Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transgender,Queer 100 - Sport and the Scientific Method

Institution:

Colgate University

Subject:

Description:

K. Segall In today's world of sports, how is knowledge obtained On what principles are strategy determined, personnel decisions made, and honors awarded Until somewhat recently, "knowledge" in sports consisted mostly of the wisdom of players and of coaches acquired through the years. While some of this wisdom is well founded, for years much of it was not able to be checked in a scientific, empirical way. The advent of computers and the availability of large databases of sports statistics changed all of that, however, and now many of conventional sports' "truths" can be checked empirically. Questions of strategy and team decisions can now be addressed in a scientific fashion, causing a major impact in sports, particularly in baseball. Behind this revolution lies the scientific method of inquiry, including the notion of falsifiability and the relationship between theory and observation. This course explores these ideas using examples in sports to illustrate the more general concepts of scientific inquiry and the scientific method. Students explore the impact of empirical knowledge on the games themselves, and how it has caused changes in strategies and team decisions. Finally, the students ask their own sports questions and answer them in a scientific, empirical fashi

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.colgate.edu

Phone Number:

(315) 228-1000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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