Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Backfire Effect | A proposed cognitive bias where presenting someone with facts that contradict their deeply held beliefs causes them to defend their original stance even more fiercely. Instead of changing their mind, they become defensive and entrenched. Antiscience |
| Bayes' Theorem | Bayes' theorem is a method for calculating the validity of beliefs (hypotheses, claims, propositions) based on the best available evidence (observations, data, information). In simple terms, initial belief plus new evidence equals new and improved belief. Science |
| Belief Perseverance | A psychological bias where individuals continue to hold onto established beliefs even after receiving clear, contradictory evidence that disproves them. Once an initial conclusion is formed, the brain prioritizes it and resists changing its mind to avoid cognitive discomfort. Antiscience |
| Bias | Any systematic error in the design or execution of a study that leads to an inaccurate or prejudiced result. Science |
| Biomass | Materials that are biological in origin, including organic material (both living and dead) from above and below ground, for example, trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, roots, and animals and animal waste. Climate Change Denial |
| Biosphere | The part of the Earth system comprising all ecosystems and living organisms, in the atmosphere, on land (terrestrial biosphere) or in the oceans (marine biosphere), including derived dead organic matter, such as litter, soil organic matter and oceanic detritus. Climate Change Denial |
| Biotechnology | A set of tools that uses living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify a product, improve plants, trees or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific uses. Examples of biotechnology include traditional applications, such as the making of bread, cheese, wine and beer, and more modern applications to grow or culture cells for research or to make genetically modified crops for food, feed, fuel and fiber. GMOs |
| Blind Testing | Blind testing is a research methodology where information that could introduce bias - such as which participants are receiving a treatment or which product is which brand - is withheld from participants and/or researchers. Science |
| Burden of Proof | The obligation to provide sufficient evidence for a claim. Science denial frequently inverts this burden, demanding that scientists disprove fringe claims rather than that fringe claimants prove theirs. Science |
| Carbon Cycle | All parts (reservoirs) and fluxes of carbon. The cycle is usually thought of as four main reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange. The reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere (usually includes freshwater systems), oceans, and sediments (includes fossil fuels). The annual movements of carbon, the carbon exchanges between reservoirs, occur because of various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. Climate Change Denial |