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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #009955; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#009955"><b>Style over substance</b><br /><a class="mw-selflink selflink"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Pseudoscience</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#CCEADD;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Pseudoscience" title="Category:Pseudoscience"><img alt="Icon pseudoscience.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/100px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/150px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/200px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#009955; text-align:center;"><b>Popular <a href="/wiki/List_of_pseudosciences" title="List of pseudosciences"><font color="white">pseudosciences</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#CCEADD;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alternative_medicine" title="Alternative medicine">Alternative medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">Creationism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Racialism" title="Racialism">Racialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudopsychology" title="Pseudopsychology">Pseudopsychology</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#009955; text-align:center;"><b><a href="/wiki/Category:Pseudoscience" title="Category:Pseudoscience"><font color="white">Random examples</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#CCEADD;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_effect" title="Lunar effect">Lunar effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Breatharianism" title="Breatharianism">Breatharianism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abydos_helicopter" title="Abydos helicopter">Abydos helicopter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Power_Balance" title="Power Balance">Power Balance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grey_goo" title="Grey goo">Grey goo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_scientifically_controlled_double_blind_studies_which_have_conclusively_demonstrated_the_efficacy_of_homeopathy" title="List of scientifically controlled double blind studies which have conclusively demonstrated the efficacy of homeopathy">List of scientifically controlled double blind studies which have conclusively demonstrated the efficacy of homeopathy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/EmDrive" title="EmDrive">EmDrive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bruce_Lipton" title="Bruce Lipton">Bruce Lipton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Answers_Research_Journal" title="Answers Research Journal">Answers Research Journal</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Pseudosciencenav" title="Template:Pseudosciencenav">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Pseudosciencenav" title="Template talk:Pseudosciencenav">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Pseudosciencenav&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:BadScience.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/1f/BadScience.png/165px-BadScience.png" decoding="async" width="165" height="233" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/1f/BadScience.png/248px-BadScience.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/1f/BadScience.png/330px-BadScience.png 2x" data-file-width="1754" data-file-height="2480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:BadScience.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science<br /><small>(<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/images/1/1f/BadScience.png">Click to enlarge</a>)</small></div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>If you are in possession of this revolutionary secret of science, why not prove it properly and be hailed as the new Newton?<br /> Of course, we know the answer. You can't do it. You are a fake.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" title="Richard Dawkins">Richard Dawkins</a>, <i>Unweaving the Rainbow</i><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Pseudoscience</b> describes any <a href="/wiki/Belief" title="Belief">belief</a> system or methodology which <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_authority" title="Argument from authority">tries to gain legitimacy</a> by wearing the trappings of <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> but fails to abide by the rigorous <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">methodology</a> and standards of <a href="/wiki/Evidence" title="Evidence">evidence</a> that are <a href="/wiki/Demarcation_problem" title="Demarcation problem">the marks of true science</a>. </p><p>Promoters of pseudoscience often adopt scientific vocabulary, describing conjectures as <a href="/wiki/Hypothesis" title="Hypothesis">hypotheses</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scientific_theory" title="Scientific theory">theories</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Scientific_law" title="Scientific law">laws</a>, providing <a href="/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence" title="Anecdotal evidence">"evidence" from observation</a> and <a href="/wiki/Expert_for_hire" title="Expert for hire">"expert"</a> testimonies, or even developing what appear to be mathematical models of their ideas. However, in pseudoscience, there is no honest attempt to follow the <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">scientific method</a>, provide <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">falsifiable</a> predictions, or develop <a href="/wiki/Double-blind" class="mw-redirect" title="Double-blind">double-blind</a> experiments. </p><p>Although pseudoscience is designed to appear scientific, it lacks all of the substance of science. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Definition"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Definition</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Why_pseudoscience_exists"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Why pseudoscience exists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Impact"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Impact</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Characteristics_of_pseudoscience"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Characteristics of pseudoscience</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#In_a_nutshell"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">In a nutshell</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Claims"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Claims</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#Use_of_vague_and.2For_exaggerated_claims"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Use of vague and/or exaggerated claims</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Unfalsifiable_ideas"><span class="tocnumber">6.2</span> <span class="toctext">Unfalsifiable ideas</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Stasis_of_the_idea"><span class="tocnumber">6.3</span> <span class="toctext">Stasis of the idea</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#.22Evidence.22"><span class="tocnumber">6.4</span> <span class="toctext">"Evidence"</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12"><a href="#Lack_of_peer_review_and_claims_of_vast_establishment_conspiracies"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Lack of peer review and claims of vast establishment conspiracies</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-13"><a href="#Use_of_outdated_or_refuted_scholarly_works"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Use of outdated or refuted scholarly works</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-14"><a href="#No_interest_in_replication_or_outside_verification"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.3</span> <span class="toctext">No interest in replication or outside verification</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-15"><a href="#Frequent_changes_in_methodology_without_changing_the_conclusions"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Frequent changes in methodology without changing the conclusions</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-16"><a href="#Refusal_to_use_the_scientific_method_or_claiming_it_cannot_be_used"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.5</span> <span class="toctext">Refusal to use the scientific method or claiming it cannot be used</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17"><a href="#Reliance_on_negative_proofs"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.6</span> <span class="toctext">Reliance on negative proofs</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-18"><a href="#Reliance_on_outside_or_unrelated_fields_for_results"><span class="tocnumber">6.4.7</span> <span class="toctext">Reliance on outside or unrelated fields for results</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19"><a href="#Presentation"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Presentation</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#Misuse_of_scientific_terms"><span class="tocnumber">7.1</span> <span class="toctext">Misuse of scientific terms</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21"><a href="#Misrepresentation_of_terms"><span class="tocnumber">7.2</span> <span class="toctext">Misrepresentation of terms</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22"><a href="#External_motivation"><span class="tocnumber">7.3</span> <span class="toctext">External motivation</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-23"><a href="#Religious"><span class="tocnumber">7.3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Religious</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-24"><a href="#Political"><span class="tocnumber">7.3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Political</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-25"><a href="#Commercial"><span class="tocnumber">7.3.3</span> <span class="toctext">Commercial</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26"><a href="#Fields_commonly_plagued_by_pseudoscience"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Fields commonly plagued by pseudoscience</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="#Medicine"><span class="tocnumber">8.1</span> <span class="toctext">Medicine</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-28"><a href="#Supernatural"><span class="tocnumber">8.1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Supernatural</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-29"><a href="#Super-Natural.21.E2.84.A2"><span class="tocnumber">8.1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Super-Natural!™</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30"><a href="#Biology"><span class="tocnumber">8.2</span> <span class="toctext">Biology</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31"><a href="#Physics"><span class="tocnumber">8.3</span> <span class="toctext">Physics</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="#Mathematics"><span class="tocnumber">8.4</span> <span class="toctext">Mathematics</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="#Social_sciences_and_the_humanities"><span class="tocnumber">8.5</span> <span class="toctext">Social sciences and the humanities</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-34"><a href="#History_2"><span class="tocnumber">8.5.1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-35"><a href="#Linguistics"><span class="tocnumber">8.5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Linguistics</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36"><a href="#Economics"><span class="tocnumber">8.6</span> <span class="toctext">Economics</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-37"><a href="#.22Sound_science.22"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">"Sound science"</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-38"><a href="#In_conclusion"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">In conclusion</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-39"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-40"><a href="#Want_to_read_this_in_another_language.3F"><span class="tocnumber">11.1</span> <span class="toctext">Want to read this in another language?</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-41"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-42"><a href="#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-43"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-44"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <p><br clear="right" /> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Definition">Definition</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Definition">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Nikil Mukerji & <a href="/wiki/Edzard_Ernst" title="Edzard Ernst">Edzard Ernst</a> in their paper "Why homoeopathy is pseudoscience" formally define pseudoscience and describe differences between it and similar concepts. They define pseudoscience as follows:<sup id="cite_ref-mukerji_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mukerji-2">[2]</a></sup> </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>…we introduce the premise that a doctrine qualifies as a pseudoscience if, firstly, its proponents claim scientific standing for it and, secondly, if they produce <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> to defend it, such that, unlike science, it cannot be viewed as the most reliable knowledge on its topic.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Nikil Mukerji & <a href="/wiki/Edzard_Ernst" title="Edzard Ernst">Edzard Ernst</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In other words, pseudoscience is what claims to be science while disengaging from the scientific method. </p><p>Not all crank claims are strictly pseudoscientific. Concepts that are similar to pseudoscience are:<sup id="cite_ref-mukerji_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mukerji-2">[2]</a></sup> </p> <ul><li><b>Parascience</b> does not claim to abide by the rules and methods of science, but may claim to be superior to science in some way using a fallacious argument style, such as <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_ancient_wisdom" title="Appeal to ancient wisdom">appeal to ancient wisdom</a>. Mukerji and Ernst give the example of <a href="/wiki/Homeopath" class="mw-redirect" title="Homeopath">homeopaths</a> who do not think of themselves as scientists.</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Protoscience" title="Protoscience">Protoscience</a></b> is an attempt to do science but due to a current lack of resources, the effort is not refutable. Mukerji and Ernst give the example of <a href="/wiki/SETI" title="SETI">SETI</a>. Another example is <a href="/wiki/Alchemy" title="Alchemy">alchemy</a>, which was a protoscience of <a href="/wiki/Chemistry" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a> but has now been refuted and is a pseudoscience.</li> <li><b>Bad science</b> is where a researcher attempts to apply scientific methods but fails. Bad science exists on a continuum between science and pseudoscience.</li> <li><b>Science fraud</b>, also sometimes called <b>junk science</b>, is where the researcher either deliberately falsifies data or does not strictly follow scientific procedures. Science fraud compares to pseudoscience similarly to how <a href="/wiki/Deceit" title="Deceit">deceit</a> compares to bullshit. As opposed to bad science, science fraud is an intentional act of deception.</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Folk_science" title="Folk science">Folk science</a></b> is a common basis for pseudoscience and also a charitable assumption of research which does not claim to abide by the rules and methods of science. It is often based directly on intuitive, crude or naïve ideas about science.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:HappyDawkins.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/d/d6/HappyDawkins.jpg/300px-HappyDawkins.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="381" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/d6/HappyDawkins.jpg/450px-HappyDawkins.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/d/d6/HappyDawkins.jpg 2x" data-file-width="453" data-file-height="575" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:HappyDawkins.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>A happy Richard Dawkins</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Amazingrandi.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/a/a0/Amazingrandi.jpg/300px-Amazingrandi.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="338" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/a/a0/Amazingrandi.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="444" data-file-height="500" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Amazingrandi.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>A bored James Randi</div></div></div> <p>With the rise of the <a href="/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment" title="Age of Enlightenment">Enlightenment movement</a> and the success of the physical sciences in describing the natural world, a new-found respect for science was developing in the western world. As a result, <a href="/wiki/Charlatan" title="Charlatan">charlatans</a> everywhere attempted to capitalize on this phenomenon by hawking a range of "scientifically proven" remedies, potions, treatments, and devices to cure man's woes and bring peace and well-being to all. The term "pseudoscience" developed in response to these con men. One of the first recorded uses of the word "pseudo-science" was in 1844 in the <i>Northern Journal of Medicine</i>, I 387: </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>That opposite kind of innovation which pronounces what has been recognized as a branch of science, to have been a pseudo-science, composed merely of so-called facts, connected together by misapprehensions under the disguise of principles.</div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <p>By the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, science had further extended the boundaries of human understanding. With the development of <a href="/wiki/Quantum_mechanics" title="Quantum mechanics">quantum mechanics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Relativity" title="Relativity">relativity</a>, science presented <a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">reality</a> as a strange place, challenging people's ability to understand the mess of particles and high velocities that make up everything we think we know. These ideas persisted and proved themselves because of their ability to make predictions that could be verified experimentally. Against this backdrop, one of the most famous modern philosophers of science, <a href="/wiki/Karl_Popper" title="Karl Popper">Karl Popper</a>, tried to establish what separated the true science of people like <a href="/wiki/Albert_Einstein" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a> from <a href="/wiki/Intuition" title="Intuition">intuitively</a> less rigorous concepts such as <a href="/wiki/Psychoanalysis" title="Psychoanalysis">psychoanalysis</a>. Popper decided that the key was <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">falsifiability</a>. True science made <i>specific predictions that could be proven false</i> by examining <a href="/wiki/Empirical_reality" class="mw-redirect" title="Empirical reality">empirical reality</a>. Pseudosciences rarely cared about making predictions; if they did, they were unfalsifiable or impossible to test. </p><p>After Popper, <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> entered the stage of <a href="/wiki/Social_constructionism" title="Social constructionism">social constructionism</a>, with (damn-fool) philosophers arguing that science was an illusion. Some, such as <a href="/wiki/Paul_Feyerabend" title="Paul Feyerabend">Paul Feyerabend</a>, argued that it was <a href="/wiki/Paul_Feyerabend#Epistemological_anarchism" title="Paul Feyerabend">impossible to separate science and pseudoscience</a>, and in the end, such a separation is undesirable anyway. </p><p>The reality of pseudoscience and recognition of the harm it causes was, and remains, a unifying idea behind <a href="/wiki/Skepticism" title="Skepticism">skepticism</a> and the work of most practicing scientists. With the emergence of <a href="/wiki/New_Atheism" title="New Atheism">New Atheism</a> and its emphasis on <a href="/wiki/Critical_thinking" title="Critical thinking">critical thinking</a>, a groundswell of effort to combat modern (and sometimes very non-modern) pseudoscience has developed. The popularisation of debunking pseudoscience may have begun with <a href="/wiki/Harry_Houdini" title="Harry Houdini">Harry Houdini</a>, who spent his later days taking on <a href="/wiki/Spiritualist" class="mw-redirect" title="Spiritualist">spiritualists</a> and <a href="/wiki/Medium" class="mw-redirect" title="Medium">mediums</a>. In the latter half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, people like <a href="/wiki/James_Randi" title="James Randi">James Randi</a>, <a href="/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" title="Richard Dawkins">Richard Dawkins</a> published books and made television appearances tackling these subjects. Relative newcomers <a href="/wiki/Ben_Goldacre" title="Ben Goldacre">Ben Goldacre</a>, who wrote the best-seller <i>Bad Science</i>, and <a href="/wiki/Simon_Singh" title="Simon Singh">Simon Singh</a>, who is currently winning a libel case after calling out <a href="/wiki/Chiropractor" class="mw-redirect" title="Chiropractor">chiropractors</a> on their unsupportable claims, have furthered the trend. Meanwhile, skeptical groups and knowledge bases continue to expand on the internet, and <a href="/wiki/Skeptics_in_the_Pub" title="Skeptics in the Pub">Skeptics in the Pub</a> has changed from a small gathering in London to a worldwide event, often attracting hundreds to each meeting. These groups and individuals have actively and publicly fought against <a href="/wiki/Woo" title="Woo">woo</a>, <a href="/wiki/Quackery" title="Quackery">quacks</a>, <a href="/wiki/Crank" title="Crank">cranks</a>, <a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">creationism</a>, and the thousands of other manifestations of pseudoscience. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Why_pseudoscience_exists">Why pseudoscience exists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Why pseudoscience exists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>A lot of people seem to think that they understand <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a>, or that they're "scientifically minded", or at the very least that they're <a href="/wiki/Rational" class="mw-redirect" title="Rational">rational</a>. They prove it by boldly joining Facebook groups for people who claim to <i>not only</i> love science, but "<a href="/wiki/I_Fucking_Love_Science" class="mw-redirect" title="I Fucking Love Science">fuckingly</a>" so. But claiming to love science <i>without actually</i> having a scientific understanding is like claiming to love writing <a href="/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect" class="mw-redirect" title="Dunning-Kruger effect">without being able to read</a>. And a disturbingly large number of people believe in <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> <i>precisely because</i> they have no scientific understanding.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Maddox, <i>How to tell if you believe in bullshit</i><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>If pseudoscience is so incoherently dumb, why do people believe it? There are a few explanations. </p> <ul><li><b>Poor scientific literacy:</b> This approach argues that, because many people don't understand science, how it works, or what makes something <i>not</i> science, that said scientifically illiterate people are susceptible to science-imitating pseudoscience, which has all the apparent authority of science but very little of the hard-to-understand actual research.<sup id="cite_ref-BarVic_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BarVic-4">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-RayDan_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-RayDan-5">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Confirmation_bias" title="Confirmation bias">Confirmation bias</a>:</b> People want to believe that what they <i>think</i> is true <i>is</i> true.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> Furthermore, people want to believe things that make "<a href="/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">sense</a>",<sup id="cite_ref-Lindeman_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lindeman-8">[8]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shermer_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shermer-9">[9]</a></sup> are comforting,<sup id="cite_ref-Lindeman_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lindeman-8">[8]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shermer_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shermer-9">[9]</a></sup> and align with their personal experiences,<sup id="cite_ref-Lindeman_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lindeman-8">[8]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shermer_9-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shermer-9">[9]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-BarVic_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BarVic-4">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-RayDan_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-RayDan-5">[5]</a></sup> pushing them towards what they like rather than what is more likely true. This is compounded by the fact that the brain is good at finding biases in others but not in itself.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup></li> <li><b>Popular misinformation:</b> When something is popular yet wrong, it can often become an established "fact" merely because <a href="/wiki/Argument_by_assertion" title="Argument by assertion">it is repeated many times</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-BarVic_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BarVic-4">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-RayDan_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-RayDan-5">[5]</a></sup> Sometimes this misinformation is due to popular science fiction/fantasy, which either is based on old obsolete concepts or just plain poor present science. Another source is the dreaded "<a href="/wiki/Technobabble" title="Technobabble">technobabble</a>", which in theory is meant to simulate how theories beyond our current understanding would sound to us by mimicking how modern scientific theories would sound to someone of 200 to 300 years ago, but in practice tends to produce scientific gibberish like, "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."</li> <li><b>Excitement:</b> Many claims in pseudoscience are <i>exciting</i> ideas, and believing them potentially makes life more interesting. <a href="/wiki/UFO" class="mw-redirect" title="UFO">UFOs</a> are a good example — the thought that we're being visited and that you, <b>yes you</b>, might be able to spot them yourself is terribly exciting to many people. It also provides an outlet for vivid imagination of what the aliens might be like. By contrast, the lack of evidence for alien visitation and the realities of interstellar travel (due to the immense distances involved) are downright dull to many.</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Wishful_thinking" class="mw-redirect" title="Wishful thinking">Wishful thinking</a>:</b> Some pseudoscientific ideas could greatly help people if they were true. <a href="/wiki/Cold_fusion" title="Cold fusion">Cold fusion</a> is an obvious example, as that could solve many of our energy problems quite easily — if only it <i>worked</i>. Similarly, if — say — positive thinking had a physical effect on reality, that <i>could</i> have tremendous potential to help people. <a href="/wiki/Prayer#Efficacy" title="Prayer">It's been shown not to work, though</a>.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Impact">Impact</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Impact">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Impact_of_science" title="Impact of science">Impact of science</a></div> <p>Science is pretty damned great. Pseudoscience wastes effort that could have gone towards science and misinforms people about science, which hurts its ability to do great things. This obstruction can and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Characteristics_of_pseudoscience">Characteristics of pseudoscience</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Characteristics of pseudoscience">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Demarcation_problem" title="Demarcation problem">Demarcation problem</a></div> <p>The problem of determining whether something is science or not is called the demarcation problem. Why is it an issue? </p><p>Nobody identifies <i>their</i> beliefs as pseudoscience <a href="/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance" title="Cognitive dissonance">because that would imply what they believed was wrong</a>; if they thought they were wrong, they would change their beliefs and avoid believing what they think is pseudoscience. Self-identification is out. </p><p>Furthermore, many <a href="/wiki/Proto-science" class="mw-redirect" title="Proto-science">proto-sciences</a> have fit some of the hallmarks of pseudoscience before they turned into modern sciences. For example, <a href="/wiki/Heroic_medicine" title="Heroic medicine">heroic medicine</a> was the precursor to modern medicine, but used very little empirical testing and had nearly unfalsifiable ideas. The question is when medicine was shifting from heroic to modern medicine, <i>when</i> did it become science? Where was the line? </p><p>Many attempts to resolve the problem have been proposed, including assumptions of <a href="/wiki/Methodological_naturalism" title="Methodological naturalism">methodological naturalism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Logical_positivism" title="Logical positivism">logical positivism</a>, or complete <a href="/wiki/Empiricism" title="Empiricism">empiricism</a>. Furthermore, characteristics such as <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">falsifiability</a> (and more, laid out below) are key to something being considered a science. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_a_nutshell">In a nutshell</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: In a nutshell">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <center> <div class="thumb embedvideo autoResize" style="width: 648px;"><div class="embedvideo autoResize" style=""><div class="embedvideowrap" style="width: 640px;"><iframe title="Play video" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/e3SLiQFdKnA?" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div></div></div> </center> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Claims">Claims</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Claims">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h4><span id="Use_of_vague_and/or_exaggerated_claims"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Use_of_vague_and.2For_exaggerated_claims">Use of vague and/or exaggerated claims</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Use of vague and/or exaggerated claims">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Birth_chart.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Birth_chart.png/200px-Birth_chart.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Birth_chart.png 1.5x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Birth_chart.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>"A good day for buying patio furniture."<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[note 1]</a></sup></div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>If someone were to propose that the planets go around the sun because all planet matter has a kind of tendency for movement, a kind of motility, let us call it an 'oomph,' this theory could explain a number of other phenomena as well.<br /><br />So this is a good theory, is it not? No. It is nowhere near as good as the proposition that the planets move around the sun under the influence of a central force which varies exactly inversely as the square of the distance from the center.<br /><br />The second theory is better because it is so specific; it is so obviously unlikely to be the result of chance. It is so definite that the barest error in the movement can show that it is wrong; but the planets could wobble all over the place, and, according to the first theory, you could say, 'Well, that is the funny behavior of the "oomph".'</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Richard_Feynman" title="Richard Feynman">Richard Feynman</a><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>One of the easiest ways to avoid being proven false is to not make any specific claims at all. Predictions in science are all about specificity and exactness. Operational definitions must be clearly defined and shared; what you are measuring, how you will measure it, and how you will determine if any results are significant are all hallmarks of good science. Pseudoscientific claims rarely have specific, <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">testable</a> scientific predictions and rely on vague and ambiguous language, often encompassing grandiose claims. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Astrology" title="Astrology">Astrology</a> is one of the prime examples of this, as its vague claims allow its "predictions" to apply widely to many people at once, and its clever language allows it to be very wrong but save face. For example, ask an astrologer you have never met before to describe your personality. He may reply, "You consider yourself very selfless, but sometimes you have acted rather selfishly." This statement is true <a href="/wiki/Cold_reading#The_Barnum_effect" title="Cold reading">for pretty much everyone</a>. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Quack" class="mw-redirect" title="Quack">quack</a> medicine, a pseudoscience promoter might claim a given treatment "removes <a href="/wiki/Toxin" title="Toxin">toxins</a> from your system", never saying <i>what toxins</i>, how they will be removed, or how you can tell if they have been removed. The toxins are the <a href="/wiki/Treat_the_cause,_not_the_symptom" title="Treat the cause, not the symptom">true cause of disease,</a> never saying how they cause disease and that removing them will <a href="/wiki/Panacea" title="Panacea">cure you of all known afflictions.</a> In the few cases where the claims are specific, they can be tested and are often left wanting. In the case of <a href="/wiki/Kinoki_Foot_Pads" title="Kinoki Foot Pads">Kinoki Foot Pads</a>, the manufacturers claimed they removed numerous chemicals such as benzene and <a href="/wiki/Mercury" title="Mercury">mercury</a> (most of which weren't supposed to be in the body anyway), and lab trials found none in the pads. </p><p>In other areas of science, it is popular to claim that one has discovered a "<a href="/wiki/Theory_of_everything" title="Theory of everything">unifying theory</a>" that explains all of reality through special "<a href="/wiki/Subtle_energy" title="Subtle energy">energy</a>" and "forces". Or that your <a href="/wiki/Perpetual_motion" title="Perpetual motion">perpetual motion</a> machine works from hitherto undiscovered principles of magnetism. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Unfalsifiable_ideas">Unfalsifiable ideas</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Unfalsifiable ideas">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Karl_Popper.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Karl_Popper.jpg/165px-Karl_Popper.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="211" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Karl_Popper.jpg/248px-Karl_Popper.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Karl_Popper.jpg/330px-Karl_Popper.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="769" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Karl_Popper.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Karl_Popper" title="Karl Popper">Karl Popper</a></div></div></div><div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Falsifiability" title="Falsifiability">Falsifiability</a></div> <p>As Popper laid out seventy years ago, one of the primary demarcations between real science and pseudoscience is that pseudoscience relies on pushing ideas that cannot be falsified. </p><p>The easiest way to distinguish the pseudoscientific method from the scientific method is to look at whether there are testable predictions and see whether the experiments set out to test the theory or simply to <a href="/wiki/Confirmation_bias" title="Confirmation bias">confirm it</a>. Can apparently negative results be handwaved? Can negative results be twisted around to fit the theory anyway? A good case study here is <a href="/wiki/Dewey_Larson#Capacitance" class="mw-redirect" title="Dewey Larson">Ron Satz</a>, who regularly claims that his Theory of Everything explains a particular result – only for him to state that the theory <i>still</i> explains it when that result is called into question. </p><p>Unfalsifiability can manifest itself in different forms. The most general sense is when an idea is proposed that is "<a href="/wiki/Not_even_wrong" title="Not even wrong">not even wrong</a>", meaning that it can never be tested or can never be formulated in such a way as to make empirical predictions. For example, some <a href="/wiki/Young_earth_creationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Young earth creationist">young earth creationists</a> claim that <a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a> created the world with the <a href="/wiki/Omphalos_hypothesis" title="Omphalos hypothesis"><i>appearance</i> of old age</a>. As there is no difference between an old world and one that merely looks old, the hypothesis cannot be tested scientifically. </p><p>Sometimes specific concepts and claims within a pseudoscience can be falsified, such as the efficacy of alternative medicines. When this happens, the usual tactic is to change the criteria for falsification — a strategy known as "<a href="/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts" title="Moving the goalposts">moving the goalposts</a>". <a href="/wiki/Intelligent_design" title="Intelligent design">Intelligent design</a> (ID) is constructed almost entirely from this approach by altering the criteria by which evolution can be disproved every time new research is carried out. Many specific <a href="/wiki/Creationist_claims" class="mw-redirect" title="Creationist claims">claims of intelligent design</a>, such as <a href="/wiki/Irreducible_complexity" title="Irreducible complexity">irreducible complexity</a>, can and have been falsified when naturalistic evolutionary pathways are found. ID advocates then move the goalposts to another irreducibly complex feature until that is disproved, and so on. However, the general concept that a supernatural entity designed life in its current form remains an unfalsifiable idea. Since we can neither prove nor disprove this "hypothesis", it lies outside the domain of science, and adorning it with scientific trappings is a textbook example of pseudoscience. </p><p>Moving the goalposts is also common in more liberal theologies that try to place God as the overseer of the natural world. Whatever cannot be explained by science, well, that is God. And when science comes up with an explanation, we move God to whatever still can't be explained. This <a href="/wiki/God_of_the_gaps" title="God of the gaps">God of the gaps</a> mentality is generally unfalsifiable, as there will always be gaps ready to be filled by God, even if specific claims might be falsifiable. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Stasis_of_the_idea">Stasis of the idea</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Stasis of the idea">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken," and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a><sup id="cite_ref-SRMHP_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SRMHP-13">[12]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Pseudoscience is embraced by its proponents with almost religious fervor. Since the idea can never be wrong, there is very little that needs to be changed or should be changed. This is most aptly seen in pseudoscience, such as <a href="/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">homeopathy</a> or <a href="/wiki/Acupuncture" title="Acupuncture">acupuncture</a>, that have been around for generations. One is hard-pressed to find significant differences between the basic idea proposed 300 or 3,000 years ago and the beliefs and practices of modern-day quacks. </p><p>This is in marked contrast to real science, where stasis of even a few years is rare – let alone decades or centuries. The difference between physics proposed by <a href="/wiki/Isaac_Newton" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a> and the modern day is vast. Despite what creationists claim, <a href="/wiki/Charles_Darwin" title="Charles Darwin">Charles Darwin</a>'s idea of evolution by <a href="/wiki/Natural_selection" title="Natural selection">natural selection</a> has undergone huge changes with the advent of genetics, developmental biology, and hundreds of other fields. </p><p>While progress in science can be rough, and personalities can clash, nothing can compare to the outright hostility of a pseudoscience promoter when faced with having his ideas developed or changed. Any such attempts will usually mark the upstart as a member of the establishment out to undermine truth once again. </p> <h3><span id=""Evidence""></span><span class="mw-headline" id=".22Evidence.22">"Evidence"</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: "Evidence"">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Math07.gif" class="image"><img alt="Math07.gif" src="/w/images/thumb/c/ca/Math07.gif/300px-Math07.gif" decoding="async" width="300" height="341" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/c/ca/Math07.gif 1.5x" data-file-width="350" data-file-height="398" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Math07.gif" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div></div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:262px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Evidence.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/6/63/Evidence.png/260px-Evidence.png" decoding="async" width="260" height="368" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/6/63/Evidence.png/390px-Evidence.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/6/63/Evidence.png/520px-Evidence.png 2x" data-file-width="1754" data-file-height="2480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Evidence.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>A Rough Guide to Types of Scientific Evidence<br /><small>(<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/images/6/63/Evidence.png">Click to enlarge</a>)</small></div></div></div> <p>In science, <a href="/wiki/Evidence" title="Evidence">evidence</a> is valued when it is collected rigorously and is as divorced as possible from personal bias. The classic example is a controlled, <a href="/wiki/Double-blind" class="mw-redirect" title="Double-blind">double-blind</a> study. Though naturalistic observation is sometimes used, it is not <a href="/wiki/Proof" title="Proof">proof</a> of a theory. Furthermore, a substantial quantity of data is usually involved when it is used. The use of <a href="/wiki/Statistics" title="Statistics">statistics</a> and an emphasis on <a href="/wiki/Statistical_significance" title="Statistical significance">statistical significance</a> is also a vital hallmark of legitimate science. </p><p>In pseudoscience, the importance placed on the value of evidence is almost reversed. Rigorous and controlled experiments, large data sets, and statistical reasoning are replaced with an emphasis on personal, <a href="/wiki/Anecdote" class="mw-redirect" title="Anecdote">anecdotal evidence</a> and <a href="/wiki/Testimonial" title="Testimonial">testimonials</a>. Another major emphasis is on expert opinion. Anyone with <a href="/wiki/Credentialism" title="Credentialism">letters after their name</a> who is willing to say something positive about the idea is quoted to provide evidence the idea is valid. (It's a minor red flag when someone insists on <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Appeal to authority">attaching "Dr." or "Ph.D." to their name.</a>) </p><p>Well-known examples are the ridiculous lists of scientists questioning Darwinian evolution created by <a href="/wiki/Creationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Creationist">creationists</a>. This is nicely countered with <a href="/wiki/Project_Steve" title="Project Steve">Project Steve</a>, which shows the ridiculous nature of this technique. Often the expert or scientist quoted supporting a pseudoscientific idea may not actually support it, and the quote is taken out of context. This is called <a href="/wiki/Quote_mining" title="Quote mining">quote mining</a> and is a great indicator of pseudoscience. Other times the individual quoted is <a href="/wiki/Professor_of_nothing" title="Professor of nothing">not a scientist</a> at all, but instead something like a <a href="/wiki/Engineers_and_woo" title="Engineers and woo">doctor or an engineer</a> — or is a legitimate scientist, but in <a href="/wiki/Ultracrepidarianism" title="Ultracrepidarianism">a different field altogether</a>. A good example of the latter is physicists appearing in the evolution lists mentioned above: a physicist's opinion on biological questions carries no more weight than a biologist's opinion would matter about, say, the properties of the Higgs boson. </p><p>One final problem is that pseudoscience promoters are <i>only</i> interested in evidence that confirms the initial idea. This <a href="/wiki/Confirmation_bias" title="Confirmation bias">confirmation bias</a> means any evidence that might contradict the idea is ignored — or worse yet, <a href="/wiki/Heresy" title="Heresy">denounced</a>. </p> <div style="clear:both"></div> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Lack_of_peer_review_and_claims_of_vast_establishment_conspiracies">Lack of peer review and claims of vast establishment conspiracies</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Lack of peer review and claims of vast establishment conspiracies">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:118px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg/116px-Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg" decoding="async" width="116" height="152" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg/174px-Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg/232px-Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg 2x" data-file-width="496" data-file-height="652" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Nature_Materials_Nov_2008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Nature_(journal)" title="Nature (journal)">A peer-reviewed journal</a></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:118px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Answers_Cover5-1.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/2/24/Answers_Cover5-1.jpg" decoding="async" width="116" height="151" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="116" data-file-height="151" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Answers_Cover5-1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Answers_Research_Journal" title="Answers Research Journal">A "peer-reviewed" journal</a></div></div></div> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main articles on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">Conspiracy theory</a> and <a href="/wiki/Peer_review" title="Peer review">Peer review</a></div> <p>One of the most important aspects of true science is <a href="/wiki/Reproducibility" title="Reproducibility">replication</a> and verification, particularly from third parties not involved in the original experiments. This is the heart of <a href="/wiki/Peer_review" title="Peer review">peer review</a>, where new ideas are laid out before fellow scientists with all the details of how to replicate and extend the research. While the social dynamics of peer review are not foolproof, and many interesting issues can emerge, there is still nothing better for advancing human knowledge. It is, of course, not surprising that people who promote pseudoscience want to avoid peer-review like a plague. </p><p>If an idea has not been published in a single <a href="/wiki/Scientific_journal" title="Scientific journal">peer-reviewed journal</a>, it is safe to say it likely would not pass the peer review process, at least not in its current state. Most people with even the faintest interest in science have at least a passing knowledge of the peer-review system, so pseudoscience promoters often have to offer <a href="/wiki/Handwave" title="Handwave">hand-wavy</a> explanations for why their ideas have not been published anywhere. Many pseudoscience advocates claim that there is a malicious "<a href="/wiki/Big_Science" class="mw-redirect" title="Big Science">Big Science</a>" industry. In <a href="/wiki/Alternative_medicine" title="Alternative medicine">alternative medicine</a>, it is common to blame <a href="/wiki/Big_Pharma" title="Big Pharma">Big Pharma</a> for wanting to hide the fact that some natural product cures all known illnesses because it will hurt their profits — although such a thing would generate more profit, and Big Pharma would be dying to get their hands on it and monopolize it! In <a href="/wiki/Biology" title="Biology">biology</a>, creationists often claim that <a href="/wiki/Evolution" title="Evolution">evolution</a> is propped up by a vast <a href="/wiki/Atheism" title="Atheism">atheist</a> and <a href="/wiki/Materialism" title="Materialism">materialist</a> <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy">conspiracy</a>, as if every Ph.D. student ended their final viva with their supervisor taking them to one side for "a little chat". This "big <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy">conspiracy</a>" is perhaps the most common tactic, but more imaginative excuses do exist, such as <a href="/wiki/Jason_Lisle" title="Jason Lisle">Jason Lisle</a> claiming that his theory on how to solve the <a href="/wiki/Starlight_problem" title="Starlight problem">starlight problem</a> doesn't need to pass through the peer-review system of major science journals because you wouldn't expect <a href="/wiki/Evolutionist" class="mw-redirect" title="Evolutionist">evolutionist</a> papers to pass through creationist journals. </p><p>When pseudoscientific papers are published, they are often published in <a href="/wiki/Pseudo-journal" class="mw-redirect" title="Pseudo-journal">pseudo-journals</a>, which pretend to use "peer review" but are less rigorous than one would expect of the scientific mainstream. Pseudoscience promoters will sometimes start their journals that are "reviewed" only by fellow promoters. These journals are often easily identified by their poor standards for inclusion or their lack of inclusion in scholarly indexes such as the ISI Web of Knowledge (or even Google Scholar). One of the most obvious characteristics of pseudo-peer review is a lack of interest in replicating or verifying the "work" of others in the field. This brings us to the next point… </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Use_of_outdated_or_refuted_scholarly_works">Use of outdated or refuted scholarly works</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Use of outdated or refuted scholarly works">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Sometimes a pseudoscience supporter will present a scholarly article from a work in the related field as "proof" that the claim is not pseudoscientific, but via further research, it can be shown that this sole study was a glitch or later proven false. </p><p>For example, K. Linde, N. Clausius, G. Ramirez, et al., "Are the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? A Meta-analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials", <i>Lancet</i>, September 20, 1997, 350:834-843 at first glance supports homeopathy, but this paper was refuted in "The end of homoeopathy", <i>The Lancet</i>, Vol. 366 No. 9487 p 690. The Vol. 366 No. 9503 issue (Dec 27, 2005), and by 14 studies from 2003 to 2007.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[13]</a></sup> </p><p>This, by far, is the more dangerous form of pseudoscience, as it gives a (generally false) air of legitimacy to a claim. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="No_interest_in_replication_or_outside_verification">No interest in replication or outside verification</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: No interest in replication or outside verification">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>While closely related to a refusal to submit to peer review, the lack of interest in any form of replication or outside verification is an important issue in and of itself. Whereas real science is a work in permanent progress with many people worldwide replicating experiments, exchanging results, working out details, and deriving further hypotheses, pseudoscience is presented as a completed package, a done deal. Pseudoscientific ideas may claim to have unified physics, cured the sick, reduced all of mathematics to an algebraic proof, and created <a href="/wiki/Free_energy_(pseudoscience)" title="Free energy (pseudoscience)">limitless energy</a>. They claim there is no need to go any further; just embrace the idea and enter <a href="/wiki/Utopia" title="Utopia">utopia</a>. In contrast, real scientists love it when others pick up their work and use it as a basis for further research – if nothing else, it pumps up their citation numbers. </p><p>Often the pseudoscience promoter will use the techniques of vague language to make outside verification impossible or offer the secrets only to those deemed worthy or pay large sums of money. If someone attempts to replicate or verify the idea and fails, they must be either stupid or a paid <a href="/wiki/Shill" class="mw-redirect" title="Shill">shill</a> for the evil conspiracy to hide the truth. </p><p>This embracing the idea that the problem is solved and needs no verification is also the source for our next major characteristic of pseudoscience. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Frequent_changes_in_methodology_without_changing_the_conclusions">Frequent changes in methodology without changing the conclusions</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Frequent changes in methodology without changing the conclusions">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>As an alternative to the above, pseudoscience can be <b>overly</b> eager to update its claims and ideas. While science is always a "work in progress" to some extent and undergoes rapid change, new hypotheses and theories are formed on top of existing ones and, more importantly, <i>generate new claims or avenues of exploration</i>. <a href="/wiki/Relativity" title="Relativity">Relativity</a>, groundbreaking as it was, did not wholly discard Newtonian physics; indeed, Einstein was able to formulate his theory through the classic Maxwell Equations. However, in this hallmark of pseudoscience, previous hypotheses and mechanisms are dropped wholesale as soon as something slightly more promising comes along – while still keeping the same basic conclusion. <a href="/wiki/Transhumanism" title="Transhumanism">Transhumanism</a> as a movement in the 1960s has almost no resemblance to <a href="/wiki/Transhumanism" title="Transhumanism">transhumanism</a> in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, yet people are still somehow promised a future of immortal supermen through the power of science. <a href="/wiki/Fad_diet" title="Fad diet">Fad diets</a>, in particular, are prone to this, spewing out <a href="/wiki/Technobabble" title="Technobabble">technobabble</a> on how <i>this</i> newly discovered trick will trim your <s>wallet</s> waistline while not explaining why all the previous dozens of false claims were based on exactly as little actual science. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Refusal_to_use_the_scientific_method_or_claiming_it_cannot_be_used">Refusal to use the scientific method or claiming it cannot be used</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Refusal to use the scientific method or claiming it cannot be used">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Pseudoscience promoters rarely discuss experimental evidence when promoting their falsehoods. But in debates that inevitably emerge, they must sometimes face the question of why they don't submit their ideas to the basic practice of science. This is commonly seen in medical <a href="/wiki/Woo" title="Woo">woo</a>, where the gold standard of the <a href="/wiki/Double-blind" class="mw-redirect" title="Double-blind">double-blind</a> study would clearly show the ideas to be false. Most promoters will refuse to do the studies and often claim that their ideas are somehow impossible to test through standard means. </p><p>Particularly in medical trials, it's important to know that any observation is attributable <i>only</i> to the hypothesized mechanism, such as a new drug or surgery, and not to a <a href="/wiki/Confounding_variable" class="mw-redirect" title="Confounding variable">confounding variable</a>. The pseudoscientific method actively ignores this or attempts to claim some exemption from it. Even when it comes to apologists talking about <a href="/wiki/Prayer" title="Prayer">prayer</a>, if someone states that something "works", they must have a criterion by which they can support that statement. There is no difference between something people say can't be tested for and something that simply doesn't work. Much of the pseudoscientific method is devoted to convincing people that this isn't true. </p><p>This <a href="/wiki/Special_pleading" title="Special pleading">special pleading</a> is often hidden in a positive light. For example, promoters of "alternative medicine" will claim that the "<a href="/wiki/Holistic_medicine" class="mw-redirect" title="Holistic medicine">whole body</a>" approach to healing requires full disclosure between the doctor and patient. Homeopaths claim that true remedies must be tailor-made and thus cannot be tested against any kind of standard. </p><p>Another technique is claiming that attempts to apply skepticism or testing to the idea <a href="/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts" title="Moving the goalposts">would destroy it</a>. This objection is common in various forms of <a href="/wiki/Psychic" title="Psychic">psychic</a> woo, where skeptics are alleged to disrupt the delicate "<a href="/wiki/Telepathy" title="Telepathy">telepathic</a> waves". Many pseudoscience concepts based around supernatural causes will claim that their particular cures are carried out by an agency of some sort that will not willingly be tested in such a manner. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Reliance_on_negative_proofs">Reliance on negative proofs</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Reliance on negative proofs">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>In science, ideas are never really proven, hence the old adage that "proof is for <a href="/wiki/Math" class="mw-redirect" title="Math">math</a> and <a href="/wiki/Alcohol" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>". Pseudoscience promoters, however, are big fans of the idea that somehow if an idea is not <i>proven</i> false, it must be true. This is obviously silly,<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[note 2]</a></sup> and like all claims, those of pseudoscientists <a href="/wiki/Burden_of_proof" title="Burden of proof">must be backed up by evidence</a>. The burden of providing this evidence is on the claimant, and <a href="/wiki/Extraordinary_claims_require_extraordinary_evidence" title="Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence">extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence</a>. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Reliance_on_outside_or_unrelated_fields_for_results">Reliance on outside or unrelated fields for results</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Reliance on outside or unrelated fields for results">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Especially applicable to "<a href="/wiki/Protoscience" title="Protoscience">almost science</a>" are ideas that place an undue burden on fields of science or engineering not directly covered by the topic to make it work. While modern science is noteworthy for hand-holding between disciplines, and real scientific projects can sometimes not be immediately implemented due to real-world limitations, pseudoscience always passes the buck to a more trustworthy discipline. For example, advocates for <a href="/wiki/Cryonics" title="Cryonics">cryonics</a> often claim that their bizarre method of revivification will be wholly validated and viable once <a href="/wiki/Nanotechnology" title="Nanotechnology">nanotechnology</a> catches up. Or that <a href="/wiki/Cold_fusion" title="Cold fusion">cold fusion</a> is just around the corner once engineers design a viable containment reactor. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Presentation">Presentation</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Presentation">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Misuse_of_scientific_terms">Misuse of scientific terms</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Misuse of scientific terms">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:124px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Qxciani.gif" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/b/ba/Qxciani.gif" decoding="async" width="122" height="69" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="122" data-file-height="69" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Qxciani.gif" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The device pictured is called "<a href="/wiki/Quantum_biofeedback" title="Quantum biofeedback">The Quantum Xrroid Consciousness Interface</a>". Honestly!</div></div></div> <p>One of the easiest ways to gain the trappings of science is to describe pseudoscience using the words of science or terms that sound scientific (often aptly described as <a href="/wiki/Technobabble" title="Technobabble">technobabble</a> or <a href="/wiki/Equivocation" title="Equivocation">equivocation</a>). This is easiest to do with scientific concepts that are poorly understood by the general public (which, admittedly, includes the <i>vast majority</i> of scientific concepts). <a href="/wiki/New_Age" title="New Age">New Agers</a> are particularly fond of "<a href="/wiki/Energy_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Energy woo">energy</a>" as a catchall term. Another favorite target for pseudoscience promoters is the use of <a href="/wiki/Quantum_woo" title="Quantum woo">quantum woo</a>, where waves, particles, strings, and force lines magically come together to produce amazing consequences. <a href="/wiki/Law_of_Attraction" class="mw-redirect" title="Law of Attraction">Law of Attraction</a> proponents, for example, claim that you can manifest anything you want into reality (<a href="/wiki/Money" title="Money">money</a>, fame, <a href="/wiki/Sex" title="Sex">sex</a>, a better hairstyle) by focusing on it and "collapsing wave functions" in reality. </p><p>Other techniques often involve not misusing existing terms but rather creating whole new terms in a style that seems scientific. An excellent example is the creationist <a href="/wiki/Baraminology" title="Baraminology">baraminology</a> and baramin, their fancy replacement for the old <a href="/wiki/PRATT" class="mw-redirect" title="PRATT">PRATT</a> that animals only evolve within "kinds". </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Misrepresentation_of_terms">Misrepresentation of terms</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Misrepresentation of terms">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Another facet of pseudoscience that occurs in popular culture is the misrepresentation of a term. </p><p>The most obvious example of this is "life expectancy", as seen in the <i><a href="/wiki/In_Search_of..._(TV_series)" title="In Search of... (TV series)">In Search of…</a></i> episode "The Man Who Would Not Die" (About Count of St. Germain), where it is stated, "Evidence recently discovered in the British Museum indicates that St. Germain may have well been the long lost third son of Rákóczi born in Transylvania in 1694. If he died in Germany in 1784, he lived 90 years. The average life expectancy in the 18<sup>th</sup> century was 35 years. Fifty was a ripe old age. <i>Ninety</i>… was forever." </p><p>Even though it talks about life expectancy as being an average, the statement still presents ages past that average as very rare, which is not exactly true. The life expectancy generally quoted is the <i>at-birth</i> number, which is an average that includes all the babies that die before their first year of life and people that die from disease and war. Let's say you have two people born on the same day: one dies at the age of 2, but the other lives to the age of 80. The average age of those two people is 41 ((80+2)/2), and if you averaged three people of 2, 3, and 80, you would get an average age of only 29! It doesn't take that many child deaths to send the average down. Living to the age of 5 nearly doubled your life expectancy from 25 to 48. Most of the overall advances in life expectancy have, in fact, come from reducing infant and childhood mortality; the average life expectancy for people who reach adulthood has, barring dips caused by wars and pandemics, only gone up by a few years.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[14]</a></sup> </p><p>Even with these averages, you still had people who lived a long time. For example, Benjamin Franklin died in 1790 at 84, and Ramesses II is thought to have lived 90 years. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="External_motivation">External motivation</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: External motivation">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">Major commonalities in political, religious, and commercial pseudoscience <a href="/wiki/A_comparative_guide_to_science_denial" title="A comparative guide to science denial">are outlined here</a>.</div> <p>A huge red flag should go up when an idea is pushed against the backdrop of a strong agenda that, on the surface, should have nothing to do with the idea being proposed at all. This can often be seen when an individual suddenly starts promoting a pseudoscientific idea shortly after a major political or religious conversion, or a list of "supporters" of an idea is unified in some philosophy or religion. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Religious">Religious</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Religious">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Hitwin.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/2/2f/Hitwin.jpg/300px-Hitwin.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="354" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/2/2f/Hitwin.jpg/450px-Hitwin.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/2/2f/Hitwin.jpg 2x" data-file-width="489" data-file-height="577" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Hitwin.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Godwin%27s_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Godwin's Law">This</a> proves <a href="/wiki/Social_Darwinism" title="Social Darwinism">everything</a>. <a href="/wiki/Racialism#Darwin" title="Racialism">Doesn't it?</a></div></div></div> <p>The readiest example of this can be found with <a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">creationism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Intelligent_design" title="Intelligent design">intelligent design</a>, where the goal of discrediting evolution is merely a means to discredit <a href="/wiki/Secularism" class="mw-redirect" title="Secularism">secularism</a> and promote <a href="/wiki/Fundamentalist_Christianity" title="Fundamentalist Christianity">fundamentalist Christianity</a> in its place. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Political">Political</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Political">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Pseudoscience can also thrive as the backdrop of political ideology. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Lysenkoism" title="Lysenkoism">Lysenkoism</a> thrived in the Soviet Union under <a href="/wiki/Josef_Stalin" class="mw-redirect" title="Josef Stalin">Josef Stalin</a> as an "alternative" to evolution by natural selection because it was put forward as part of the <a href="/wiki/Communism" title="Communism">Communist</a> ideology. Meanwhile, evolution and <a href="/wiki/Gregor_Mendel" title="Gregor Mendel">Mendelian genetics</a> were declared to be "<a href="/wiki/Bourgeois_pseudoscience" title="Bourgeois pseudoscience">bourgeois pseudoscience</a>", and <a href="/wiki/Censorship" title="Censorship">their supporters were sent</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Gulag" class="mw-redirect" title="Gulag">gulags</a>, which is <i>exactly</i> how science's <a href="/wiki/Peer_review" title="Peer review">peer review</a> process works.<small><sup>Do You Believe That?</sup></small><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[15]</a></sup> </p><p>Likewise, <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> promoted <i><a href="/wiki/Deutsche_Physik" title="Deutsche Physik">Deutsche Physik</a></i> because Nazi ideologues felt that <a href="/wiki/Relativity" title="Relativity">relativity</a> was too connected to <a href="/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Jews</a>, like <a href="/wiki/Albert_Einstein" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a>. </p><p>Pseudoscience is also often used to repress minorities or "undesirables", such as the <a href="/wiki/Racialism" title="Racialism">"scientific racism"</a> used to support <a href="/wiki/Eugenics" title="Eugenics">eugenics</a> programs. </p><p>In modern politics, the influence of the <a href="/wiki/Religious_right" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious right">religious right</a> has led to a <a href="/wiki/Politicization_of_science" title="Politicization of science">politicization of science</a> that links religious and political motivation in <a href="/wiki/Policy-based_evidence_making" title="Policy-based evidence making">pushing various forms of pseudoscience</a>, from <a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">creationism</a> to <a href="/wiki/Global_warming_denialism" class="mw-redirect" title="Global warming denialism">global warming denialism</a>, while in a more bipartisan example of <a href="/wiki/Crankery" class="mw-redirect" title="Crankery">crankery</a>, opposition to <a href="/wiki/Genetically_modified_food" title="Genetically modified food">GMOs</a> and <a href="/wiki/Anti-vaccination_movement" title="Anti-vaccination movement">vaccines</a> is often derived less from science and more from a particularly <a href="/wiki/Paranoid" class="mw-redirect" title="Paranoid">paranoid</a> strain of public health/consumer advocacy (with <a href="/wiki/Left-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Left-wing">left-wing</a> examples often adding <a href="/wiki/Environmentalism" title="Environmentalism">environmentalism</a> to the mix, and <a href="/wiki/Right-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Right-wing">right-wing</a> examples adding distrust of government regulatory agencies). </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Commercial">Commercial</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Commercial">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience_in_advertising" title="Pseudoscience in advertising">Pseudoscience in advertising</a></div> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it!.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/c/c1/Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg/300px-Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="383" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/c1/Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg/450px-Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/c1/Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg/600px-Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it%21.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1174" data-file-height="1500" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Science_discovered_it_-_you_can_prove_it!.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Thanks, <i><b><a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience_in_advertising" title="Pseudoscience in advertising">science</a></b></i>!</div></div></div> <p>Commercial interests often find ways to bend "science" to allow easier sales. A clear example is the tobacco industry, which denied any link between <a href="/wiki/Tobacco_smoking" title="Tobacco smoking">smoking</a> and lung cancer for decades and devised tests to "prove" exactly that. Why? Because if smoking isn't bad for you, then it's harder to regulate tobacco and easier to convince customers to buy your product. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Fields_commonly_plagued_by_pseudoscience">Fields commonly plagued by pseudoscience</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Fields commonly plagued by pseudoscience">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table class="plainlinks" style="width:315px;margin-left:4em;margin-top:.4em;margin-bottom:.4em;border:1px solid #AAAAAA;text-align:left;background:#f8fafc;"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none;background:#26A1A6;width:7%;align:left;"></td><td><small><i>This section requires <b><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit">more sources</a>.</b></i></small></td></tr></tbody></table> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Medicine">Medicine</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Medicine">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Probably the single most destructive form of pseudoscience is <a href="/wiki/Quackery" title="Quackery">quack</a> medicine. Its toll financially, and in terms of human health and life, is immense. At face value, quack remedies for mild headaches or "feeling down" <a href="/wiki/What%27s_the_harm_(logical_fallacy)" title="What's the harm (logical fallacy)">may seem harmless</a> ; the <a href="/wiki/Placebo_effect" title="Placebo effect">placebo effect</a> as well as other factors may lead people to believe that they actually work. Alternative medicines prey on a minority of bad experiences with conventional medicine to draw people into their use, first for mild conditions and then serious ones. This leads to patients forgoing conventional (i.e., proven) medicine for a range of ailments that are far more serious, from <a href="/wiki/Cancer" title="Cancer">cancer</a> to <a href="/wiki/AIDS" class="mw-redirect" title="AIDS">AIDS</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[16]</a></sup> </p><p>There are two major categories of pseudoscience in medicine. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Supernatural">Supernatural</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Supernatural">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>The first is <a href="/wiki/Supernatural" title="Supernatural">supernatural</a>, <a href="/wiki/Psychic" title="Psychic">psychic</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Paranormal" title="Paranormal">paranormal</a> healing. This <a href="/wiki/Faith_healing" title="Faith healing">faith healing</a> is popular with <a href="/wiki/Televangelist" class="mw-redirect" title="Televangelist">televangelists</a> like <a href="/wiki/Benny_Hinn" title="Benny Hinn">Benny Hinn</a>. Some religious sects, such as <a href="/wiki/Christian_Science" title="Christian Science">Christian Science</a>, are based exclusively around the pseudoscience that every major illness can be cured through supernatural means, and this often results in death from easily preventable or curable illnesses. This form of healing doesn't need to be overtly religious; <a href="/wiki/Quantum_woo" title="Quantum woo">quantum woo</a> such as the <a href="/wiki/Law_of_Attraction" class="mw-redirect" title="Law of Attraction">Law of Attraction</a>, or techniques like <a href="/wiki/Psychic_surgery" title="Psychic surgery">psychic surgery</a> and <a href="/wiki/Reiki" title="Reiki">Reiki</a>, are often non-theistic but still "supernatural" in origin. Some "ancient traditions" such as <a href="/wiki/Acupuncture" title="Acupuncture">acupuncture</a> and <a href="/wiki/Chakra" title="Chakra">chakras</a> also generally fall into this category. </p> <h4><span id="Super-Natural!™"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Super-Natural.21.E2.84.A2">Super-Natural!™</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Super-Natural!™">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>The second category avoids supernatural claims, but instead relies on poorly supported or discredited "science", often appealing to its <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_nature" title="Appeal to nature">"natural"</a> qualities. Often this kind of pseudoscience takes the form of pushing various <a href="/wiki/Pseudovitamin" title="Pseudovitamin">vitamin</a> or <a href="/wiki/Herbal_supplement" title="Herbal supplement">herbal supplements</a> as magic cures for diseases or necessary <a href="/wiki/Vitamin_and_mineral_supplements" title="Vitamin and mineral supplements">vitamins and minerals</a> or <a href="/wiki/Protein" title="Protein">proteins</a> and fats as magic causes of diseases. Other forms include taking outdated concepts of disease and cures and claiming they are just as accurate or more accurate than modern medicine. <a href="/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">Homeopathy</a> is a great example of this, based on a 200-year old theory of disease that wasn't even widely accepted when it was first proposed — and, perhaps more importantly, was compiled <i>before</i> the <a href="/wiki/Germ_theory" title="Germ theory">germ theory</a> was ever established. Finally, when terrible things happen, the desire to "blame" someone leads to false <a href="/wiki/Scapegoat" title="Scapegoat">scapegoats</a>. This is most clearly seen in the <a href="/wiki/Vaccine_hysteria" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaccine hysteria">anti-vaccination movement</a>, particularly about the role of <a href="/wiki/Thiomersal" title="Thiomersal">thiomersal</a> in <a href="/wiki/Autism" title="Autism">autism</a>. Some of the arguments used by the <a href="/wiki/Anti-nuclear_movement" title="Anti-nuclear movement">anti-nuclear movement</a> also fall into this category. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Biology">Biology</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Biology">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Behe.gif" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/2/27/Behe.gif/165px-Behe.gif" decoding="async" width="165" height="127" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/2/27/Behe.gif/248px-Behe.gif 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/2/27/Behe.gif/330px-Behe.gif 2x" data-file-width="522" data-file-height="401" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Behe.gif" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Intelligent_design" title="Intelligent design">Intelligent design</a> advocate <a href="/wiki/Michael_Behe" title="Michael Behe">Michael Behe</a>, inventor of <a href="/wiki/Irreducible_complexity" title="Irreducible complexity">irreducible complexity</a> — a supposedly scientific idea that has defied precise definition and been consistently disproven for 20 years.</div></div></div> <p>Biology is subjected to probably the best known and most widespread pseudoscience of all — <a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">creationism</a>. Whatever the manifestation, whether <a href="/wiki/Old_Earth_creationism" title="Old Earth creationism">old Earth</a>, <a href="/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism" title="Young Earth creationism">young Earth</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Intelligent_design" title="Intelligent design">intelligent design</a>, creationism has been a prolific and long-standing pseudoscience. It all stems from the perceived threat of <a href="/wiki/Evolution" title="Evolution">evolution</a> to religion. </p><p>While creationism has certainly dominated as the main pseudoscience in biology, it is not the only one. Historically, <a href="/wiki/Lysenkoism" title="Lysenkoism">Lysenkoism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Eugenics" title="Eugenics">eugenics</a> have both been extraordinarily deadly. Purported differences between the innate abilities of different races, such as in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Bell_Curve" title="The Bell Curve">The Bell Curve</a></i>, share many characteristics with pseudoscience. Many of the pseudosciences in medicine overlap with biology, with denying <a href="/wiki/HIV_denial" class="mw-redirect" title="HIV denial">AIDS</a> or even the <a href="/wiki/Germ_theory_denialism" title="Germ theory denialism">germ theory of disease</a> and replacing it with ridiculous concepts like <a href="/wiki/Homotoxicology" title="Homotoxicology">homotoxicology</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Physics">Physics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Physics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Deepak_Chopra.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Deepak_Chopra.jpg/165px-Deepak_Chopra.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="206" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Deepak_Chopra.jpg/248px-Deepak_Chopra.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Deepak_Chopra.jpg/330px-Deepak_Chopra.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1007" data-file-height="1259" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Deepak_Chopra.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/Deepak_Chopra" title="Deepak Chopra">Deepak Chopra</a></div></div></div> <p>Physics has been home to some of the weirdest forms of pseudoscience. Because its concepts are particularly arcane to most lay people, it sometimes seems to be possible to pass off just about any incoherent drivel as "science". By invoking the <a href="/wiki/Magic" title="Magic">magic</a> word "<a href="/wiki/Quantum_woo" title="Quantum woo">quantum</a>", suddenly the most ridiculous, utterly impossible statements become easily accepted as true. This pops up all over the place with <a href="/wiki/Crank" title="Crank">cranks</a> like <a href="/wiki/Deepak_Chopra" title="Deepak Chopra">Deepak Chopra</a> and his <a href="/wiki/Quantum_healing" title="Quantum healing">quantum healing</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Esther_Hicks" title="Esther Hicks">Esther Hicks</a> and her <a href="/wiki/Law_of_Attraction" class="mw-redirect" title="Law of Attraction">Law of Attraction</a>. </p><p>In June 2017, the error-prone dreamer <a href="/wiki/Robert_Morningstar" title="Robert Morningstar">Robert Morningstar</a> wrote of a new game he had invented "It unifies the metaphysical principles of Taoism and Tai Chi Ch'uan with Einstein's Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics to produce novel ways of moving through curved space-time." The game, Thunderball, consists of two people chucking balls at each other. </p><p>While <a href="/wiki/Grand_Unified_Theory" title="Grand Unified Theory">Grand Unified Field Theories</a> and <a href="/wiki/Theory_of_everything" title="Theory of everything">Theories of everything</a> are legitimate concepts in theoretical physics (investigating those are basically why the <a href="/wiki/LHC" class="mw-redirect" title="LHC">LHC</a> was built), woo promoters often abuse such esoteric concepts when peddling their wares to a general public. Not content for Grand Unified Theories to just unite electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force, but also the <a href="/wiki/Mind" title="Mind">mind</a>, body, and <a href="/wiki/Soul" title="Soul">soul</a>. <a href="/wiki/Cranks" class="mw-redirect" title="Cranks">Cranks</a> with no training in physics or math frequently submit their own Theories of Everything, which are universally laughed out of the room by actual experts, <a href="/wiki/WOMBAT" title="WOMBAT">if acknowledged at all</a>. </p><p>Another very popular subject for physics-based pseudoscience is <a href="/wiki/Free_energy_(pseudoscience)" title="Free energy (pseudoscience)">free energy</a>. Whether through magnetism or <a href="/wiki/Orgone_energy" title="Orgone energy">orgone</a> or any other made-up substance, people have claimed for generations to have the solution to our world's energy needs in their garage. <a href="/wiki/Cold_fusion" title="Cold fusion">Cold fusion</a>, similar to free energy, had its heyday in the media before its original perpetrators were exposed as frauds. However, cranks regularly rant on internet forums that they have cold fusion powering their freezers right now. These ideas merge with engineering into claims of <a href="/wiki/Perpetual_motion" title="Perpetual motion">perpetual motion</a> machines or devices that can generate more energy than they consume. </p><p>And finally, we have straight-out <a href="/wiki/Denialism" title="Denialism">denialism</a> coated in "scientific" language, with things like the <a href="/wiki/Moon_landing_hoax" title="Moon landing hoax">moon landing hoax</a> or <a href="/wiki/Anti-relativity" title="Anti-relativity">anti-relativity</a> tirades. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Mathematics">Mathematics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Mathematics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p><a href="/wiki/Pseudomathematics" title="Pseudomathematics">Pseudomathematics</a> is probably one of the most under-appreciated fields of pseudoscience, which is too bad, since there is a wealth of great material. One of the biggest areas for exploitation is in the area of "proofs" and "theorems". Cranks love to "prove" theorems that have not yet been proven by real mathematicians, or to "disprove" theorems that have been proved, and even better to "prove" already proven theorems using high school algebra. Andrew Wiles and his proof of <a href="/wiki/Fermat%27s_last_theorem" title="Fermat's last theorem">Fermat's last theorem</a> has been a major lightning rod for cranks. Another favorite is <a href="/wiki/Squaring_the_circle" title="Squaring the circle">squaring the circle</a>. </p><p>In addition to proofs, there is a range of pseudoscience proponents that like to try their hand at destroying core concepts in mathematics. The imaginary number is a common target, as well as irrational numbers. Finding an exact solution to Pi remains the most popular application of pseudoscience in this category. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Social_sciences_and_the_humanities">Social sciences and the humanities</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Social sciences and the humanities">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Rorschach1.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Rorschach1.jpg/250px-Rorschach1.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="164" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Rorschach1.jpg/375px-Rorschach1.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Rorschach1.jpg/500px-Rorschach1.jpg 2x" data-file-width="736" data-file-height="482" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Rorschach1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>A picture of an elephant</div></div></div> <p>In psychology, <a href="/wiki/Psychoanalysis" title="Psychoanalysis">psychoanalysis</a> provides a classic example; Popper selected this pseudoscience to compare to the theory of relativity. Many of the diagnostic and testing methodologies in psychology — things like <a href="/wiki/Repressed_memories" class="mw-redirect" title="Repressed memories">repressed memories</a>, <a href="/wiki/Multiple_personality_disorder" class="mw-redirect" title="Multiple personality disorder">multiple personality disorder</a>, and the Rorschach test — are based on nothing but pseudoscience.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[17]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[18]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[19]</a></sup> </p><p>Management provides another rich field for pseudo-scientific approaches and ideas.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[20]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="History_2">History</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: History">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>As the analysis of <a href="/wiki/History" title="History">history</a> is generally non-experimental, the discipline is not "scientific" in popular understandings of the term. Except in cases where propositions can be definitively demonstrated or discounted through, for instance, the analysis of <a href="/wiki/Archaeology" title="Archaeology">archaeological evidence</a>, it makes little sense to talk about history as a pseudoscience. </p><p>That said, history can also be practiced in an intellectually dishonest manner, giving us <a href="/wiki/Pseudohistory" title="Pseudohistory">pseudohistory</a>. Pseudohistory is the handmaiden of <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">conspiracy theories</a>, harnessed to <a href="/wiki/Alternate_historical_chronology" title="Alternate historical chronology">trouble conventional time-lines</a> or to prove the existence of nefarious plots such as the <a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination_conspiracy_theory" class="mw-redirect" title="John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory">John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory</a> or the <a href="/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories" class="mw-redirect" title="9/11 conspiracy theories">9/11 truth movement</a>. Pseudohistory is also used to support nationalism, by <a href="/wiki/Nationalist_pseudohistory" title="Nationalist pseudohistory">portraying one nation as being superior to all others</a>. This supposed superiority is often invoked as justification for everything from <a href="/wiki/Irredentism" title="Irredentism">irredentism</a> to <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a>. </p><p>What distinguishes history from pseudohistory is the rigorous application of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/historical_method" class="extiw" title="wp:historical method" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: historical method">historical method</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> refraining from resorting to <i><a href="/wiki/Ad_hoc" title="Ad hoc">ad hoc</a></i> explanations (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Aliensdidit" class="mw-redirect" title="Aliensdidit">aliensdidit</a> or <a href="/wiki/Goddidit" class="mw-redirect" title="Goddidit">Goddidit</a>), and the ability to formulate hypotheses that fit with existing results of historical research (contrast the latter with the exponents of <a href="/wiki/Alternate_historical_chronology" title="Alternate historical chronology">alternate historical chronologies</a>). </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Linguistics">Linguistics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Linguistics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Common forms of <a href="/wiki/Pseudolinguistics" title="Pseudolinguistics">pseudolinguistics</a> are <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages#How_deep_can_we_dig_into_the_history_of_language.3F" title="Indo-European languages">spurious claims</a> of relationships between language families, or of <a href="/wiki/Protochronism" title="Protochronism">great</a> <a href="/wiki/Venetic_theory" title="Venetic theory">antiquity</a> or <a href="/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">historical primacy</a>, often for <a href="/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism">nationalistic</a> reasons. Pseudolinguistics also sometimes takes the form of nonscientific theories about <a href="/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis" class="mw-redirect" title="Sapir-Whorf hypothesis">how language influences thought</a>. <a href="/wiki/Alphabet#List_of_undeciphered_writing_systems" title="Alphabet">Undeciphered writing systems</a>, ancient and modern, can attract highly speculative ideas and claims of translation. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Economics">Economics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Economics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Starting in the Reagan Administration, it became fashionable to claim that <a href="/wiki/Supply_side_economics" class="mw-redirect" title="Supply side economics">throwing money at businesses</a> (thereby relieving them of some of the need to <i>make</i> money) would cause them to hire more people and expand their businesses. Its most vocal proponents are, of course, the owners of big businesses, who stand to profit the most from it. The consistent failure of this policy to actually work largely goes unnoticed by the general public. </p> <h2><span id=""Sound_science""></span><span class="mw-headline" id=".22Sound_science.22">"Sound science"</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: "Sound science"">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Sound_science" title="Sound science">Sound science</a></div> <p>Pseudoscience is sometimes referred to as "junk science." However, the term "junk science" has become associated with <a href="/wiki/Anti-environmentalism" title="Anti-environmentalism">anti-environmental</a> bullshit due to corporate mouthpiece <a href="/wiki/Steve_Milloy" title="Steve Milloy">Steve Milloy</a>'s use of the term. Milloy runs a blog called "Junk Science" where he obfuscates and denies <a href="/wiki/Global_warming" class="mw-redirect" title="Global warming">global warming</a>, risks associated with the use of <a href="/wiki/DDT" title="DDT">DDT</a>, and other environmental problems. <a href="/wiki/Michael_Fumento" title="Michael Fumento">Michael Fumento</a>, another <a href="/wiki/Experts_for_hire" class="mw-redirect" title="Experts for hire">shill</a>, has furthered this use of the phrase. In general, when a pundit is being interviewed or writing a column about environmental or health issues, the term "junk science" usually translates to "science that will be very inconvenient for my funders" and "<a href="/wiki/Sound_science" title="Sound science">sound science</a>" translates to "some bullshit I just made up to deny the problem." </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="In_conclusion">In conclusion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: In conclusion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table class="letter" cellpadding="8" align="center" style="width:auto; background:#fff8f8; border:2px solid #bb8888; text-align:left; margin: 1em 20px 1em 20px; font-size:95%"> <tbody><tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/File:Duckhead.gif" class="image"><img alt="Duckhead.gif" src="/w/images/thumb/b/b0/Duckhead.gif/100px-Duckhead.gif" decoding="async" width="100" height="107" srcset="/w/images/b/b0/Duckhead.gif 1.5x" data-file-width="121" data-file-height="130" /></a> </td> <td><b><a href="/wiki/Quackwatch" title="Quackwatch">Quackwatch</a> says: </b><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[21]</a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Pseudoscience often strikes educated, rational people as too nonsensical and preposterous to be dangerous and as a source of amusement rather than fear. Unfortunately, this is not a wise attitude. Pseudoscience can be extremely dangerous. <ul><li>Penetrating political systems, it justifies atrocities in the name of racial purity;</li> <li>Penetrating the educational system, it can drive out science and sensibility;</li> <li>In the field of health, it dooms thousands to unnecessary death or suffering;</li> <li>Penetrating religion, it generates fanaticism, intolerance, and holy war;</li> <li>Penetrating the communications media, it can make it difficult for voters to obtain factual information on important public issues.</li></ul> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_pseudosciences" title="List of pseudosciences">List of pseudosciences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience_in_advertising" title="Pseudoscience in advertising">Pseudoscience in advertising</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Woo" title="Woo">Woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Policy-based_evidence_making" title="Policy-based evidence making">Policy-based evidence making</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anti-science" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-science">Anti-science</a>, rejecting science outright</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Folk_science" title="Folk science">Folk science</a>, "<a href="/wiki/Other_ways_of_knowing" title="Other ways of knowing">other ways of knowing</a>"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Empiricism" title="Empiricism">Empiricism</a>, how science works</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Fine_Art_of_Baloney_Detection" title="The Fine Art of Baloney Detection">The Fine Art of Baloney Detection</a></i>, Carl Sagan's take</li></ul> <h3><span id="Want_to_read_this_in_another_language?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Want_to_read_this_in_another_language.3F">Want to read this in another language?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: Want to read this in another language?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <table> <tbody><tr> <td><div lang="el" style="float:left; position:relative; margin:2px; padding-left:35px;"> <div style="position:absolute; top:1px; left:1px;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Lang-gr.gif/30px-Lang-gr.gif" decoding="async" width="30" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Lang-gr.gif/45px-Lang-gr.gif 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Lang-gr.gif/60px-Lang-gr.gif 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></div>Για αυτό το λήμμα υπάχει και διαθέσιμο άρθρο στα Ελληνικά, με τίτλο <b><a href="/wiki/%CE%A8%CE%B5%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%BF%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%CE%BC%CE%B7" title="Ψευδοεπιστήμη">Ψευδοεπιστήμη</a></b>. </div><br /> </td></tr> <tr> <td><div lang="ru" style="float:left; position:relative; margin:2px; padding-left:35px;"> <div style="position:absolute; top:1px; left:1px;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Lang-ru.gif/30px-Lang-ru.gif" decoding="async" width="30" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Lang-ru.gif/45px-Lang-ru.gif 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Lang-ru.gif/60px-Lang-ru.gif 2x" data-file-width="750" data-file-height="500" /></div>Русскоязычным вариантом данной статьи является статья <b><a href="http://ru.rationalwiki.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B0" class="extiw" title="rurw:Псевдонаука" rel="nofollow">Псевдонаука</a></b> </div><br /> </td></tr> <tr> <td><div lang="zh" style="float:left; position:relative; margin:2px; padding-left:35px;"> <div style="position:absolute; top:1px; left:1px;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Lang-zh.gif/30px-Lang-zh.gif" decoding="async" width="30" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Lang-zh.gif/45px-Lang-zh.gif 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Lang-zh.gif/60px-Lang-zh.gif 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></div><b><a href="/wiki/%E4%BC%AA%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6" title="伪科学">伪科学</a></b>是本文章的<a href="/wiki/Category:Chinese" title="Category:Chinese">中文</a>版本 </div><br /> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=41" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">This was a genuine horoscope, published in the <i>Khaleej Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">If I claim that the ancient Library of Alexandria contained documents detailing the construction of a hydrogen bomb, you should not think this is true just because you cannot prove me absolutely wrong (the documents having long ago been burned).</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Further_reading">Further reading</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=42" title="Edit section: Further reading">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r2708880">/* Errors processing stylesheet [[:Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css]] (rev 2708880): • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 44 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 50 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 55 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 64 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 96 character 9. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 100 character 9. • Invalid media query at line 138 character 8. */ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFGardner.2C_Martin1957" class="citation book cs1">Gardner, Martin (1957). <i>Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science</i>. Dover.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Fads+%26+Fallacies+in+the+Name+of+Science&rft.pub=Dover&rft.date=1957&rft.au=Gardner%2C+Martin&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-10-commandments-of-helping-students-distinguish-science-from-pseudoscience-in-psychology">The 10 Commandments of Helping Students Distinguish Science from Pseudoscience in Psychology</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=43" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.psiram.com/en/index.php/Pseudoscience">Pseudoscience</a> from <a href="/wiki/Psiram" title="Psiram">Psiram</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience">Pseudoscience</a> from <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://skepdic.com/pseudosc.html">Pseudoscience</a> from <a href="/wiki/The_Skeptic%27s_Dictionary" title="The Skeptic's Dictionary">The Skeptic's Dictionary</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/astronomical-pseudo-science-a-skeptics-resource-list/">Astronomical Pseudoscience Resource List</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pseudoscience&action=edit&section=44" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFDawkins1998" class="citation book cs1">Dawkins, C. Richard (1998). <i>Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder</i>. London: Allen Lane. p. 128.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Unweaving+the+Rainbow%3A+Science%2C+Delusion+and+the+Appetite+for+Wonder&rft.place=London&rft.pages=128&rft.pub=Allen+Lane&rft.date=1998&rft.aulast=Dawkins&rft.aufirst=C.+Richard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-mukerji-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mukerji_2-0">2.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mukerji_2-1">2.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w">Why homoeopathy is pseudoscience</a> by Nikil Mukerji & Edzard Ernst (2022) <i>Synthese</i> 200:394. doi:10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVnuFY20st0">How to tell if you believe in bullshit</a> by Maddox (Feb 12, 2016) <i>YouTube</i> (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160511060210/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVnuFY20st0">archived copy</a>).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-BarVic-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-BarVic_4-0">4.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-BarVic_4-1">4.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-BarVic_4-2">4.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Barry Singer and Victor A. Benassi. "Occult Beliefs: Media Distortions, Social Uncertainty, and Deficiencies of Human Reasoning Seem to be at the Basis of Occult Beliefs." <i>American Scientist</i> , Vol. 69, No. 1 (January–February 1981), pp. 49–55.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-RayDan-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-RayDan_5-0">5.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-RayDan_5-1">5.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-RayDan_5-2">5.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Raymond A. Eve and Dana Dunn. "Psychic Powers, Astrology & Creationism in the Classroom? Evidence of Pseudoscientific Beliefs among High School Biology & Life Science Teachers". <i>The American Biology</i> Teacher , Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 1990), pp. 10–21.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.skepticink.com/gps/2013/10/10/what-does-scientific-literacy-look-like-in-the-21st-century">What does Scientific Literacy look like in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century?</a> by Caleb Lack (10 October 2013) <i>Great Plains Skeptic</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFDevilly2005" class="citation journal cs1">Devilly, GJ (2005). "Power therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry". <i>Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry</i>. <b>39</b> (6): 439.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Australia+and+New+Zealand+Journal+of+Psychiatry&rft.atitle=Power+therapies+and+possible+threats+to+the+science+of+psychology+and+psychiatry&rft.volume=39&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=439&rft.date=2005&rft.aulast=Devilly&rft.aufirst=GJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Lindeman-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Lindeman_8-0">8.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Lindeman_8-1">8.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Lindeman_8-2">8.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFLindeman_M1998" class="citation journal cs1">Lindeman M (December 1998). "Motivation, Cognition and Pseudoscience". <i>Scandinavian Journal of Psychology</i>. <b>39</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">257–</span>65. <a href="/wiki/PMID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMID (identifier)">PMID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9883101">9883101</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Scandinavian+Journal+of+Psychology&rft.atitle=Motivation%2C+Cognition+and+Pseudoscience&rft.volume=39&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E257-%3C%2Fspan%3E65&rft.date=1998-12&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F9883101&rft.au=Lindeman+M&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Shermer-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Shermer_9-0">9.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Shermer_9-1">9.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Shermer_9-2">9.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFShermerGould2002" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Michael_Shermer" title="Michael Shermer">Shermer, Michael</a>; <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould" title="Stephen Jay Gould">Gould, Steven J.</a> (2002). <i>Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time</i>. New York: Holt Paperbacks. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8050-7089-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-8050-7089-3"><bdi>0-8050-7089-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Why+People+Believe+Weird+Things%3A+Pseudoscience%2C+Superstition%2C+and+Other+Confusions+of+Our+Time&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Holt+Paperbacks&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=0-8050-7089-3&rft.aulast=Shermer&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft.au=Gould%2C+Steven+J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-believing-brain/">Understanding The Believing Brain: Why Science Is the Only Way Out of Belief-Dependent Realism</a> by Michael Shermer (April 2011) <i>Scientific American</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SVHTdQfK8KYC&pg=PT13&lpg=PT13&dq=%22If+someone+were+to+propose+that+the+planets+go+around+the+sun+because+all+planet+matter+has+a+kind+of+tendency+for+movement,+a+kind+of+motility%22&source=bl&ots=KypuIPs0ay&sig=nnkQyYb7vrzboeWP4SCiXZuce3E&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU9Y-FzsrQAhVJjFQKHdoWCB4Q6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=%22If%20someone%20were%20to%20propose%20that%20the%20planets%20go%20around%20the%20sun%20because%20all%20planet%20matter%20has%20a%20kind%20of%20tendency%20for%20movement%2C%20a%20kind%20of%20motility%22&f=false"><i>The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist</i></a> by Richard P. Feynman (2009). Basic Books. ISBN 9780786739141.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-SRMHP-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-SRMHP_13-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Carl Sagan (1987) Keynote address at CSICOP conference, as quoted in <i>Do Science and the Bible Conflict?</i> (2003) by Judson Poling, p. 30. ISBN 0310245079.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20110719061558/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/Clinical%20Trials%20on%20Homeopathy%20Published%20from%202003%20to%202007.htm">Clinical Trials on Homeopathy (2003-2007)</a> <i>Creighton University</i> (archived from July 19, 2011).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Kanazawa, Satoshi. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200811/common-misconceptions-about-science-ii-life-expectancy">"Common misconceptions about science II: Life expectancy."</a> <i>Psychology Today</i>, 20 November 2008 (recovered 4 March 2015).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Imre Lakatos, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/About/lakatos/scienceAndPseudoscience.aspx">Science and Pseudoscience</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www2.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/About/lakatos/scienceAndPseudoscienceTranscript.aspx">Science and Pseudoscience (transcript)</a>, Dept of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, 1973.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFGoldacre.2C_Ben2009" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Ben_Goldacre" title="Ben Goldacre">Goldacre, Ben</a> (2009). <i>Bad Science</i>. Fourth Estate. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-00-728487-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-00-728487-0"><bdi>978-0-00-728487-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Bad+Science&rft.pub=Fourth+Estate&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-0-00-728487-0&rft.au=Goldacre%2C+Ben&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3APseudoscience" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/997/1085/1454296/">Jones v. Apfel, 997 F. Supp. 1085 (N.D. Ind. 1997)</a> <i>Justia</i>. This legal ruling stated (quoting from <i>Attorney's Textbook of Medicine</i>) that Rorschach "results do not meet the requirements of standardization, reliability, or validity of clinical diagnostic tests, and interpretation thus is often controversial".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">In State ex rel H.H. (1999) under cross examination Dr. Bogacki stated under oath "many psychologists do not believe much in the validity or effectiveness of the Rorschach test".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://cite.case.law/f-supp-2d/235/1301/United">States v. Battle, 235 F. Supp. 2d 1301 (2001)</a> <i>Caselaw Access Project</i>. This legal ruling stated that the Rorschach "does not have an objective scoring system".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Beyond Management: Taking Charge at Work</i> by Mark Addleson (2011). Springer. ISBN 9780230343412. "At work, ordinary human acts of organizing are surrounded by dense, almost impenetrable layers of procedures and jargon held together by pseudo-science. What we call 'management' is a morass of rules, regulations, and rigid structures that spring from a command and control mentality, coupled with an obsession for measuring and an insatiable appetite for data. This is because, as a so-called 'science', management is meant to be empirical and objective […] underneath the pseudo-science and impressive language of 'scorecards,' 'value propositions,' 'human capital,' and 'data mining,' management is a cause of widespread dissatisfaction at work as well as a source of organizational breakdowns."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Rory Coker, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/pseudo.html">Distinguishing Science and Pseudoscience.</a> <a href="/wiki/Quackwatch" title="Quackwatch">Quackwatch</a>, 30 May 2001.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="Articles_on_RationalWiki_related_to_pseudo-studies-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; 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