USNA229: Astronomical Arguments: Pluto, Dark Matter, and Beyond

MWF 10:30 - 11:20, Sears 552

Instructor:

Chris Mihos
mihos@case.edu
Sears 557

Office Hours: TR 3:30-4:30, or by appointment

Writing Co-Instructor:

Terri Mester
terri.mester@case.edu

Office Hours: TR 5-6, F 11:30-1:30, SAGES cafe

Web site: http://burro.case.edu/Academics/USNA229/

This course explores how scientific controversies are resolved, using examples from astronomy and cosmology. We start with a discussion of the scientific process -- both as an ideal and as a practical reality -- and an overview of the scale of the universe in space and time. Then we address some historical controversies (with the benefit of scientific hindsight!), before turning to modern examples of astronomical debates (which remain unresolved). In each case, we will examine the scientific basis of the controversy as well as the roles played by cultural and human biases.

Textbooks:

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn (not required; excerpts will be posted). Here is an online synopsis, good for an overview before tackling the actual reading.
Blind Watchers of the Sky, Rocky Kolb (required)

Assignments/Grading:

Participation (20%):

In class: Students are required to participate constructively in the class discussion. Participation means more than just talking; we are especially interested in comments or questions which help move the discussion forward. Each student will act as a discussion leader twice during the semester. Please do not be late to class; attendance is required, and unexcused absences will result in grade penalties.
Out of class: There will be reading assignments before each class; students are required to post (by midnight before each class, via the Blackboard class discussion board) three questions or comments based on the assigned reading. These questions and comments will help form the basis for the ensuing class discussion.

Presentation (15%): Each student will conduct a 15 minute oral presentation of an astronomical topic of interest. Two weeks before your presentation, you must clear your topic with Prof Mihos. These presentations will be critiqued by the class as well as the instructors. List of presentation topics can be found here.

Writing Assignments: There will be three writing assignments throughout the semester. The writing assignment will be broken down as follows:

Assignment I: Science, Method, and Revolutions (20%) Write a 5-6 page paper comparing the classic scientific method to Kuhn's notion of paradigm shift. Make sure to discuss aspects of the role of human nature in shaping the scientific process.
Assignment II: The Copernican Revolution (20%). Write a 5-6 page paper taking a side on the heliocentric/geocentric universe debate. Choose a scientist we have discussed, and present your arguments and rebuttal from their perspective, using only the data and physical models in place at the time. You do not need to argue for the "correct" side, but you need your arguments to be logically and scientifically coherent.
Assignment III: An Astronomical Argument (25%) A 10-12 page paper taking a stance on a modern astronomical controversy, with supporting arguments and refutations.

Course Schedule:

Always subject to change....

Week	Date	Reading	Discussion Leader	Oral Presenter	Assignments Due
Week 1	Aug 24	Introduction & Welcome		--
	Aug 26	Kuhn Chapter 2 The Scientific Method (courtesy Frank Wolfs, University of Rochester) The Scientific Method Flow Chart		--
	Aug 28	Kuhn Chapter 3 Readings from Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science by Royston Roberts		--
Week 2	Aug 31	Kuhn Chapter 6; Objectivity (prologue from Objectivity, by Daston and Galison)		--
	Sep 2	Kuhn Chapter 7; Scientific Arrogance, and replies		--
	Sep 4	Kuhn Chapter 8 Thesis statements	Kevin	---
Week 3	Sep 7	Labor Day (no class)	--	--
	Sep 9	Kuhn Chapter 9; Motivation in the Real World of Science	Sophia	--	Thesis Statement
	Sep 11	Library Resources; meet in the Dampeer Room at KSL	--	Shu Guo
Week 4	Sep 14	Kuhn Chapter 12;	Eric	--
	Sep 16	The Copernican Revolution - Kolb Chapter 2	Harsha	--	Paper 1
	Sep 18	The Copernican Revolution - Kolb Chapter 3	Shawn	--
Week 5	Sep 21	The Copernican Revolution - Kolb Chapter 4	Ryo	--
	Sep 23	The Copernican Revolution - Kolb Chapter 5	Matthew	--
	Sep 25	Oral Presentations / Paper Revisions		Prof Mihos
Week 6	Sep 28	The Realm of the Nebulae - Kolb Chapter 6	John	--	Paper 1 Rev
	Sep 30	The Realm of the Nebulae - Kolb Chapter 7	Jose	Sophia
	Oct 2	The Realm of the Nebulae - Kolb Chapter 8	Brian	Jude
Week 7	Oct 5	Nebulae Wrap-up	Mihos	Patrick
	Oct 7	The Expanding Universe: Going Over to the Dark Side	Nathan	Kevin
	Oct 9	Writing Workshop	Terri	Harsha
Week 8	Oct 12	Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe: The End of Cosmology? Will Dark Energy Tear the Universe Apart?	Ravin	--
	Oct 14	Dark Energy, or not?: Does Dark Energy Really Exist?	Patrick	Nick
	Oct 16	Dark Energy Wrap Up / Dark Matter Intro: Leverrier, Adams, and the Mathematical Discovery of Neptune Vulcan Chasers	Mihos	--
	Oct 18				Paper 2 electronic due date (11:59pm)
Week 9	Oct 19	Fall Break (no class)	--	--
	Oct 21	Dark Matter: What do we really know about dark matter?	Jude	--	Paper 2 harddcopy
	Oct 23	Writing Workshop	Terri	--
Week 10	Oct 26	Dark Matter: Out of Sight, Out of MOND	Bryan	Ryo
	Oct 28	Dark Matter: Battlefield galactica: Dark Matter vs MOND	Mihos	Shawn
	Oct 30	Is Pluto a Planet? The 10th Planet (apologies for the low res scan...) What is a Planet?	Nick	--
Week 11	Nov 2	Is Pluto a Planet? Pluto in the popular press When to cite? (Part I) When to cite? (Part II)	Lauren	Eric
	Nov 4	Is Pluto a Planet? The Inside Story of Pluto's Demotion		--	Paper 2 Revision
	Nov 6	Life on Mars: Percival Lowell and the History of Mars		Brian
Week 12	Nov 9	Life on Mars: War of the Worlds Once Upon a Time, When Radio was King... (Essay by film critic Emanuel Levy) Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as Fact (New York Times, 10/31/1938)		Ravin
	Nov 11	The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: The Drake Equation		Lauren
	Nov 13	Online Drake Equation Calculator (courtesy NOVA/PBS)		--
Week 13	Nov 16	Why SETI Will Fail		--	Paper 3 Outline
	Nov 18	Two things: SETI's Prospects Are Bright Responses		Bryan
	Nov 20	Collisions with Comets and Asteroids		John
Week 14	Nov 23	Modern Impacts: The Tunguska Mystery The Most Dangerous Asteroid Ever Found		Jose
	Nov 25	No class (Thanksgiving)	--	--
	Nov 27	No class (Thanksgiving)	--	--
Week 15	Nov 30	Writing Workshop		Matt
	Dec 2	Asteroids and Mass Extinctions Did an impact kill the dinosaurs? (excerpt from The Cosmic Perspective) Impact from the Deep		Nathan
	Dec 4	On Being Wrong		--	Paper 3