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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #916f6f; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#916f6f"><b>This might be</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Skepticism" title="Skepticism"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Skepticism</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#D3C5C5;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Skepticism" title="Category:Skepticism"><img alt="Icon skepticism.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/c/c6/Icon_skepticism.svg/100px-Icon_skepticism.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/c6/Icon_skepticism.svg/150px-Icon_skepticism.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/c6/Icon_skepticism.svg/200px-Icon_skepticism.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#916f6f; text-align:center;"><b>But we're not sure</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#D3C5C5;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Skepticism_essays" title="Category:Skepticism essays">Skepticism essays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Skeptics" title="Category:Skeptics">Skeptics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit!" title="Penn & Teller: Bullshit!">Penn & Teller: Bullshit!</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rationality" title="Rationality">Rationality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pyrrhonism" title="Pyrrhonism">Pyrrhonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Bookshelf" title="RationalWiki:Bookshelf">Bookshelf</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#916f6f; text-align:center;"><b>Who's asking?</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#D3C5C5;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Steven_Novella" title="Steven Novella">Steven Novella</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harry_Houdini" title="Harry Houdini">Harry Houdini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marcello_Truzzi" title="Marcello Truzzi">Marcello Truzzi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antony_Flew" title="Antony Flew">Antony Flew</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Media_Bias/Fact_Check" title="Media Bias/Fact Check">Media Bias/Fact Check</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mark_Hoofnagle" title="Mark Hoofnagle">Mark Hoofnagle</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Skepnav" title="Template:Skepnav">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Skepnav" title="Template talk:Skepnav">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Skepnav&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/7/70/Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png/165px-Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png" decoding="async" width="165" height="132" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/7/70/Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png/248px-Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/7/70/Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png/330px-Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png 2x" data-file-width="397" data-file-height="318" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Woo_Detox_and_Shape.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>At least they're honest about it.</div></div></div><div role="note" class="hatnote">Not to be confused with the polygon <a href="/wiki/Sex" title="Sex">sex</a> act, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sims.wikia.com/wiki/WooHoo">WooHoo</a>, or the WooHoo ice-cream, or the signature shout of professional wrestler <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ric_Flair" class="extiw" title="wp:Ric Flair" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Ric Flair">Ric Flair</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></div> <p><b>Woo</b>, also called <b>woo-woo</b>, is a pejorative term for <a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">pseudoscientific</a> explanations that share certain common characteristics, often being <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">too good to be true</a> (aside from being unscientific). The term is common among skeptical writers. Woo is understood specifically as <a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">dressing itself in the trappings of science (but not the substance)</a> while involving unscientific concepts, such as <a href="/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence" title="Anecdotal evidence">anecdotal evidence</a> and <a href="/wiki/Technobabble" title="Technobabble">sciencey-sounding words</a>. </p><p>Woo is a very effective selling point, as it usually ignores an effect of a complex phenomenon, instead putting focus on the <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_ignorance" class="mw-redirect" title="Appeal to ignorance">complexity and "unexplained nature"</a> of the phenomenon, and providing an alleged, embellished, easy to grasp, yet fallacious "explanation" as to why it occurs. For example: "<a href="/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">Homeopathy</a> is effective (even when no molecule of the active ingredient remains in the final product) because the solution retains a <i>memory</i> of the solute." — the explanation for these results, <i>e.g.</i> <a href="/wiki/Water_memory" title="Water memory">water memory</a>, is woo. </p><p>Woo is used to blind or distract an audience from a real explanation or to discourage people from delving deeper into the subject to find a more realistic explanation. You can't make money if nobody buys your <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a>. (As such, "woo" that has zero paying customers is more like just ordinary <a href="/wiki/Insanity" title="Insanity">batshit crazy</a>.) </p><p>Despite the terrible name, it has become quite a popular term within the skeptical movement — probably because it's fun to say. </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="#Origins"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Origins</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Characteristics"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Characteristics</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Not_to_be_confused_with"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Not to be confused with</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Types_of_woo"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Types of woo</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Want_to_read_this_in_another_language.3F"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Want to read this in another language?</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Origins">Origins</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Woo&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Origins">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>The term comes from "woo-woo", an epithet used in the 1990s by <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> and <a href="/wiki/Skeptic" class="mw-redirect" title="Skeptic">skeptical</a> writers to ridicule people who believe or promote such things.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> This is in turn believed to have come from the onomatopoeia "woooooo!" as a reaction to dimmed lights or <a href="/wiki/Magic" title="Magic">magic</a> tricks, <a href="/wiki/Didit_fallacy" title="Didit fallacy">putting emphasis on the lack of an obvious explanation</a> in favor of chalking it up to what appears to be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sorcery" class="extiw" title="wp:sorcery" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: sorcery">sorcery</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> The term implies a lack of either <a href="/wiki/Intelligence" title="Intelligence">intelligence</a> or <a href="/wiki/Intellectual_honesty" title="Intellectual honesty">sincerity</a> (if not <a href="/wiki/Not_even_wrong" title="Not even wrong">both</a>) on the part of the person or concepts so described. </p><p>As a <a href="/wiki/Coincidence" title="Coincidence">coincidence</a>, the Chinese word 巫 (pronounced in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Mandarin" class="extiw" title="wp:Standard Mandarin" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Standard Mandarin">Standard Mandarin</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> as <i>Wū</i>) means a shaman, usually with magic powers.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> Also coincidentally, the Chinese word 無/无 (pronounced <i>Wú</i> in Standard Mandarin) means "nothing," "lacking," or "negation."<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> Another Chinese word 误 (pronounced in Standard Mandarin as <i>Wù</i>) means "mistake" or "incorrect".<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> There is also the English verb "woo", which means to seek someone's love; it can also be considered appropriate, because <a href="/wiki/Woo-meister" class="mw-redirect" title="Woo-meister">woo-meisters</a> seek people's admiration, falsely promising them miraculous and easily understandable knowledge.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup>. A homonym of woo-woo, since at least the 1970s, is as a slang term for female genitalia <sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup>. This is a notable convergence, given associations (often misogynistic) of the irrational or non-scientific with the feminine. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Characteristics">Characteristics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Woo&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Characteristics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Woo generally contains most of the following characteristics: </p> <ol><li><a href="/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence" title="Anecdotal evidence">Anecdotal evidence</a>: Prefers to use <a href="/wiki/Testimonial" title="Testimonial">testimonials</a> over actual studies. (Much less likely to go wrong — or prove <i>you</i> wrong.)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Panacea" title="Panacea">Panacea</a>: Is a simple idea that purports to be <a href="/wiki/Silver_bullet" title="Silver bullet">the one answer to many problems</a> (often including many <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/disease" class="extiw" title="wp:disease" rel="nofollow">diseases</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></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">Pseudoscience</a>: Has a "scientific-sounding" reason for how it works, but little to no actual <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> behind it; especially: <ol><li><a href="/wiki/Science_woo" title="Science woo">Science woo</a>: Uses words that sound scientific but make no sense in their context, such as <a href="/wiki/Quantum_woo" title="Quantum woo">"quantum"</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quote_mining" title="Quote mining">Quote-mined</a> studies that, if bent properly, appear to support the woo.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Appeal to authority">Appeal to authority</a>: Claims that a <a href="/wiki/Scientific" class="mw-redirect" title="Scientific">scientific</a> authority supports the woo; this is usually combined with a quote mine.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ultracrepidarianism" title="Ultracrepidarianism">Studies from different, unrelated fields.</a></li> <li>Disdain for objective, randomized <a href="/wiki/Experimental_control" title="Experimental control">experimental controls</a>, especially <a href="/wiki/Double-blind_testing" class="mw-redirect" title="Double-blind testing">double-blind testing</a> (which is kind of what makes epidemiology actually, y'know, work. And maybe one or two other obscure corners of the field of scientific endeavor…)</li></ol></li> <li>A <a href="/wiki/Supernatural" title="Supernatural">supernatural</a> and/or <a href="/wiki/Paranormal" title="Paranormal">paranormal</a> involvement; failing that, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/preternatural" class="extiw" title="wp:preternatural" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: preternatural">preternatural</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></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persecution_complex" title="Persecution complex">Persecution complex</a>: Claims to be persecuted, usually perpetrated by the <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">government</a>, "<a href="/wiki/Big_Pharma" title="Big Pharma">Big Pharma</a>", or the entire worldwide scientific community (see <a href="/wiki/Galileo_gambit" title="Galileo gambit">Galileo gambit</a>). Usually accompanied by a claim that the public and/or scientists are blind to the discovery, despite attempts to alert them.</li> <li>A hypothesis that remains virtually unchanged for years or decades, <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">despite changes in the evidence for the woo</a>. This is sometimes <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_tradition" title="Appeal to tradition">presented as a strength</a>.</li> <li>And, <i>almost always</i>, a willingness to share the woo-peddlers' precious knowledge/insight/revelation… for a price. And repeatedly. (Because if it didn't take the first time around, then <a href="/wiki/The_Secret" title="The Secret">the victims didn't believe sincerely enough</a>.)</li></ol> <p>Not every characteristic need be present for something to be woo. Woo manifests itself as a gradient, rather than a binary: the more of these tactics that are used, the more likely it is that the idea is woo. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Not_to_be_confused_with">Not to be confused with</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Woo&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Not to be confused with">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>WoO (<i>Werke ohne Opuszahl</i>, "works without opus number") is the classification given to any originally unpublished compositions by Ludwig Van Beethoven (Für Elise<sup>(<span class="plainlinks"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://imslp.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise,_WoO_59_(Beethoven,_Ludwig_van)">link</a></span>)</sup> being the most famous example) or other composers of classical music.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a></sup> </p><p>However, unlike woo, WoO always describes something which demonstrably exists. </p><p>Bernie Worrell, the keyboardist for Parliament/Funkadelic, Talking Heads, and Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, was often known as the "Wizard of Woo"<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup>; however the "woo" in this case is an onomatopoeic representation of his distinct synthesizer sounds, and <i>not</i> an indication that he ever dabbled in pseudoscience. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Types_of_woo">Types of woo</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Woo&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Types of woo">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/3/3e/Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg/300px-Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/3/3e/Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg/450px-Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/3/3e/Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg/600px-Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg 2x" data-file-width="720" data-file-height="405" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Woo-shall-not-pass.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="/wiki/James_Randi" title="James Randi">James Randi</a> is not pleased with your woo.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a></sup></div></div></div> <div class="div-col columns column-count column-count-4" style="-moz-column-count: 4; -webkit-column-count: 4; column-count: 4;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Audio_woo" title="Audio woo">Audio woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Automotive_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Automotive woo">Automotive woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bodybuilding_woo" title="Bodybuilding woo">Bodybuilding woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brainwave_woo" title="Brainwave woo">Brainwave woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cancer_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Cancer woo">Cancer woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comet_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Comet woo">Comet woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Computer_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Computer woo">Computer woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_woo" title="Crime woo">Crime woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crystal_woo" title="Crystal woo">Crystal woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dental_woo" title="Dental woo">Dental woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Food_woo" title="Food woo">Food woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fusion_woo" title="Fusion woo">Fusion woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Language_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Language woo">Language woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Light_woo" title="Light woo">Light woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martial_arts" title="Martial arts">Martial arts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Math_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="Math woo">Math woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Native_American#Woo" title="Native American">Native American woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nature_woo" title="Nature woo">Nature woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paramilitary_woo" title="Paramilitary woo">Paramilitary woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/PH_woo" title="PH woo">pH woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_woo" class="mw-redirect" title="History woo">History woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quantum_woo" title="Quantum woo">Quantum woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Salt_woo" title="Salt woo">Salt woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_woo" title="Science woo">Science woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Water_woo" title="Water woo">Water woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Woo_energy" class="mw-redirect" title="Woo energy">Woo energy</a></li></ul></div> <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=Woo&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Logical_fallacy" title="Logical fallacy">Logical fallacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Style_over_substance" title="Style over substance">Style over substance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crank" title="Crank">Crank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charlatan" title="Charlatan">Charlatan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fractal_wrongness" title="Fractal wrongness">Fractal wrongness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Placebo_effect" title="Placebo effect">Placebo effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">Conspiracy theory</a></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=Woo&action=edit&section=6" 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="pt" 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-pt.gif/30px-Lang-pt.gif" decoding="async" width="30" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Lang-pt.gif/45px-Lang-pt.gif 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Lang-pt.gif/60px-Lang-pt.gif 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></div>Se você procura pelo artigo <a href="/wiki/Category:Portugu%C3%AAs" title="Category:Português">em Português</a>, ver <b><a href="/wiki/Baboseira" title="Baboseira">Baboseira</a></b>. </div><br /> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <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=Woo&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scienceblogs.com/insolence">ScienceBlogger Orac</a> uses the term prominently in his weekly "Your Friday Dose of Woo", a review of recent pseudoscience</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.randi.org/">James Randi Educational Foundation</a> is an organization developed to publicly debunk "the paranormal, pseudoscientific, and the supernatural," often collectively referred to by <a href="/wiki/James_Randi" title="James Randi">Randi</a> as "woo-woo."</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100323212745/http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/kookparade.html">"Kooks in the wild"</a>, including kook ratings.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2010/01/the-golden-woos-2.html">2009 Golden Woo Awards</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160407030931/http://lawrencehyde.com/">The Woo-Woo Stuff:Musings on the Metaphysical</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=Woo&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="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"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://skepdic.com/woowoo.html">"Woo," Skeptic's Dictionary</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woo_woo#Etymology_1">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woo_woo#Etymology_1</a></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="http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/woo-woo.html">What is "Woo"?</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.skepticreport.com/sr/?p=582">Skeptic Report: The Woo-Woo Credo</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2006/08/01/reader-mailbag-what-is-woo-1/">Reader Mailbag: What is woo?</a></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.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25221997?uid=3739560&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104465229173">The Shaman or Chinese Wu: His inspired Dancing and Versatile Character</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><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="CITEREFFazzioli1987" class="citation book cs1">Fazzioli, Edoardo (1987). <i>Chinese calligraphy : from pictograph to ideogram : the history of 214 essential Chinese/Japanese characters</i>. calligraphy by Rebecca Hon Ko. New York: Abbeville Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89659-774-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-89659-774-1"><bdi>0-89659-774-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Chinese+calligraphy+%3A+from+pictograph+to+ideogram+%3A+the+history+of+214+essential+Chinese%2FJapanese+characters&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Abbeville+Press&rft.date=1987&rft.isbn=0-89659-774-1&rft.aulast=Fazzioli&rft.aufirst=Edoardo&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3AWoo" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%AF%AF">误</a> entry on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionary" class="extiw" title="wp:Wiktionary" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Wiktionary">Wiktionary</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></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woo#Etymology_1">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woo#Etymology_1</a></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 free" href="https://www.definition-of.com/woo-woo">https://www.definition-of.com/woo-woo</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090829135857/http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=1502&template=einstieg_digitales_archiv_de&_mid=Werke%20Ludwig%20van%20Beethovens">Werke Ludwig van Beethovens</a>" - Note the source link is in <a href="/wiki/German" class="mw-redirect" title="German">German</a>.</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://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/24/482486305/bernie-worrell-wizard-of-woo-dies-at-72">Bernie Worrel, the "Wizard of Woo," dies at 72</a>" - NPR. Published June 24, 2016.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.archipelagofiles.com/2014/06/james-randi-to-deepak-chopra-woo-shall.html">http://www.archipelagofiles.com/2014/06/james-randi-to-deepak-chopra-woo-shall.html</a></span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Woo&oldid=2719439">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Woo&oldid=2719439</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Skepticism" title="Category:Skepticism">Skepticism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Neologisms" title="Category:Neologisms">Neologisms</a></li><li><a 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