Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Homeopathy | Homeopathy is a 200-year-old alternative medical system based on "like cures like" (treating symptoms with highly diluted substances) and "minimum dose". Alternative Medicine |
| Homeostasis | The tendency for a system to remain in a state of equilibrium by resisting change. Science General |
| Honesty Training | Developers train models to say "I don't know" or express uncertainty rather than guess. They reward accurate answers and penalize confident fabrications during fine-tuning, including reinforcement learning from human feedback. Artificial Intelligence |
| Humoral Immunity | Humoral immunity is an antibody-mediated adaptive immune response targeting extracellular pathogens (bacteria, toxins) in bodily fluids ("humors"). It involves B-cell maturation into plasma cells that secrete antibodies (immunoglobulins) to neutralize or eliminate antigens, often activating the complement system, contrasting with cell-mediated immunity. Vaccines |
| Hydrocarbons | Substances containing only hydrogen and carbon. Fossil fuels are made up of hydrocarbons. Climate Change Denial |
| Hydrologic Cycle | The process of evaporation, vertical and horizontal transport of vapor, condensation, precipitation, and the flow of water from continents to oceans. It is a major factor in determining climate through its influence on surface vegetation, the clouds, snow and ice, and soil moisture. Climate Change Denial |
| Hydrosphere | The component of the climate system comprising liquid surface and subterranean water, such as: oceans, seas, rivers, fresh water lakes, underground water etc. Climate Change Denial |
| Hypothesis | A testable, falsifiable prediction or explanation about a relationship between two or more variables. Science General |
| Identity-protective cognition | Dan Kahan's term for the tendency to process information in ways that protect one's social identity and group affiliations, even at the cost of accuracy. Antiscience |
| Ideological / Political Bias | When political agendas override evidence, leading to the rejection of scientific findings that conflict with personal or group beliefs. Science General |