Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status. Pseudoscience is often characterized by the use of vague, exaggerated or unprovable claims, an over-reliance on confirmation rather than rigorous attempts at refutation, a lack of openness to evaluation by other experts, and a general absence of systematic processes to rationally develop theories.

A field, practice, or body of knowledge can reasonably be called pseudoscientific when it is presented as consistent with the norms of scientific research; but it demonstrably fails to meet these norms. Science is also distinguishable from revelation, theology, or spirituality in that it offers insight into the physical world obtained by empirical research and testing. Commonly held beliefs in popular science may not meet the criteria of science. "Pop" science may blur the divide between science and pseudoscience among the general public, and may also involve science fiction. Pseudoscientific beliefs are widespread in our society even among public school science teachers and newspaper reporters.

Pseudoscientific tendencies has political implications that eclipse any scientific issues. Differentiating science from pseudoscience has practical implications in the case of health care, expert testimony, environmental policies, and science education. Distinguishing scientific facts and theories from pseudoscientific beliefs such as those found in astrology, medical quackery, and occult beliefs combined with scientific concepts, is part of science education and scientific literacy.

The term pseudoscience is often considered inherently pejorative, because it suggests that something is being inaccurately or even deceptively portrayed as science. Accordingly, those labeled as practicing or advocating pseudoscience normally dispute the characterization.

Etymology

The word "pseudoscience" is derived from the Greek root pseudo meaning false and the Latin word scientia meaning knowledge. Although the term "pseudoscience" has been in use since at least the late 18th century (used in 1796 in reference to alchemy), the concept of pseudoscience as distinct from real or proper science appears to have emerged in the mid-19th century. Among the first recorded uses of the word "pseudo-science" was in 1844 in the Northern Journal of Medicine, I 387: "That opposite kind of innovation which pronounces what has been recognized as a branch of science, to have been a pseudo-science, composed merely of so-called facts, connected together by misapprehensions under the disguise of principles". An earlier recorded use of the term was in 1843 by the French physiologist François Magendie. During the 20th century the word was used rhetorically to ascribe to an action falsely maintaining scientific status. Though from time to time the usage of the word occurred in a more formal, technical manner around a perceived threat to individual and institutional security in a social and cultural setting.

Overview

Scientific methodology

A typical 19th century phrenology chart. In the 1820s, phrenologists claimed that the mind was located in areas of the brain, and were attacked for doubting that mind came from the non-material soul. Their idea of reading "bumps" in the skull to predict personality traits was later discredited. Phrenology was first called a pseudoscience in 1843 and continues to be considered so.

While the standards for determining whether a body of knowledge, methodology, or practice is scientific can vary from field to field, there are a number of basic principles that are widely agreed upon by scientists. The basic notion is that all experimental results should be reproducible, and able to be verified by other individuals. These principles aim to ensure that experiments can be measurably reproduced under the same conditions, allowing further investigation to determine whether a hypothesis or theory related to given phenomena is both valid and reliable. Standards require that the scientific method will be applied throughout, and that bias will be controlled for or eliminated through randomization, fair sampling procedures, blinding of studies, and other methods. All gathered data, including the experimental or environmental conditions, are expected to be documented for scrutiny and made available for peer review, allowing further experiments or studies to be conducted to confirm or falsify results. Statistical quantification of significance, confidence, and error are also important tools for the scientific method.

Falsifiability

In the mid-20th century Karl Popper put forth the criterion of falsifiability to distinguish science from non-science. Falsifiability means that a result can be disproved. For example, a statement such as "God created the universe" may be true or false, but no tests can be devised that could prove it either way; it simply lies outside the reach of science. Popper used astrology and psychoanalysis as examples of pseudoscience and Einstein's theory of relativity as an example of science. He subdivided non-science into philosophical, mathematical, mythological, religious and/or metaphysical formulations on the one hand, and pseudoscientific formulations on the other, though he did not provide clear criteria for the differences.

Refusal to acknowledge problems

In 1978, Paul Thagard proposed that pseudoscience is primarily distinguishable from science when it is less progressive than alternative theories over a long period of time, and its proponents fail to acknowledge or address problems with the theory. In 1983, Mario Bunge has suggested the categories of "belief fields" and "research fields" to help distinguish between pseudoscience and science, where the first is primarily personal and subjective and the latter involves a certain systematic approach.

Scientifically meaningless arguments

Philosophers of science such as Paul Feyerabend have argued from a sociology of knowledge perspective that a distinction between science and non-science is neither possible nor desirable. Among the issues which can make the distinction difficult is variable rates of evolution among the theories and methodologies of science in response to new data. In addition, specific standards applicable to one field of science may not be employed in other fields.

Larry Laudan has suggested that pseudoscience has no scientific meaning and is mostly used to describe our emotions: "If we would stand up and be counted on the side of reason, we ought to drop terms like 'pseudo-science' and 'unscientific' from our vocabulary; they are just hollow phrases which do only emotive work for us". Likewise, Richard McNally states that "The term 'pseudoscience' has become little more than an inflammatory buzzword for quickly dismissing one’s opponents in media sound-bites" and that "When therapeutic entrepreneurs make claims on behalf of their interventions, we should not waste our time trying to determine whether their interventions qualify as pseudoscientific. Rather, we should ask them: How do you know that your intervention works? What is your evidence?"

Identifying pseudoscience

A field, practice, or body of knowledge might reasonably be called pseudoscientific when (1) it is presented as consistent with the norms of scientific research; but (2) it demonstrably fails to meet these norms.

Karl Popper stated that it is insufficient to distinguish science from pseudoscience, or from metaphysics, by the criterion of rigorous adherence to the empirical method, which is essentially inductive, based on observation or experimentation. He proposed a method to distinguish between genuine empirical, non-empirical or even pseudo-empirical methods. The latter case was exemplified by astrology which appeals to observation and experimentation. While it had astonishing empirical evidence based on observation, on horoscopes and biographies it crucially failed to adhere to acceptable scientific standards. Popper proposed falsifiability as an important criterion in distinguishing science from pseudoscience.

To demonstrate this point, Popper gave two cases of human behavior and typical explanations from Freud and Adler's theories: "that of a man who pushes a child into the water with the intention of drowning it; and that of a man who sacrifices his life in an attempt to save the child." From Freud's perspective, the first man would have suffered from psychological repression, probably originating from an Oedipus complex whereas the second had attained sublimation. From Adler's perspective, the first and second man suffered from feelings of inferiority and had to prove himself which drove him to commit the crime or, in the second case, rescue the child. Popper was not able to find any counter-examples of human behavior in which the behavior could not be explained in the terms of Adler's or Freud's theory. Popper argued that it was that the observation always fitted or confirmed the theory which, rather than being its strength, was actually its weakness.

In contrast, Popper gave the example of Einstein's gravitational theory which predicted that "light must be attracted by heavy bodies (such as the sun), precisely as material bodies were attracted." Following from this, stars closer to the sun would appear to have moved a small distance away from the sun, and away from each other. This prediction was particularly striking to Popper because it involved considerable risk. The brightness of the sun prevented this effect from being observed under normal circumstances, so photographs had to be taken during an eclipse and compared to photographs taken at night. Popper states, "If observation shows that the predicted effect is definitely absent, then the theory is simply refuted." Popper summed up his criterion for the scientific status of a theory as depending on its falsifiability, refutability, or testability.

Paul R. Thagard used astrology as a case study to distinguish science from pseudoscience and proposed principles and criteria to delineate them. First, astrology has not progressed in that it has not been updated nor added any explanatory power since Ptolemy. Second, it has ignored outstanding problems such as the precession of equinoxes in astronomy. Third, alternative theories of personality and behavior have grown progressively to encompass explanations of phenomena which astrology statically attributes to heavenly forces. Fourth, astrologers have remained uninterested in furthering the theory to deal with outstanding problems or in critically evaluating the theory in relation to other theories. Thagard intended this criterion to be extended to areas other than astrology. He believed that it would delineate pseudoscientific practices as witchcraft and pyramidology, while leaving physics, chemistry and biology in the realm of science. Biorhythms, which like astrology relied uncritically on birth dates, did not meet the criterion of pseudoscience at the time because there were no alternative explanations for the same observations. The use of this criterion has the consequence that a theory can at one time be scientific and at another pseudoscientific.

Science is also distinguishable from revelation, theology, or spirituality in that it offers insight into the physical world obtained by empirical research and testing. For this reason, the teaching of creation science and intelligent design has been strongly condemned in position statements from scientific organisations. The most notable disputes concern the evolution of living organisms, the idea of common descent, the geologic history of the Earth, the formation of the solar system, and the origin of the universe. Systems of belief that derive from divine or inspired knowledge are not considered pseudoscience if they do not claim either to be scientific or to overturn well-established science. Moreover, some specific religious claims, such as the power of intercessory prayer to heal the sick can be tested by the scientific method, though they may be based on non-testable beliefs.

Some statements and commonly held beliefs in popular science may not meet the criteria of science. "Pop" science may blur the divide between science and pseudoscience among the general public, and may also involve science fiction. Indeed, pop science is disseminated to, and can also easily emanate from, persons not accountable to scientific methodology and expert peer review.

If the claims of a given field can be experimentally tested and methodological standards are upheld, it is not "pseudoscience", however odd, astonishing, or counter-intuitive. If claims made are inconsistent with existing experimental results or established theory, but the methodology is sound, caution should be used; science consists of testing hypotheses which may turn out to be false. In such a case, the work may be better described as ideas that are not yet generally accepted. Protoscience is a term sometimes used to describe a hypothesis that has not yet been adequately tested by the scientific method, but which is otherwise consistent with existing science or which, where inconsistent, offers reasonable account of the inconsistency. It may also describe the transition from a body of practical knowledge into a scientific field.

Pseudoscientific concepts

Examples of pseudoscience concepts, proposed as scientific when they are not scientific, are Creation Science, intelligent design, orgone energy, N-rays, ch'i, L. Ron Hubbard's engram theory, enneagram, iridology, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, New Age psychotherapies (e.g., rebirthing therapy), reflexology, applied kinesiology, astrology, biorhythms, facilitated communication, plant perception, extrasensory perception (ESP), Velikovsky's theories, von Däniken's theories, Sitchen's theories, anthropometry, craniometry, graphology, metoposcopy, personology, physiognomy, acupuncture, alchemy, cellular memory, Lysenkoism, naturopathy, reiki, Rolfing, therapeutic touch, ayurvedic medicine, and homeopathy. Robert T. Carroll stated in part: "Pseudoscientists claim to base their theories on empirical evidence, and they may even use some scientific methods, though often their understanding of a controlled experiment is inadequate. Many pseudoscientists relish being able to point out the consistency of their theories with known facts or with predicted consequences, but they do not recognize that such consistency is not proof of anything. It is a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition that a good scientific theory be consistent with the facts."

In 2006 the US National Science Foundation (NSF) issued an executive summary of a paper on science and engineering which briefly discussed the prevalence of pseudoscience in modern times. It said that "belief in pseudoscience is widespread" and, referencing a Gallup Poll, stated that belief in the ten commonly believed examples of paranormal phenomena listed in the poll were "pseudoscientific beliefs". The ten items were: "extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted, ghosts, telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, that people can communicate mentally with someone who has died, witches, reincarnation, and channelling." Such beliefs in pseudoscience reflect a lack of knowing how science works. The scientific community and those whose work it is to communicate information about science to the public have been very concerned about the public's susceptibility to unproven claims.

The following are some of the indicators of the possible presence of pseudoscience.

Use of vague, exaggerated or untestable claims

• Assertion of scientific claims that are vague rather than precise, and that lack specific measurements.
• Failure to make use of operational definitions (i.e. publicly accessible definitions of the variables, terms, or objects of interest so that persons other than the definer can independently measure or test them). (See also: Reproducibility)
• Failure to make reasonable use of the principle of parsimony, i.e. failing to seek an explanation that requires the fewest possible additional assumptions when multiple viable explanations are possible (see: Occam's razor)
• Use of obscurantist language, and use of apparently technical jargon in an effort to give claims the superficial trappings of science.
• Lack of boundary conditions: Most well-supported scientific theories possess well-articulated limitations under which the predicted phenomena do and do not apply.
• Lack of effective controls, such as placebo and double-blind, in experimental design.
• Lack of understanding of basic and established principles of physics and engineering.

Over-reliance on confirmation rather than refutation

• Assertions that do not allow the logical possibility that they can be shown to be false by observation or physical experiment (see also: falsifiability)
• Assertion of claims that a theory predicts something that it has not been shown to predict. Scientific claims that do not confer any predictive power are considered at best "conjectures", or at worst "pseudoscience" (e.g. Ignoratio elenchi)
• Assertion that claims which have not been proven false must be true, and vice versa (see: Argument from ignorance)
• Over-reliance on testimonial, anecdotal evidence, or personal experience. This evidence may be useful for the context of discovery (i.e. hypothesis generation) but should not be used in the context of justification (e.g. Statistical hypothesis testing).
• Presentation of data that seems to support its claims while suppressing or refusing to consider data that conflict with its claims. This is an example of selection bias, a distortion of evidence or data that arises from the way that the data are collected. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect.
• Reversed burden of proof. In science, the burden of proof rests on those making a claim, not on the critic. "Pseudoscientific" arguments may neglect this principle and demand that skeptics demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a claim (e.g. an assertion regarding the efficacy of a novel therapeutic technique) is false. It is essentially impossible to prove a universal negative, so this tactic incorrectly places the burden of proof on the skeptic rather than the claimant.
• Appeals to holism as opposed to reductionism: Proponents of pseudoscientific claims, especially in organic medicine, alternative medicine, naturopathy and mental health, often resort to the "mantra of holism" to explain negative findings.

Lack of openness to testing by other experts

• Evasion of peer review before publicizing results (called "science by press conference"). Some proponents of theories that contradict accepted scientific theories avoid subjecting their ideas to peer review, sometimes on the grounds that peer review is biased towards established paradigms, and sometimes on the grounds that assertions cannot be evaluated adequately using standard scientific methods. By remaining insulated from the peer review process, these proponents forgo the opportunity of corrective feedback from informed colleagues.
• Some agencies, institutions, and publications that fund scientific research require authors to share data so that others can evaluate a paper independently. Failure to provide adequate information for other researchers to reproduce the claims contributes to a lack of openness.
• Appealing to the need for secrecy or proprietary knowledge when an independent review of data or methodology is requested.

Absence of progress

• Failure to progress towards additional evidence of its claims. Terence Hines has identified astrology as a subject that has changed very little in the past two millennia. (see also: Scientific progress)
• Lack of self correction: scientific research programmes make mistakes, but they tend to eliminate these errors over time. By contrast, theories may be accused of being pseudoscientific because they have remained unaltered despite contradictory evidence. The work Scientists Confront Velikovsky (1976) Cornell University, also delves into these features in some detail, as does the work of Thomas Kuhn, e.g. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) which also discusses some of the items on the list of characteristics of pseudoscience.
• Statistical significance of supporting experimental results does not improve over time and are usually close to the cutoff for statistical significance. Normally, experimental techniques improve or the experiments are repeated and this gives ever stronger evidence. If statistical significance does not improve, this typically shows that the experiments have just been repeated until a success occurs due to chance variations.

Personalization of issues

• Tight social groups and authoritarian personality, suppression of dissent, and groupthink can enhance the adoption of beliefs that have no rational basis. In attempting to confirm their beliefs, the group tends to identify their critics as enemies.
• Assertion of claims of a conspiracy on the part of the scientific community to suppress the results.
• Attacking the motives or character of anyone who questions the claims (see Ad hominem fallacy).

Use of misleading language

• Creating scientific-sounding terms in order to add weight to claims and persuade non-experts to believe statements that may be false or meaningless. For example, a long-standing hoax refers to water by the rarely used formal name "dihydrogen monoxide" (DHMO) and describes it as the main constituent in most poisonous solutions to show how easily the general public can be misled.
• Using established terms in idiosyncratic ways, thereby demonstrating unfamiliarity with mainstream work in the discipline.

Demographics

Pseudoscientific examples can be found in practically any country. For example, the 'Keep libel laws out of science' campaign was launched in the UK in June 2009 after the science writer Simon Singh, who alerted the people about the lack of evidence to support chiropractic treatments, was sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association. In Spain, another science writer Luis Alfonso Gámez was sued after he notified the public about the lack of efficacy to support the claims of a popular pseudoscientist. In the US, 54% of the population believe in psychic healing and 35% believe in telepathy. In Europe, the statistics are not that much different. A high percentage of Europeans think homeopathy (34%) and horoscopes (13%) to be reliable science. Moreover, over the past decade there has been an increased consumer interest in the use CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) practices and/or products. Surveys demonstrate that the people with the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer, chronic pain, and HIV, are inclined to be the most routine users of CAM practices.

The government of China and the Chinese Communist Party were concerned by Western pseudosciences developments and certain ancient Chinese practices in China. In 1995 they issued a joint statement that read in part: "[P]ublic education in science has been withering in recent years. At this time, activities of superstition and ignorance have been growing, and antiscience and pseuoscience cases have become frequent. Therefore, effective measures must be applied as soon as possible to strengthen public education in science. The level of public education in science and technology is an important sign of the national scientific accomplishment. It is a mater of overall imporatance in economic development, scienctific advance, and the progress of society. We must be attentive and impliment such public education as part of a strategy to modernize our socialist country and to make our nation powerful and prosperous. Ignorance is never socialist, nor is poverty." So pseudoscience in the U.S. is part of a worldwide trend. Its causes, dangers, diagnosis and treatement are probably to be similar universally.

The National Science Foundation stated that, in the USA, "pseudoscientific" beliefs became more widespread during the 1990s, peaked near 2001 and have declined slightly since; nevertheless, pseudoscientific beliefs remain common in the USA. As a result, according to the NSF report, there is a lack of knowledge of pseudoscientific issues in society and pseudoscientific practices are commonly followed. Bunge states that "A survey on public knowledge of science in the United States showed that in 1988 50% of American adults [rejected] evolution, and 88% believed astrology is a science." Other surveys indicate that about a third of all adult Americans consider astrology to be scientific.

The Journal of College Science Teaching stated "The pseudoscience danger goes deeper than naive ignorance. Anti-intellectual "true believers" necessarily regard knowledge of the real world to be a threat, because such knowledge might disturb their carefully-maintained belief system. True believers are not merely "ignor-ant" of knowledge, they actively oppose it. But in this scientific age, true believers feel required to ape the methods of science. Hence, pseudoscience. Pseudoscientific beliefs are surprisingly widespread in our culture even among public school science teachers and newspaper editors, and are closely related to scientific illiteracy."

Psychological explanations

Pseudoscientific thinking has been explained in terms of psychology and social psychology. The human proclivity for seeking confirmation rather than refutation (confirmation bias), the tendency to hold comforting beliefs, and the tendency to overgeneralize have been proposed as reasons for the common adherence to pseudoscientific thinking. According to Beyerstein (1991), humans are prone to associations based on resemblances only, and often prone to misattribution in cause-effect thinking.

Lindeman states that social motives (i.e., "to comprehend self and the world, to have a sense of control over outcomes, to belong, to find the world benevolent and to maintain one’s self-esteem") are often "more easily" fulfilled by pseudoscience than by scientific information. Furthermore, pseudoscientific explanations are generally not analyzed rationally, but instead experientially. Operating within a different set of rules compared to rational thinking, experiential thinking regards an explanation as valid if the explanation is "personally functional, satisfying and sufficient", offering a description of the world that may be more personal than can be provided by science and reducing the amount of potential work involved in understanding complex events and outcomes.

In our culture and thinking, people appear to have trouble distinguishing science from pseuodoscience. The prime reason people believe in wishful things is because they want to, it feels good and it is consoling. Many weird beliefs give immediate gratification. Immediate gratification of a person's belief is made a lot easier by simple explanantions for an often complicated and contingent world. The scientific and secular systems of morality and meaning is generally unsatisfying to most people. Humans are, by nature, a forward-minded species pursuing greater avenues of happiness and satisfaction but we are all too frequently willing to grasp at unrealistic promises of a better life.

Psychology has much to discuss about pseudoscience thinking, as it is the illusory perceptions of causality and effectiveness of numerous individuals that needs to be illuminated. Research suggests that illusionary thinking that happens in most people when exposed to certain circumstances such as reading a book, an advertizement or the testimony of others are the basis of pseudoscience beliefs. It is assumed that illusions are not unusual, and given the right conditions, illusions are able to occur systematically even in normal emotional situations. One of the things pseudoscience believers quibble most about is that academic science usually treats them as fools. Minimizing these illusions in the real world is not simple. To this aim, designing evidence-based educational programs can be effective to help people identify and reduce their own illusions.

Boundaries between protoscience, science, and pseudoscience

Main article: Demarcation problem

Many philosophers attempt to solve the issue of demarcation in the following way: a statement makes up knowledge if many people strongly beleive in it. But the history of thought demonstrates that many people are completely dedicated to absurd beliefs. If the power of beliefs were the basis of knowledge, we should have to rank, for example, some of the tales of demons and angels as knowledge. On the other hand, scientisits are skeptical about their best theories. Newton's is the most robust theory science has to offer, yet Newton himself never thought bodies attract each over a distance. So no amount of dedication to beliefs makes them knowledge. The basis of scientific behavior is a reasonable skepticism towards one's most prized theories. Blind dedication to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual sin. Thus a statement can possibly be pseudoscientic even if it is plausible and everybody believes in it, and it can possibly be scientifically valuable even if it is incredulous and nobody believes in it.

The boundary lines between the science and pseudoscience are disputed and difficult to determine analytically, even after more than a century of dialogue among philosophers of science and scientists in varied fields, and despite some basic agreements on the fundaments of scientific methodology. The concept of pseudoscience rests on an understanding that scientific methodology has been misrepresented or misapplied with respect to a given theory, but many philosophers of science maintain that different kinds of methods are held as appropriate across different fields and different eras of human history. According to Lakatos, the typical descriptive unit of great scientific achievements is not an isolated hypothesis but "a powerful problem-solving machinery, which, with the help of sophisticated mathematical techniques, digests anomalies and even turns them into positive evidence."

To Popper, pseudoscience uses conjecture to generate theories, and only conducts experiments to inquire to verify them. To Popper, falsifiability is what shows the scientific status of a theory. Looking at a historical approach, Kuhn viewed that scientists did not follow Popper's decree, and falsifying data could be overlooked. Kuhn identified puzzle-solving within a paradigm as science. Lakatos tried to conclude this debate, by saying history demonstrates that science occurs in research programs. Feyerabend believed that Lakatos was choosy in his examples, and the entire history of science demonstrates there is no universal standard of scientific method.

Politics, health and education

Political implications

The term pseudoscience also has political implications that eclipse any scientific issues. Imre Lakatos, for instance, points out that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union at one point declared that Mendelian genetics was pseudoscientific and had its advocates, including well-established scientists such as Nikolai Vavilov, sent to a Gulag and that the "liberal Establishment of the West" denies freedom of speech to topics it regards as pseudoscience, particularly where they run up against social mores.

Pseudoscience activities is used recurrently in political, policy-making discourse in allegations of distortion or fabrication of scientific findings to support a political position. The Prince of Wales has stated climate change skeptics of using pseudoscience and persuasion to hinder the world from adopting precautionary principles to avert catastrophic global warming. People have given attention to the climate skeptics and have tried to understand the kind of pseudoscience they are canvassing. But he insisted the "environmental collapse" evidence is already here. Not only in climbing temperatures but the imprint on particular species like honey bees.

Pseudoscientific assertions is politically alarming in societies where denial, chauvinism, fear and ignorance prosper. In such societies, the distortion of scientific facts will serve to energize the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For example, rather than accepting their mistakes, the South African government retreated behind revisionist theories. The controversy has undermined the positive public health messages from this government. It is conveying mixed messages to those who have devoted themselves to eradicating this epidemic and is having a negative impact on the affected patients and family members. The undermining of scientists and the scientific method is especially troublesome in an evolving country still in the development of building a solid scientific research base.

It becomes pseudoscientific when science cannot be separated from ideology, scientists misrepresents scientific findings to promote or draw attention for publicity, when politicians, journalists and a nations intellectual elite distort the facts of science for short-term political gain, when powerful individuals in the public conflate causation and cofactors of HIV/AIDS through a mixture of clever wordplay, or when science is being used by the powerful to promote ignorance rather than tackle ignorance. These ideas reduce the authority, value, integrity and independence of science in society.

It is a fact that a large percentage of the population lacks scientific literacy, not adequately understanding scientific principles and methodology. Instead of seeking scientific professionals for expert medical advise, people increasingly put their trust in pseudoscience, with its claims that are not supported and not testable. People who have spent their lives in scientific discovery and medical progress have been drowned out by detractors of all things from evolution to animal models of human biology. The backlash against science threatens to halt progress in combating disease and erodes public support for research and development. The ridicule of researchers has been a tool for political advantage, assisting to the public condemnation of science and medicine.

Health and education implications

Distinguishing science from pseudoscience has practical implications in the case of health care, expert testimony, environmental policies, and science education. Treatments with a patina of scientific authority which have not actually been subjected to actual scientific testing may be ineffective, expensive, and dangerous to patients, and confuse health providers, insurers, government decision makers, and the public as to what treatments are appropriate. Claims advanced by pseudoscience may result in government officials and educators making poor decisions in selecting curriculum, for example, Creation Science may replace evolution in studies of biology.

The extent to which students acquire social and a range of cognitive thinking skills related to the proper usage of science/technology determines whether they are scientifically literate. Education in the sciences encounter new dimensions with the changing landscape of science and technology, a fast changing culture, and a knowledge driven era. A reinvention of the school science curricula is one that shapes students to contend with the changing infleuncing human welfare. A scientifically literate person is able to distinguish science from pseudoscience such as astrology, are among the attributes that enable students to adopt to the changing world. Science literacy characteristics are embedded in a curriculum where students are engaged in resolving problems, conductung investigations, or developing projects.

Scientists do not want to get involved to counter pseudoscience for various reasons. For example, pseudoscientific beliefs are irrational and impossible to combat with rational arguments and even agreeing to talk about pseudoscience we accept it as a credible discipline. Pseudoscience harbor a continuous and an increasing threat to our society. It is impossible to determine the irreversible harm that will happen in the distance. In a time when the science literacy of the public has declined and the danger of pseudoscience has increased, revising the conventional science course to current science through the prism of pseudoscience could offer away to improve science literacy and help society to eliminate misconceptions and assaulting growing trends (remote viewing, psychic readings, etc) that may harm (financially or otherwise) trusting citizens.

Pseudosciences such as homeopathy, even if generally benign, are magnets for charlatans. This poses a serious issue because incompetent practitioners should not be given the right of administering health care. True-believing zealots may pose a more serious threat than typical con men because of their affection to homeopathy's ideology. Irrational health care is not harmless, and it is careless to create patient confidence in pseudomedicine.

See also

Related concepts

• Analytic philosophy
• Antiscience
• Common misconception
• Credulity
• Scientism
• Scientific method

Similar terms

• Junk science
• Pathological science
• Protoscience
• Pseudohistory
• Voodoo science

Common examples

• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Further reading

• Hansson, S.O (September 3, 2008), "Science and Pseudo-Science", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Schadewald Robert J (2008). Worlds of Their Own - A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4363-0435-1.
• Shermer M, Gould SJ (2002). Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. New York: Holt Paperbacks. ISBN 0805070893.
• Derksen AA (2001). "The seven strategies of the sophisticated pseudo-scientist: a look into Freud's rhetorical toolbox". J Gen Phil Sci. 32: 329–350. doi:10.1023/A:1013100717113.
• Wilson F (2000). The Logic and Methodology of Science and Pseudoscience. Canadian Scholars Press. ISBN 155130175X.
• Bauer Henry H (2000). Science or Pseudoscience: Magnetic Healing, Psychic Phenomena, and Other Heterodoxies. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252026010.
• Charpak, Georges; Broch, Henri; Translated from the French by Bart K. Holland (2004). Debunked: Esp, telekinesis, other pseudoscience. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801878675  Originally published 2002 by Odile Jacob as Devenez sorciers, devenez savants{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Cioffi, Frank (1998). Freud and the Question of Pseudoscience. Chicaco and La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, division of Carus. p. 314. ISBN 0-8126-9385-X. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
• Hansson, Sven Ove (1996). "Defining pseudoscience". Philosophia naturalis. 33: 169–176.
• Pratkanis, Anthony R (1995). "How to Sell a Pseudoscience". Skeptical Inquirer. 19 (4): 19–25. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Wolpert, Lewis (1994), The Unnatural Nature of Science, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-92980-2  Paperback ISBN 0-674-9281-0{{citation}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) First published 1992 by Faber & Faber, London.
• Martin M (1994). "Pseudoscience, the paranormal, and science education". Science & Education. 3: 1573–901. Bibcode:1994Sc&Ed...3..357M. doi:10.1007/BF00488452.
• Derksen AA (1993). "The seven sins of pseudo-science". J Gen Phil Sci. 24: 17–42. doi:10.1007/BF00769513.
• Gardner M (1990). Science – Good, Bad and Bogus. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0879755733.

Little, John (October 29, 1981), "Review and useful overview of Gardner's book", New Scientist, 92 (1277): 320

• Gardner, Martin (1957), Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (2nd, revised & expanded ed.), Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-20394-8  Originally published 1952 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, under the title In the Name of Science{{citation}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

External links

• Checklist for identifying dubious technical processes and products - Rainer Bunge, PhD
• Skeptic Dictionary: Pseudoscience - Robert Todd Carroll, PhD
• Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience - Rory Coker, PhD
• Pseudoscience. What is it? How can I recognize it? - Stephen Lower
• Science and Pseudoscience - transcript and broadcast of talk by Imre Lakatos
• Science and Pseudo-Science: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Science Needs to Combat Pseudoscience - A statement by 32 Russian scientists and philosophers
• Science, Pseudoscience, and Irrationalism - Steven Dutch
• Skeptic Dictionary: Pseudoscientific topics and discussion - Robert Todd Carroll
• Why Is Pseudoscience Dangerous? - Edward Kruglyakov