We kick off this course by providing some ammunition for what the astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson said: ”Science literacy is a vaccine against the charlatans of the world that would exploit your ignorance.” Here, you will discover that you should be wary of the recommendations that you get from our governments on how to save water, from the media based on new scientific findings, and even from our doctor. At the same time, you will see that a basic understanding of statistics and scientific methods - which you will acquire throughout this course - will protect you against misinformation and bad science, and help you make better choices for yourself and for this world. At the end of this week you will create and upload a short 3-minute video pitch about global challenges and what your own role is in tackling them (if any). Please note that Erasmus University Rotterdam pursues the science of learning. Online learners are important participants in that pursuit. The information we gather from your engagement with our instructional offerings makes it possible for faculty, researchers, and designers to continuously improve their work and, in that process, build learning science. By registering as an online learner, you are also participating in research.

"Whenever you leave behind failure, that means you're doing better. If you think everything you've done has been great, you're probably dumb." – Louis CK. Many social programs - such as efforts to reduce poverty or improve people’s health - are based on good intentions but simply don’t work, or are even harmful. This week you will discover that humans are pretty bad at guessing which programs work, and that the best way to assess whether a program works is by running randomized controlled trials. You will see that conducting multiple rigorous evaluations is how we can leave behind failure and do better in this world. And not be dumb. At the end of this week you’ll be ready to put your new skills to use by critically assessing a BS (bad science) media report.