A Friend Tells You That Putting a Small Cardboard Pyramid

question 56

Multiple Choice

A friend tells you that putting a small cardboard pyramid under your bed as you sleep at night will enhance your "psychic energy" and give you "inner peace." Pseudoscientific claims like this:

• A) are irrefutable or nonfalsifiable because they use vague terms like "psychic energy" and "inner peace" and cannot be disproved or tested in any meaningful way.
• B) can be tested only using brain-imaging technology such as PET scans, MRI, or fMRI.
• C) can be tested only with natural experiments.
• D) would be unethical to test because the researcher would have to use a double-blind study.

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Definitions:

Carnivorous Predators

Organisms that derive their nutrition by consuming other animals. They have adaptations that allow them to capture and digest their prey.

Scavengers

Organisms that feed on dead or decaying organic matter, playing an important role in the ecosystem by helping to dispose of waste and recycle nutrients.

Radial Symmetry

A symmetry in which body parts are arranged around a central axis, so that any vertical cut through the axis results in identical halves, common in many invertebrates.

Nutrient Uptake

The process by which organisms obtain nutrients from their environment, essential for growth and maintenance.