speculations based on their knowledge and experience. counterintuitive counterintuitive Add to list Share. There is general agreement that it refers to a violation of previously held knowledge, but the precise definition seems to vary with every author and study. The world will end in a whimper. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. It's like trying to plunge your hand into a (hypothetical) fluid in liquid state and one that is starting to freeze and get denser. There's a whole lot about water we are still just learning now, and a lot of (fairly important) properties it has that are shared by only a few other substances in special circumstances.