Pseudoscience and the importance of chemical education

CHED 460

Paul Shin, alchemy@csun.edu, Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA 91330
The appalling lack of scientific literacy within our society is only part of the larger issue at hand. The misrepresentation or worse, the deceptive application of scientific information, can also be destructive as this can create an aversion to or outright fear of anything scientifically related. Therefore, Knowledge is not power- it's what you do with that knowledge, that's power! The negative impact pseudoscientifically based claims and products have on the perception of science in our society is explored. Can chemical education help to ameliorate this problem?