List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

The following is a list of fields of endeavor and concepts that critics have characterized as being pseudoscientific or having pseudoscientific aspects. Some of these fields, or parts of them, may be the subject of scientific research and may not be wholly dismissed by the scientific community. Note that the pseudoscience label may be applied by disputants working in the same field to disparage a competing theory or form of argument used by a rival; by commentators from outside a field to disparage a whole field; merely to characterise the fact that a theory published in a popular book has no academic credibility whatsoever; or in reference to a theory now discarded. See the individual articles for more information.

Reasons for inclusion as pseudoscientific

Inclusion in the list is due to the fact that a given concept or field of endeavor is considered by scientific critics and a significant portion of the scientific community to be:

1. Asserting claims without supporting experimental evidence;
2. Asserting claims which contradict experimentally established results;
3. Failing to provide an experimental possibility of reproducible results.

Characteristics of pseudoscience

Obsolete scientific theories

Pseudoscience should not be confused with obsolete scientific theories, such as luminiferous aether or the steady state theory of cosmology. The fact that a scientific theory has fallen into disfavour does not render it pseudoscience.

Pseudoscience as stubbornly held obsolete or prescientific ideas

An obsolete or prescientific phenomenon can follow at least one of three paths leading to extremely different conclusions:

1. It can be scientifically validated and accepted, becoming a part of scientifically accepted fact. In medicine, such phenomena often start as traditional medicine, or "alternative" medicine, and end up becoming evidence based medicine (EBM).
2. It can be disproven and rejected after much experimentation shows negative results. Such phenomena are relegated to the history books as historic artifacts.
3. It can, in spite of a lack of scientific validation - and even in spite of clear rejection - be preserved and believed, thus becoming a current pseudoscientific phenomenon. In medicine, such phenomena are often labeled quackery by the medical community and skeptics.

Such stubbornly held ideas fail to become totally obsolete, simply because often large numbers of true believers keep them alive.

Minority-opinion scientific theories

Pseudoscience should not be confused with unpopular or minority-opinion scientific theories. For example, some currently respected theories, such as the big bang theory, plate tectonics, or the idea that stones could fall from the sky (meteorites) were rejected simply because there was insufficient empirical evidence to support them at the time of their proposal; however, none of these theories were ever regarded as "pseudoscience"; rather they were scientific hypotheses which had insufficient evidenciary support for wide-spread acceptance.

As a practical matter, the topics of heated debate between scientists are rarely pseudoscience, even when the opinion is held by an extremely small minority of the scientific establishment. Notable exceptions are polywater and N-rays, although these might be more appropriately called scientific fraud, than pseudoscience. The label of pseudoscience is usually reserved for ideas advanced by non-scientists or those lacking in formal training or practical experience in matters of science. Philosophers have long considered it difficult if not impossible to develop a strict criteria to distinguish between science and pseudoscience (see demarcation problem).

Pseudoscience as pathologial science

A small number of pseudoscientific concepts are considered pathological science: a psychological process in which believers in a position, who may have originally conformed to the scientific method, unconsciously veer from that method and begin a pathological process of wishful data interpretation. The term ironic science was used by John Horgan in his book The End of Science to describe a "speculative, non-empirical mode" that mainstream science sometimes enters. Such theories are non-verifiable but not necessarily pathological (string theory for example), and are not listed here.

Because the term pseudoscience is almost universally regarded as a pejorative label (usually because it implies that the concept being criticized is not what it represents itself to be), those who adhere to such concepts almost always challenge them, often on either epistemic grounds (challenging the diagnosis), or by pointing out that many mainstream fields of science can fail the same criteria. This last resort is an expression of a logical fallacy of the tu quoque variety.

List

Anthropology and Archaeology

• Ancient astronaut theory, the theory that ancient extraterrestrial contact was involved in some way with the origin or development of human culture.
• Lemuria, and Atlantis, the theory that sunken continents in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans were once home to lost civilizations.
• Mount Ararat, the theory that the Biblical Noah's Ark was real and ended its journey on the mountain known now as Mount Ararat. Theories about the survival and location of Noah' Ark often form the core of creationist archaeological programs.
• African Olmecs theory, the theory that the Olmec civilization, which was the first high civilization of the Americas was of African origin. This theory is a part of the Afrocentric way of thinking.

Astronomy

These topics are listed by Andrew Franknoi and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as common cases of astronomical pseudoscience [1]

• Ancient Astronauts and Erich Von Daniken - proposals that ancient extraterrestrial contact was involved in some way with the origin or development of human culture.
• Apollo moon landing hoax accusations - suggestions that the Apollo moon landings were staged
• Astrology - the ancient belief that the position of celestial bodies affects personal lives and events on Earth
• Crop circles - consideration of these objects as being messages from intelligent aliens
• Dogon astronomy - suggestions that the Dogon tribe of Africa knew of the existence of Sirius B before its existence was proven by astonomers.
• Face on Mars - promoted by Richard Hoagland as evidence for an ancient Martian civilization
• Ufology - the belief that UFOs are evidence for extraterrestrial visitors.
• Immanuel Velikovsky and Worlds in Collision - catastrophic proposals based on interpreting ancient mythological and historical narratives.

Biology

See also Medicine below.

• Biological transmutation, see Corentin Louis Kervran, the hypothesis that organisms can convert chemical elements, e.g. copper to iron.
• Biophotons, a postulated communication mechanism of cells by the means of light, sometimes claimed to be the scientific substrate of Qi.
• Creationism is the belief that the origin of everything in the universe is the result of a first cause, which was creation brought about by a creator deity. 'Creationism' generally refers to the version of this concept of natural history that is opposed to the theory of Evolution. See creation science.
  • Creation biology is the subset of creation science that tries to explain biology without Evolution. Its cladistics are known as baraminology.
• Erototoxin, a neurological chemical postulated by Judith Reisman, PhD, an anti-pornography activist. It is triggered in the brain by exposure to pornography, and "mimics the 'high' from a street drug". She considers erototoxins addictive substances which represent the alleged link between pornography and such things as serial murder, rape, child molestation, and erectile dysfunction.
• Intelligent Design scenarios hold that life and living things show signs of having been designed. ID's primary argument is that life is too complex to have simply "happened by random chance" or evolved via millions of years. (Intelligent Design is sometimes considered to be a form of Creationism, though many who advocate ID suggest it may be the other way around.)
• Irreducible complexity is a concept which considers that the generally accepted scientific theory that biological Evolution by natural selection alone is incomplete or flawed, and that some additional mechanism is required to explain the origins of life.
• Japanese blood type theory of personality, a popular belief in Japan that a person's ABO blood type is predictive of their personality, character, and compatibility with others.
• Odic force is a theory that all life is permeated and bound together by a vital property.
• Specified complexity is a concept which considers that modern information science can only deal with the probabilities of genetic evolution if it considers the context of the information contained within a gene.
• Vitalism, theories claiming that understanding of the living matter should be radically different from that of non-living matter, e.g. biodynamic agriculture.
• Morphogenetic fields supposedly cause things (particularly, but not exclusively, living organisms) to grow or behave in patterns laid down by previous similar things.
• Quantum evolution (alternative), the hypothesis that genetic mutation is directed through quantum effects.
• Vibration theory of smell, the hypothesis that the sensation of smell arises from the nose's sensing of the rate of electron tunneling into the scent molecule.

Divination

• 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.
• Cartomancy is a form of fortune telling -- divination -- using a deck of cards.
• Channeling is a supposed special ability of a person to receive information from a supernatural source.
• Chiromancy evaluates a person's character or future life by "reading" the palm of that person's hand.
• Dowsing is a divination method which empowers the dowser to find water, metals and hidden objects by carrying a form of stick (dowsing rod) and watching its motion.
• Fortune telling is the practice of predicting the future, usually of an individual, through mystical or supernatural means.
• Geomancy is a method of divination based on the interpretation of markings on the ground or the pattern of scattered dirt or pebbles. It also refers to a set of practices and theories based on the identification or manipulation of energies tied to the earth (see Sacred Geometry), including dowsing, feng shui, and ley lines / dragon lines.
• Numerology is an arcane study of the purported mystical relationship between numbers and the character or action of physical objects and living things.
• Ornithomancy is a form of divination using the flight of birds to predict future events.
• Pyramid power theory states that the shape of the pyramid has healing power and spiritual energy.
• Remote viewing is a form of clairvoyance by which a viewer is said to be able to perceive objects or events separated from the viewer in space or time.
• Scrying is the name given to the ancient technique of gazing into an object for the purpose of clairvoyance.
• Telepathy is the claimed ability for humans to communicate information from one mind to another without the assistance of outside tools such as speech or body language.
• Levitation is the act of rising up from the ground without any physical aids, usually by the power of thought.

Geology

• Catastrophism claims that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. Immanuel Velikovsky's theories fall under this category. (An exception, one specific type of catastrophism that is no longer significantly disputed, is the theory that the Earth has occasionally experienced collisions from astronomical objects such as asteroids and comets large enough to temporarily affect global climate and cause extinction events.)
• Flat Earthism is the idea that Earth is flat, not a spheroid, as has been observed since the time of the Greeks.
• Flood geology is the creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a global flood.
• Hollow Earthism theory claims that the Earth is hollow, and its inside is possibly populated by a race of superbeings, humans or aliens, and possibly dinosaurs.
• Ley lines are alignments of a number of places of geographical interest, such as ancient megaliths.
• Normally undetectable Monoatomic Elements make up 5% of the earth's crust.

Medicine

• Acupuncture, in the traditional sense, is the practice of inserting very thin needles in particular points on the body to redirect qi thereby improving health and well-being. While acupuncture has documented theraputic effects, mainstream medical science attributes the mechanism for these effects to sources other than qi. This is one component of traditional Chinese medicine.
• Applied kinesiology is a method of diagnosing malfunctioning organs and what the effect of substances on the body is or would be by testing whether certain muscles are weakened or not. See also Kinesiology.
• The Bates Method of vision improvement, based on a theories of accommodation and myopia pathogenesis which are not accepted by mainstream ophthalmology or biology.
• Biorhythm theory claims that there are measurable patterns of alterations in physiology, emotions, and intellect that can be charted over the course of days or weeks.
• Chiropractic's original vitalistic assertion that vertebral subluxations block the ability of Innate intelligence (when used as non-reducible spiritual entity) to heal the body of all diseases.
• Crystal healing theory states that crystals have alleged healing and mystical paranormal powers.
• Dianetics is a pseudoscientific therapy that evolved into the Church of Scientology.
• Demon possession was a theory for explaining some forms of mental illnesses; the theory was once widely held and was believed by many to have had Biblical support; most modern mental health professionals, today, have rejected this theory.
• Dermo-optical perception - the ability to "see" through one's fingertips.
• The Duesberg hypothesis claims that recreational and pharmaceutical drug use, rather than HIV, is the primary cause for the progress of the disease AIDS. See also AIDS reappraisal.
• Food faddism refers to the tendency for idiosyncratic diets and eating patterns.
• Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine involving the use of highly diluted substances with similar (i. e. homeo-) characteristics to the condition being treated. In many cases, not a single molecule of the substance remains in the diluted solution.
• Iridology is the practice of examining the iris to evaluate and recommend treatments for specific health problems. (See also eyology and sclerology.)
• Magnet therapy is an alternative medicine based on the concept that certain medical disorders (particularly pain or muscle spasms) can be effectively treated by exposure to magnetic fields.
• Prayer healing is the belief that praying for someone to get well from an illness or injury will cause them to get well, even if the object of the prayer is unaware of the prayer.
• Psychic surgery is a type of apparent surgery performed by the healer with bare hands or unorthodox instruments.
• Reflexology claims that by massaging specific parts of the foot, one can improve the health of various other parts of the body.
• Reiki is the use of 'healing hands' to allow a patient to experience Universal Lifeforce Energy to create physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
• The opposition of Scientologists to psychiatry
• Thought Field Therapy claims that it can heal of a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at meridian points on the upper body and hands.
• Trepanation is the act of drilling a hole in one's head to release built-up pressure and move the person to a higher plane of consciousness. (Not to be confused with more generic medical procedure of trepanation used in neurosurgery to access the cerebrum.)

Planetary science

• Tiamat is the name of a hypothetical planet theorized to have existed between Mars and Jupiter (Tiamat is from the Babylonian mother goddess "Tiamat").

• Phaeton is the name of a hypothetical planet posited to once have existed between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter whose destruction supposedly led to the formation of asteroid belt. The name "Phaëton" is from Greek mythology and refers to the son of the sun god Helios.

• Nibiru is the name of a hypothetical planet or brown dwarf in the solar system which supposedly collided with Tiamat (see above) and formed Earth, the asteroid belt, and certain comets.

Physics

• Alchemy, the attempt to turn various metals, such as lead, into gold. This view still has adherents. (Some maintain that this is a mistaken view of alchemy, which often had more sophisticated goals. See the article for details.)
• Autodynamics is a theory proposed as a replacement for special relativity, which is claimed to have been based on erroneous assumptions.
• Creationist cosmologies offered by Young Earth Creationists as alternative ideas about cosmology to allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old.
• Nikola Tesla's unpublished (and "lost") Dynamic theory of gravity.
• ECE theory, an alleged unified field theory,
• Electric Universe, an idea that electricity plays a larger role in the universe than is commonly accepted.
• Emitter theory, another now-obsolete theory of light propagation.
• Fine-tuned universe, a theory based on the claimed probability that the Cosmological constants could not have arisen by chance.
• Hydrino theory proposes the hydrino, or miniature hydrogen atom with the electron pushed closer than usual to the nucleus.
• Kirlian photography is high-voltage contact print photography. Its existence is not disputed, but the paranormal interpretations of some images thus produced are.
• Modern geocentrism, citing uniform gamma ray bursts distribution as evidence that we are at the center of the universe, and other ideas of this type.
• Non-standard cosmologies, a summary of the alternatives to the Big Bang offered by various groups who claim varying levels of scientific legitimacy.
• N-ray, an alleged new form of radiation first "observed" by René-Prosper Blondlot, and soon debunked by Robert W. Wood and others.
• Wilhelm Reich's Orgone energy is an unproven form of energy, both cosmic and biological.
• Perpetual motion machines are a class of hypothetical machines in which the inputs of energy (including the energy equivalent of any fuel) are less than the outputs, a result that would violate the principle of conservation of energy. These should not be confused with energy processes that use various forms of latent energy (such as nuclear fission) and may to an untrained eye appear to be energy from "nowhere".
• Polywater is a supposed polymerized form of water.
• Polarizable vacuum is a supposed alternative to general relativity introduced by Harold Puthoff, which claims that gravitation is merely an electromagnetic phenomenon.
• Process physics by Reginald Cahill. "Process physics comes together with physics, automata theory, and cognitive science into a holistic area known as generative sciences, towards the unification of all systematic knowledge about the universe and the world."
• Red mercury, code name for a supposed energetic substance that could allow creation of hydrogen bomb without preceding fission explosion, promulgated by Samuel Cohen, sometimes claimed to be a ballotechnic substance.
• Riemannian Cosmology, proposed by Igor Bogdanoff, regarded as illucid or cranky by most mainstream physicists, but defended by a vocal minority.
• Scalar field theory is a set of theories in a model which posits that there is a basic mechanism that produces the electric field and the magnetic field and which normal electromagnetic theory does not acknowledge or account for.
• Scalar waves says there are electromagnetic longitudinal waves
• Synchronicity is the claim by Carl Jung that some mysterious alignment of forces in the universe create apparent coincidence which according to Jung are imbued with profound meaning. In a strange aberration, late in his life (age 55), the prince of skeptics, Wolfgang Pauli, coauthored a book on this topic with Jung.
• Time Cube says that time is cubic, the claims are those of Gene Ray first appeared on a website of the same name in August 1997. The claims relating to physics and mathematics attempt to redefine basic scientific principles and terminology thus rely on circular logic of Time Cube instead of established scientific conventions. The lack of academic interest in the claims is always attributed to conspiracies, and/or the educated people are evil/stupid.
• Yilmaz theory of gravitation, regarded as illucid or cranky by mainstream physicists.

Probability

• Gambler's Fallacy, the claim that truly random events which have happened less often than the frequency expected by random chance in the past are more likely than random chance to happen in the future.
• Luck, the claim, common in fiction and folk wisdom, that random events not causally linked to a person or ritual happen in a way that systemically favors or disfavors the interests of that person, or someone who has carried out a ritual. One important subtype of luck belief is a popular version of the concept of karma which asserts that good things are more likely to happen in the future to people who have been good, and that bad things are more likely to happen in the future to people have been bad, as a result of a cosmic principle of balance.

Psychology

• Characterology method of character reading developed in the 1920's.
• Couéism, or the Coué Method, method of healing and self-improvement through autosuggestion.
• Engrams, a phenomenon claimed by Dianetics (see Scientology), are claimed to be mental patterns connected through activation at the same time.
• Enneagram is a classification of personality characteristics claimed to give insight into intra- and interpersonal relationships.
• Graphology is the study of handwriting and its connection to behavior, personal information and other human traits.
• Indigo children refers to a New Age concept used to classify children with certain "unusual" psychological characteristics or abilities
• Parapsychology is the study of purported paranormal mental phenomena.
• Pathognomy is the study of passions and emotions.
• Phrenology claims to be able to determine personality traits and criminality on the basis of the shape of the head.
• Photoreading is "mentally photographing" printed pages.
• Physiognomy is based upon the belief that the study and judgement of a person's outer appearance, primarily the face, reflects the contents of their personality.
• Recovered memory is the act of discovering repressed memories and therapy to achieve such ends.
• Sentience Quotient is a concept invented by Robert A. Freitas Jr. The theory defines sentience according to a relationship between information processing rate and brain mass, yet there is no evidence that such a relationship is in any way related to the measure of sentience.

Sociology

• Eugenics, a term variously defined but generally meaning attempts to use social control to improve the human gene pool, is often labeled as a pseudoscience when referring to its status in the first half of the twentieth century as practiced in the United States and under Nazi Germany, which rested on methodologically problematic assumptions and very sloppy data. Depending on the definition of the term, though, it is not necessarily pseudoscience.
• Social Darwinism is a set of theories which proponents argue govern the natural sociological relations of humanity; these theories are putatively an application of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection to society as a whole. They generally claim that current social structure is governed by purely biological considerations (i.e. the poor are poor and the rich are rich because they are biologically inclined to fall into those categories).

Xenology

• Cryptozoology is the study of rumored or mythological animals that are presumed by many to exist, but for which proof does not yet exist.
• Pseudoarchaeology refers to the ideologically-driven, usually sensational interpretation of the past outside of a critical, scientific framework. Pseudoarchaeology also includes forms of protosciences.
• Scientology, often categorized as a UFO religion, makes complicated claims of ancient alien civilizations and promises supernatural abilities.
• Ufology is the term describing the study of the UFO (unidentified flying object) phenomena, including claims that some UFOs are extraterrestrial vehicles manned by aliens.
• Vril - A worldview involving Nazi mysticism, and an interpretation of Ufology relating to a Hollow earth and subterranean Nazi-friendly super beings, rather than "space" extraterrestrials.

Miscellaneous

• Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder Rudolf Steiner, is an attempt to investigate and describe spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity with which natural science investigates and describes the physical world.
• Bible codes research states that the future can be predicted by examining Hebrew letters arranged in blocks and making various skips (every 4th letter or every 6th letter, etc). Critics say that similar "codes" can be found in any book of similar length (for example: War and Peace).
• Biblical scientific foreknowledge, which asserts that the Bible makes predictions about science.
• Facilitated communication is viewed alternative means of expression for people who cannot speak, or whose speech is highly limited (e.g. echoed, limited to one or a few word utterances), and who cannot point reliably. Critics charge that actual communication is only done by the facilitator.
• Ghost hunting aka Paranormal investigation, collecting and measuring evidence of paranormal activity using a variety of electronic gadgets, such as EMF Meters, digital thermometers, infrared and night vision cameras, handheld video cameras, digital audio recorders, and computers.
• Laws of Form, to the extent that it is claimed to be anything more than an unorthodox presentation of propositional logic
• Materialization creation of matter from nowhere and out of nothing by somebody's will power or concentration.
• New Chronology consists of various competing theories which claim that currently accepted chronology presents a history that lasts either much longer or much shorter than it should (e.g., that Jesus was born around 1000 years ago).
• Novelty Theory An eschatology-like theory proposed by its creator, ethnobotanist Terence McKenna to have a firm mathematical basis (McKenna is not a mathematician), although its rationale and sources are primarily numerological, for example the Maya Calendar and a list of numbers from the I Ching. Its main feature is a plotted waveform McKenna calls "Timewave Zero," which he claims shows that "something" significant will happen in the year 2012, which corresponds to an abbreviated form of the date which marks the end of the Maya Calendar.
• Reincarnation, a doctrine or mystical belief, that holds the notion that one's 'Spirit' ('Soul' depending on interpretation), or critical parts of these returns to the material world after physical death to be reborn in a new body.
• Welteislehre is the theory developed by Hanns Hörbiger in the early 20th century. It states that the universe is based on a constant struggle between ice and fire.
• Yin and Yang is the theory that everything is based on a constant struggle between two opposing forces.

See also

• Anomalous phenomenon
• Crank (referencing a disagreeable person)
• List of misconceptions
• List of minority-opinion scientific theories
• Superseded scientific theory
• Occam's razor
• Paradigm
• Paradigm shift
• Pathological science
• Philosophy of science
• Pseudoscience / protoscience
• Non-standard cosmology
• Scientific consensus (describes the scientific majority views of scientists)
• What the Bleep Do We Know?! (2004 film covering unorthodox views on quantum physics and medicine)

Further reading

• Abell, George O. and Barry Singer, Science and the Paranormal: Probing the Existence of the Supernatural, Charles Scribner's, 1981, ISBN 0-683-17820-6
• 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

External links

• Baez, John, "The crackpot index : Method for rating potentially revolutionary contributions to physics.".
• Kruger, Justin, and David Dunning "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments". Department of Psychology, Cornell University.