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*''']''' is a set of potentially fatal<ref name='J.Randi AT'> {{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/071604an.html#7 |title=Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Randi |first=James |date=2004-07-16 "This is a total quack procedure that has actually killed children." }}</ref> clinical interventions and parenting techniques aimed at controlling aggressive, disobedient, or unaffectionate children using "restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results."<ref name='quackwatch_attatchment_therapy'> {{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/at.html |title=Be Wary of Attachment Therapy |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Maloney |first=Shannon-Bridget }}</ref> Perhaps the most extreme is "]," in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.<ref name="[s]" /> | *''']''' is a set of potentially fatal<ref name='J.Randi AT'> {{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/071604an.html#7 |title=Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Randi |first=James |date=2004-07-16 "This is a total quack procedure that has actually killed children." }}</ref> clinical interventions and parenting techniques aimed at controlling aggressive, disobedient, or unaffectionate children using "restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results."<ref name='quackwatch_attatchment_therapy'> {{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/at.html |title=Be Wary of Attachment Therapy |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Maloney |first=Shannon-Bridget }}</ref> Perhaps the most extreme is "]," in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.<ref name="[s]" /> | ||
*The ''']''' or '''natural vision improvement''' is a collection of exercises and techniques intended to improve vision "naturally" to the point at which it can allegedly eliminate the need for glasses. These claims are viewed with skepticism by ophthalmologists and optometrists, and in 1929 Bates was cited by the ] for false or misleading advertising in connection with his book describing the method.<ref name='Quackwatch Bates'> {{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/eyequack.html |title=Eye-Related Quackery |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Worrall |first=Russell S. |coauthors=Jacob Nevyas, Stephen Barrett |date=2007-09-12 "The claims Bates made in advertising his book were so dubious that in 1929 the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against him for advertising "falsely or misleadingly.""}}</ref> It has been shown to be ineffective,<ref name="Rawstron">{{cite journal | author=Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ | journal=J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus | year=2005 | volume=42 | issue=2 | pages=82-8 | title=A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises. | url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15825744&query_hl=13&itool=pubmed_DocSum}}</ref> and Bates' theories about vision have been repeatedly discredited.<ref name="educators">{{cite news | author=Robyn E. Bradley | title=ADVOCATES SEE ONLY BENEFITS FROM EYE EXERCISES | publisher=The Boston Globe (MA) | date=September 23, 2003 | url=http://visioneducators.com/articles/advocates_see_only_benefits_from_eye_exercises.pdf }}</ref><ref name=Marg>{{cite journal | author=Marg, E. | title="Flashes" of clear vision and negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual training. | journal=Am J Opt Arch Am Ac Opt | year=1952 | volume=29 | issue=4 | pages=167-84}}</ref><ref name='J.Randi Bates'> {{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-11/111706rampa.html#i3 |title=Swift: the weekly newsletter of the JREF |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Randi |first=James |date=2006-11-11 "This is pure old quackery, it’s wishful thinking, and it’s profitable."}}</ref> | *The ''']''' or '''natural vision improvement''' is a collection of exercises and techniques intended to improve vision "naturally" to the point at which it can allegedly eliminate the need for glasses. These claims are viewed with skepticism by ophthalmologists and optometrists, and in 1929 Bates was cited by the ] for false or misleading advertising in connection with his book describing the method.<ref name='Quackwatch Bates'> {{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/eyequack.html |title=Eye-Related Quackery |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Worrall |first=Russell S. |coauthors=Jacob Nevyas, Stephen Barrett |date=2007-09-12 "The claims Bates made in advertising his book were so dubious that in 1929 the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against him for advertising "falsely or misleadingly.""}}</ref> It has been shown to be ineffective,<ref name="Rawstron">{{cite journal | author=Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ | journal=J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus | year=2005 | volume=42 | issue=2 | pages=82-8 | title=A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises. | url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15825744&query_hl=13&itool=pubmed_DocSum}}</ref> and Bates' theories about vision have been repeatedly discredited.<ref name="educators">{{cite news | author=Robyn E. Bradley | title=ADVOCATES SEE ONLY BENEFITS FROM EYE EXERCISES | publisher=The Boston Globe (MA) | date=September 23, 2003 | url=http://visioneducators.com/articles/advocates_see_only_benefits_from_eye_exercises.pdf }}</ref><ref name=Marg>{{cite journal | author=Marg, E. | title="Flashes" of clear vision and negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual training. | journal=Am J Opt Arch Am Ac Opt | year=1952 | volume=29 | issue=4 | pages=167-84}}</ref><ref name='J.Randi Bates'> {{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-11/111706rampa.html#i3 |title=Swift: the weekly newsletter of the JREF |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Randi |first=James |date=2006-11-11 "This is pure old quackery, it’s wishful thinking, and it’s profitable."}}</ref> | ||
*''']''' remains outside of the scientific method.<ref> and - by ] MD, and President of the ]</ref> | |||
*''']''' (EHS) is a reported sensitivity to ] and ]s, as well as ] of various frequencies. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and similar non-specific indications,<ref name=rooslietal2004>{{cite journal | last = Roosli | first = Martin | coauthors = M Moser, Y Baldinini, M Meier, C Braun-Fahrlander | title = Symptoms of ill health ascribed to electromagnetic field exposure--a questionnaire survey | journal = Int J Hyg Environ Health | volume = 207 | issue = 2 | pages = 141-50 | date = February 2004 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15031956}}</ref> and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to ."<ref name='WHO EMF'> {{cite web|url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/index.html |title=Electromagnetic fields and public health |accessdate=2007-11-17 }}</ref> Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation.<ref name=rubinetal2005>{{cite journal | last = Rubin | first = G James | authorlink = | coauthors = Jayati Das Munshi, Simon Wessely | title = Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review of Provocation Studies | journal = Psychosomatic Medicine | volume = 67 | pages = 224-232 | date = 2005 | url = http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/224 | accessdate = }}</ref><ref name='BadScience EMF woo'> {{cite web|url=http://www.badscience.net/2007/06/electrosensitives-the-new-cash-cow-of-the-woo-industry/ |title=Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Goldacre |first=Ben }}</ref> | *''']''' (EHS) is a reported sensitivity to ] and ]s, as well as ] of various frequencies. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and similar non-specific indications,<ref name=rooslietal2004>{{cite journal | last = Roosli | first = Martin | coauthors = M Moser, Y Baldinini, M Meier, C Braun-Fahrlander | title = Symptoms of ill health ascribed to electromagnetic field exposure--a questionnaire survey | journal = Int J Hyg Environ Health | volume = 207 | issue = 2 | pages = 141-50 | date = February 2004 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15031956}}</ref> and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to ."<ref name='WHO EMF'> {{cite web|url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/index.html |title=Electromagnetic fields and public health |accessdate=2007-11-17 }}</ref> Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation.<ref name=rubinetal2005>{{cite journal | last = Rubin | first = G James | authorlink = | coauthors = Jayati Das Munshi, Simon Wessely | title = Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review of Provocation Studies | journal = Psychosomatic Medicine | volume = 67 | pages = 224-232 | date = 2005 | url = http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/224 | accessdate = }}</ref><ref name='BadScience EMF woo'> {{cite web|url=http://www.badscience.net/2007/06/electrosensitives-the-new-cash-cow-of-the-woo-industry/ |title=Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry |accessdate=2007-11-17 |last=Goldacre |first=Ben }}</ref> | ||
*''']''' is the act of curing disease by such means as ] and ].<ref name="[s]" /> | *''']''' is the act of curing disease by such means as ] and ].<ref name="[s]" /> |
Revision as of 23:31, 27 November 2007
This is a list of fields of endeavor and concepts regarded as pseudoscientific by organizations within the international scientific community, and/or skeptical organizations.
They may have explicitly called a field or concept "pseudoscience" or used synonyms, some of which are identified in the references section below. Also included are important concepts associated with the main entries, and concepts that, while notable, have not elicited commentary from mainstream scientific bodies. Notable parodies of pseudoscientific concepts are also included.
Some subjects in this list may be legitimate fields of research and/or have legitimate scientific research ongoing within them. For instance, while some proposed explanations for hypnosis are pseudoscientific, the phenomenon is generally accepted as real and there are scientific explanations for it as well.
Concepts
See also: Scientific consensusThe following have broad consensus concerning their pseudoscientific status. Indicative of this are assertions by mainstream, specialized scientific bodies (e.g., a society of plasma physicists) or one or more national- or regional-level Academies of Science.
- Apollo moon landing hoax accusations made by a small number of people claiming that parts of the Apollo program were hoaxed and subsequently covered up. While many of the accusations are best categorized under conspiracy theories, some do attempt to use faulty science to prove that the moon landing couldn't have happened, qualifying them as pseudoscience.
- Astrology refers to any of several systems of understanding, interpreting and organizing knowledge about reality and human existence, based on the relative positions and movement of various real and construed celestial bodies.
- Planetary alignments are events where two or more planets and the Sun and Moon line up from the perspective of Earth. Much of astrology has been developed around such alignments.
- Sun signs are astrological signs that are determined by the location of the Sun at a particular moment in time such as an individual's birth.
- Western Astrology, unlike the ancient Vedic astrology or sidereal astrology, uses a fixed zodiac not aligned with the constellations of the zodiac as currently positioned in the sky.
- Creation science is the belief that the origin of everything in the universe is the result of a first cause, brought about by a creator deity, and that this thesis is supported by geological, biological, and other scientific evidence.
- Biblical scientific foreknowledge asserts that the Bible makes accurate statements about the world that science verifies thousands of years later.
- Creation biology is the subset of creation science that tries to explain biology without evolution.
- Creationist cosmologies are ones which, among other things, allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old.
- Flood geology is the creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a global flood.
- Modern geocentrism, citing uniform gamma ray bursts distribution, and other arguments of this type, as evidence that we are at the center of the universe.
- Intelligent design is a version of creation science stated in secular terms, viz. that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection."
- Irreducible complexity is the claim that some systems are so complex that they cannot have evolved from simpler systems. It is used by proponents of intelligent design to argue that evolution by natural selection alone is incomplete or flawed, and that some additional mechanism (an "Intelligent Designer") is required to explain the origins of life.
- Specified complexity is the claim that when something is simultaneously complex and specified, one can infer that it was produced by an intelligent cause (i.e., that it was designed) rather than being the result of natural processes.
- Crop circles are geometric designs of crushed or knocked-over crops created in a field. Aside from skilled farmers or pranksters working through the night, explanations for their formation include UFOs and anomalous, tornado-like air currents. The study of crop circles is termed "cerealogy" by proponents.
- Crystal healing is the belief that crystals have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it has recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with the new age movement.
- The Face on Mars (in Cydonia Mensae) is a rock formation on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet. High resolution images taken recently show it to appear less face-like. It features prominently in the pseudoscientific theories of Richard C. Hoagland.
- Erich Von Daniken's proposal of ancient astronauts.
- Dianetics is L. Ron Hubbard's pseudoscience that purports to treat a theoretical Reactive mind by means of an E-meter, a device which Hubbard was later legally forced to admit "does nothing".
- Dogon people and Sirius B a series of claims that the Dogon tribe knew about the white dwarf companion of Sirius despite it being invisible to the naked eye.
- Lunar effect is the belief that the full moon influences human behavior.
- Homeopathy is the belief in giving a patient with symptoms of an illness extremely small doses of substances that produce the same illness symptoms in healthy people when given in larger doses.
- Paranormal subjects
- Channeling is the communication of information to or through a person allegedly from a spirit or other paranormal entity.
- Dowsing refers to practices said to enable one to detect hidden water, metals, gemstones or other objects.
- Electronic voice phenomenon is the alleged communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic devices.
- Extra-sensory perception is the paranormal ability (independent of the five main senses or deduction from previous experience) to acquire information by means such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychic abilities, and remote viewing.
- Levitation, in this sense, is the act of rising up from the ground without any physical aids, usually by the power of thought.
- Materialization is the supposed creation or appearance of matter from unknown sources.
- Psychic surgery is a type of medical fraud, popular in Brazil and the Philippines. Practitioners use sleight of hand to make it appear as though they are reaching into a patients body and extracting "tumours".
- Séances are ritualized attempts to communicate with the dead.
- Psychokinesis is the paranormal ability of the mind to influence matter or energy at a distance.
- Spiritualism is a religious movement which holds the belief that communication with the dead can occur through the powers of individuals called mediums.
- Therapeutic touch is a form of vitalism where one passes one's hands over and around the body of a sick person so as to treat his/her illness.
- Perpetual motion is a class of proposed machines that violate one of the Laws of Thermodynamics. Perpetual motion has been recognized as extrascientific since the late 18th century, but proposals and patents for such devices continue to be made to the present day.
- Free energy is a particular class of perpetual motion which purports to create energy (violating the first law of thermodynamics) or extract useful work from equilibrium systems (violating the second law of thermodynamics). Of particular note are proposals involving the extraction of zero point energy, a real energy found in quantum mechanics that cannot be used to do work.
- Ufology is the study of unidentified flying objects (UFO) and frequently includes the belief that UFOs are evidence for extraterrestrial visitors.
- Close encounters are events where persons witness UFOs, or purportedly meet and/or communicate with alien beings.
- Immanuel Velikovsky's proposals that ancient texts refer to the collision of astronomical bodies as in Worlds in Collision.
Topics which skeptical groups consider to be pseudoscientific or closely associated with it
The following are subjects closely related to pseudoscience by notable skeptical bodies such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP). Some of these items are not considered pseudoscientific by these groups in and of themselves: only certain aspects, explanations, and/or applications of them have been thus classified. (See an item's description text for more information on this.)
Earth and Earth sciences
- The Bermuda Triangle is a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and (in its most popular version) Florida. Frequent disappearances and ship and aircraft disasters in this area have led to the circulation of stories of unusual natural phenomona, paranormal encounters, and interactions with extraterrestrial.
Paranormal and Ufo-Science
- Out-of-body experiences are experiences where a person seems to see the world from a location outside of the physical body. Qua experience, OBEs are real and theory-neutral, but some explanations invoke the paranormal.
- Pseudoarcheology is the investigation of the ancient past using alleged paranormal or otherwise means which have not been validated by mainstream science.
- Ancient astronauts are extraterrestrials said to have initiated the rise of human civilization.
- Animal mutilations are cases of animals, primarily domestic livestock, with seemingly unexplainable wounds. These wounds have been said to be caused by natural predation, extra terrestrials, cults, or covert government organizations.
- Tutankhamun's curse was allegedly placed on the discoverers of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, causing widespread deaths and other disastrous events.
- Tunguska event is an anomalous meteor strike said to actually be the impact of a miniature black hole or a large body composed of antimatter, or Ball lightning.
Philosophy and psychology
- Handwriting analysis/graphology is the practice of gleaning information about a person's personality through examination of his or her handwriting.
- Multiple personality disorder, also called dissociative identity disorder. Multiple personality disorder is a mental condition characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personalities. The post-traumatic model of this disorder has been the target of numerous scientific critics but is still popular among many psychotherapists. The disorder itself is still included as a classification in the DSM-IV and ICD-10.
- Phrenology was the first theory to be characterized as pseudoscience in 1843. Phrenologists believed that the mind was compartmentalized, an idea featured in modern neuro-imaging technique (see also modularity of mind or faculty psychology). Phrenologists also claimed to determine character and personality traits on the basis of the shape of the head (reading "bumps").
- Subliminal perception is visual or auditory information that is discerned below the threshold of conscious awareness and has an effect on human behavior. It went into disrepute in the late 1970s but there has been renewed research interest recently.
Health and Medicine
- Anthroposophic medicine is a complementary medicine founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Dr. Ita Wegman. Adherents believe in a holistic and salutogenic approach to health. Skeptic Robert Carroll asserts the underlying thinking can be explained by sympathetic magic out of touch with conventional medicine. No thorough scientific analysis of anthroposophical medicine generally has been undertaken; studies of individual medicines have shown a range of positive and negative results. An "anthroposophic lifestyle" has been shown to reduce atopy.
- Applied kinesiology is a means of medical diagnosis which proponents believe can give feedback on a patients health. The most common method, called the arm pull-down test, involves the patient lying down and holding up their dominant arm while the practitioner pushes against it. "Controlled studies of AK muscle-testing have repeatedly shown that responses are random under conditions where both the tester and test subject are unaware of the substance being tested."
- Attachment therapy is a set of potentially fatal clinical interventions and parenting techniques aimed at controlling aggressive, disobedient, or unaffectionate children using "restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results." Perhaps the most extreme is "rebirthing," in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.
- The Bates method or natural vision improvement is a collection of exercises and techniques intended to improve vision "naturally" to the point at which it can allegedly eliminate the need for glasses. These claims are viewed with skepticism by ophthalmologists and optometrists, and in 1929 Bates was cited by the FTC for false or misleading advertising in connection with his book describing the method. It has been shown to be ineffective, and Bates' theories about vision have been repeatedly discredited.
- Chiropractor remains outside of the scientific method.
- Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) is a reported sensitivity to electric and magnetic fields, as well as electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and similar non-specific indications, and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to ." Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation.
- Faith healing is the act of curing disease by such means as prayer and laying on of hands.
- Hypnosis is an extremely relaxed state in which a person is unusually responsive to suggestions made by the hypnotist. While hypnosis in some sense is almost universally regarded as real, explanations of the phenomenon invoking anything more than just an especially cooperative subject have far less scientific support. In addition, certain applications of hypnosis in psychotherapy, such as smoking cessation and self-esteem improvement, also lack empirical support. Evidence in support of hypnosis comes from hypnotic suggestion studies, neuroscientific data (eg. EEG), and from patients who have received surgery under hypnosis.
- Magnetic therapy is the practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence one's health.
- Scientific racism is the claim that scientific evidence shows the inferiority or superiority of certain races.
Mysticism, religion and belief
Mystical and religious practices and beliefs are normally not classified as pseudoscience. At least one prominent skeptical source relates the following to pseudoscience in some way, however:
- Anthroposophy: a philosophy which holds that the spirit world can be scientifically investigated through systematic analysis of inner experience. The possibility of such a systematic study is disputed and the question remains unsettled. In particular, Dusseldorf University Professor of Education Heiner Barz cites Thomas Kuhn, Feyerabend and Duerr in support of anthroposophy's underlying epistemology as a form of scientific knowledge.
- Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment and improve health and fortune.
- Meditation is the practice of quieting and calming the mind, often as a religious practice, to produce transcendental experiences. While there is experimental data showing positive and interesting effects of meditation, most traditional explanations of the associated experiences and benefits are of a pre-scientific nature.
- Neoshamanism is a combination of shamanistic, new-age spiritual, and other philosophies which include belief in spirits, meditation and sometimes the use of entheogens.
- Reincarnation is the belief that souls inhabit a succession of physical bodies over the course of their existence. It is not usually believed that memories survive reincarnation, but some people have claimed to have remembered past lives, which can be scientifically studied.
- Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth believed by some members of the Christian community to have been Jesus' death shroud. Radiocarbon dating of the original material has shown that it dates from the 13th or 14th century, and analyses of the paint and the herringbone twill weave of the cloth similarly point to a medieval origin.
Other
- Laundry balls are spherical or toroidal objects marketed as soap substitutes for washing machines.
- Quantum mysticism is a variety of claims which borrow terms or ideas from Quantum mechanics to support New Age and pseudoscientific beliefs.
- Stock market prediction mostly involves a large range of technical analysis techniques that are of dubious scientific legitimacy.
- Synchronicity is a phenomenon described by psychologist Carl Jung as "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events." The inability to test for it has marginalized its scientific importance.
Parody pseudoscience
The following are notable parodies of other pseudosciences and pseudoscientific concepts, or scientific jokes posing as serious theories.
- Bob Dobbs is the figurehead of the Church of the SubGenius, arguably an elaborate joke and postmodern mockery of organized religion.
- Invisible Pink Unicorn is the goddess of a satiric parody religion aimed at theistic beliefs, which takes the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink.
- Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of a parody religion founded by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson. He created it in response to the 2005 evolution controversy sparked by Kansas's State Board of Education.
- Intelligent falling is a parody of intelligent design which attacks gravitation in the same way intelligent design attacks origin theories.
- Russell's teapot is a parody theory that there is a china teapot revolving about the sun that is too small to be noticed by telescopes.
- Dihydrogen Monoxide dhmo.org is a web site purporting to be set up by concerned citizens to examine "the controversy surrounding dihydrogen monoxide" including evidence of its environmental, health, and other problems. Dihydrogen Monoxide is H2O (also known as water).
Idiosyncratic theories
The following theories have only a very small number of proponents, yet have become notable.
- Time Cube is a proposed theory of everything which holds that time is cubic. Its creator, Gene Ray, finds those who are ignorant of his theory to be "stupid and evil."
Disputed subjects
There is a wide range of concepts that at one time or another have been regarded as pseudoscientific. Examples include:
- Biorhythms – a hypothesis which holds that there are identifiable periodic cycles of human physiology and behavior that govern physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being. There is an article about biorhythms (with unknown content) in the Skeptic's Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience.
- Organic farming – a set of techniques for food production that avoids the use of synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and genetic technology. One prominent skeptic, Robert Todd Carroll, claims that this is "based on anti-scientific beliefs, myths, and superstition". The first study to isolate clear health benefits from eating organic foods was published in 2007.
Unusual natural phenomena
Certain unusual natural phenomena have previously been considered pseudoscientific by skeptics because the evidence supporting their existence was purely anecdotal. These phenomena, which are no longer doubted by modern science, include:
- Meteorites are stones or iron that fall from space onto the surface of the Earth. This was contested by skeptical scientists in the 18th century, especially those of the French Academy. Ernst Chladni demonstrated their celestial origin in 1794, and a substantial fall of meteorites in France in 1803 dispersed the skepticism.
- Ball lightning is a slow-moving, luminous sphere which is up to 30cm in diameter, explanations for which have ranged from combusted hydrocarbon gas to "Will o' the wisp" creatures. The phenomenon is now better understood and contemporary scientific consensus clearly accepts the existence of a phenomenon which mimics some reports of ball lightning, but is on a much smaller scale.
See also
- Anomalous phenomenon
- Crank (referencing a disagreeable person)
- Falsification
- List of minority-opinion scientific theories
- List of protosciences
- Occam's razor
- Paradigm
- Paradigm shift
- Pathological science
- Philosophy of science
- Protoscience
- Pseudoscience
- Pseudoskepticism
- Pseudophilosophy
- Science
- Scientific consensus (describes the majority views of scientists)
- Superseded scientific theory
Further reading
- Abell, George O. and Barry Singer, Science and the Paranormal: Probing the Existence of the Supernatural, Charles Scribner's, 1981, ISBN 0-684-17820-6
- Collins, Paul S. (2002) Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World. Picador. ISBN 0-312-30033-6
- Gardner, Martin, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
- Gardner, Martin, Science, Good, Bad, and Bogus
- Randi, James, Flim-Flam: Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions, Prometheus, 1982, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
- Sagan, Carl, The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books, March 1997 ISBN 0-345-40946-9, 480 pgs. 1996 hardback edition: Random House, ISBN 0-394-53512-X, xv+457 pages plus addenda insert (some printings).
- Schick, Theodore and Lewis Vaughn. (1998) How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. Mayfield. ISBN 0-7674-0013-5
- Shermer, Michael. (2002) Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. Owl Books. ISBN 0-8050-7089-3
Notes and references
- ^ article on the website of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
- ^ statement from the California Academy of Sciences.
- ^ statement from the Iowa Academy of Science.
- ^ statement from the Russian Academy of Sciences.
- ^ statement from the International Council for Science.
- "Our strategy has been to change the subject a bit so that we can get the issue of Intelligent Design, which really means the reality of God, before the academic world and into the schools." Johnson 2004. Christianity.ca. Let's Be Intelligent About Darwin.
- Discovery Institute, Center for Science and Culture. Questions about Intelligent Design: What is the theory of intelligent design? "The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." Questions About Intelligent Design
- "They call it cerealogy", CNN.com
- Campion, Edward (1993). "Why Unconventional Medicine". New England Journal of Medicine.
- Carroll, Robert Todd. "crystal power". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- Stephen S. Carey. A Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-58450-0.
- Christopher Riche Evans (1974). Cults of Unreason. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-13324-7. Chapter 6.
- Russell Miller. Bare-faced messiah: The true story of L. Ron Hubbard. Key Porter.
- Dr. Peter Banys in the SF Chronicle
- defined as pseudoscience at Skeptic's Dictionary
- "Dianetics, that unholy alliance of psychoanalysis and cybernetics, rates a special chapter." - Some Comments on Popular-Science Books, John Pfeiffer, Science (New Series), Vol. 117, No. 3042 (Apr., 1953), pp. 399-403, referencing Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner
- National Science Board Subcommittee on Science & Engineering Indicators (2000). "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding Science Fiction and Pseudoscience". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- "NCAHF Position Paper on Homeopathy". National Council Against Health Fraud. 1994. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ Beyerstein, BL (1997). "Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding - Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
- ^ Scientific American
- http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#e Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved January 24, 2006
- Alcock, James E. "Electronic Voice Phenomena:Voices of the Dead?". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
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(help) - ^ Carroll, Robert Todd, The Skeptic's Dictionary 2003, Wiley Publishing Company, ISBN 0471272426
- Shermer, Michael (2005). "Turn Me On, Dead Man". Scientific American. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
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ignored (help) - Terrence Hines, Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: A Critical Examination of the Evidence, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, 1988. ISBN 0-87975-419-2.Thagard (1978) op cit 223 ff
- Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved December 24, 2006
- "extrasensory perception" Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
- Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding - Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
- Randi, James (1989). The Faith Healers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-535-0.
- David Vernon in Skeptical - a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, ed Donald Laycock, David Vernon, Colin Groves, Simon Brown, Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989, ISBN 0731657942, p47
- ""Psychic surgery" -- 40 (3): 184 -- CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians". Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- Carroll, Robert Todd. "Psychic Surgery". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- "Psychic surgeon charged". The Filipino Reporter. June 17–23, 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
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: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ entry in The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience.
- http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm US National Science Foundation Survey,Surveys administered periodically even show increasing belief in pseudoscience...belief in four of the phenomena, haunted houses, ghosts, communication with the dead, and witches, had double-digit percentage point increases.
- Loftus, Elizabeth & Katherine Ketcham (1996). The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse. St. Martin's Griffin; 1st St. Martin's Griffin Ed edition. ISBN 0-312-14123-8 Amazon.com
- Spanos, Nicholas P. (2001). Multiple Identities & False Memories: A Sociocognitive Perspective. American Psychological Association (APA). ISBN 1-55798-893-5 Amazon.com
- Magendie, F (1843) An Elementary Treatise on Human Physiology. 5th Ed. Tr. John Revere. New York: Harper, p 150. Magendie refers to phrenology as "a pseudo-science of the present day" (note the hyphen).
- Fodor, JA. (1983) The Modularity of Mind. MIT Press. p.14, 23, 131
- "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Business (Subliminal Advertising)". The Urban Legends Reference Pages. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
- For example, processing of happy and sad faces affecting the desirability of subsequent stimulus (Westen, 2006 p.184-185).
- ^ Westen et al. 2006 "Psychology: Austraian and New Zealand edition" John Wiley.
- von Rohr et al., [http://www.smw.ch/docs/pdf/2000_34/2000-34-245.PDF "Experiences in the realisation of a research project on anthroposophical medicine in patients with advanced cancer"], Schweiz Med Wochenschr 2000;130:1173–84
- Ernst, Edzard, "Anthroposophical Medicine: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials." Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, ISSN 0043-5325, 2004, vol. 116, no4, pp. 128-130
- Alm, J. S., Swartz, J., Lilja, G., Scheynius, A., and Pershagen, G. (1999). Atopy in children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle. Lancet, 353(9163):1485-8. PMID 10232315 Reprint copy
- Carroll, Robert Todd "These are empirical claims and have been tested and shown to be false". "Applied Kinesiology". The Skeptics Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- Jarvis, William T. "Applied Kinesiology". Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- Randi, James (2004-07-16 "This is a total quack procedure that has actually killed children."). "Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
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(help) - Maloney, Shannon-Bridget. "Be Wary of Attachment Therapy". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- Worrall, Russell S. (2007-09-12 "The claims Bates made in advertising his book were so dubious that in 1929 the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against him for advertising "falsely or misleadingly.""). "Eye-Related Quackery". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
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suggested) (help) - Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ (2005). "A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises". J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 42 (2): 82–8.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Robyn E. Bradley (September 23, 2003). "ADVOCATES SEE ONLY BENEFITS FROM EYE EXERCISES" (PDF). The Boston Globe (MA).
- Marg, E. (1952). ""Flashes" of clear vision and negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual training". Am J Opt Arch Am Ac Opt. 29 (4): 167–84.
- Randi, James (2006-11-11 "This is pure old quackery, it’s wishful thinking, and it’s profitable."). "Swift: the weekly newsletter of the JREF". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
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(help) - Chiropractic: Flagship of the Alternative Medicine Fleet, Part One and Part Two - by Steven Novella MD, and President of the New England Skeptical Society
- Roosli, Martin (February 2004). "Symptoms of ill health ascribed to electromagnetic field exposure--a questionnaire survey". Int J Hyg Environ Health. 207 (2): 141–50.
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suggested) (help) - "Electromagnetic fields and public health". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- Rubin, G James (2005). "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review of Provocation Studies". Psychosomatic Medicine. 67: 224–232.
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suggested) (help) - Goldacre, Ben. "Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- Park, Robert L. (2000). Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 58–63. ISBN 0-19-513515-6 "Not only are magnetic fields of no value in healing, you might characterize these as "homeopathic" magnetic fields.".
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(help) - Stephen Jay Gould, The Mismeasure of Man. W.W. Norton & Co., 1981
- Carl Sagan, "Does Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization", Skeptical Inquirer, 1996
- Carlo Willmann, Waldorfpädogogik, Cologne Publications on the History of Religion, published by the Interdisciplinary Institute for the History of Religion, Bählau Verlag, Köln-Weimar-Vienna, pp. 5-6
- Heiner Barz, Der Waldorfkindergarten, p. 173 (cited in Willmann, p. 8)
- Damon, P. E. (1989-02). "Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin". Nature. 337 (6208): 611–615. doi:10.1038/337611a0. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
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suggested) (help) - Nickell, Joe "the scientific approach allows the preponderance of evidence to lead to a conclusion: the shroud is the work of a medieval artisan". "PBS "Secrets of the Dead" Buries the Truth About Turin Shroud". Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- Ray, Gene. Time Cube. 12 Mar. 2007
- Carroll, Robert Todd (2007-11-10). "Organic Farming". Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- Kummeling, Ischa (2007-08-29). "Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands". British Journal of Nutrition. (forthcoming, published online). doi:10.1017/S0007114507815844. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
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suggested) (help) - William F. Williams, Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience, ISBN 0-8160-5080-5, p. 215
- NIH discussion
- New Scientist
- Abrahamson J, Dinniss J., "Ball lightning caused by oxidation of nanoparticle networks from normal lightning strikes on soil", Nature. 2000 Feb 3;403(6769):519-21.