Good day class-

Some reasons people might seem attracted to pseudoscience-type claims are because some claims look like science even though they aren’t and it does not comply with the scientific method. Also, if for some reason someone really believes in something that can’t be scientifically proven, it is hard to get them to change their mind.

One claim I have heard is that people should go to a palm reader before they make any big decisions, especially if it involves money. I was also told that palm readers can give insight as to how our lives will be. Palm readers do not meet rigorous scientific methodology standards because there is no scientific evidence to support palmistry. Palmistry can not be tested against a hypothesis, it is complex and raises more questions instead of providing definite answers. Questions that I am sure the palmist will tell you to come back for answers later while you pay an extra fee! It is human nature to want to know what will happen to us in the future so we can prepare for it so I believe that palmists will always have clientele.

Another claim I have heard that is pseudoscience is that if you are sore from an injury that is taking a while to heal you can try cupping. I never really thought about it until now so I looked it up. Scientific studies would include statistics based on gathered evidence and since there haven’t been many scientific studies regarding the effects of cupping, it doesn’t fit in with the criteria to be deemed as “real” science. Cupping has been deemed as alternative medicine.

Two ways the material this week has changed my own thinking is to ask myself if there is scientific proof to claims I might have a tendency to believe. Also, I will be more skeptical of all the Facebook ads that pop up promising fast weight loss and anti-aging creams. Some of these ads also provide pictures as proof. I already noticed that some of the pictures don’t even look like the people they are supposed to represent. Thanks to what I am learning in this course as well as the internet I will do more research as well as check the validity of the claims they make.

Hi Class, Professor,

I believe competition provides the greatest challenge for organizations implementing new pricing strategies because a business typically does not know what their competitors profit margin is. They also do not know what their costs are for similar products. A business has accessibility to their competitors retail pricing although they do not know their pricing strategy so it is challenging to ensure that their pricing is will match or beat their competitors.

Thank you,

Danielle