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Topic: Pseudoscientific

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	Scientific vs Pseudoscientific Methods (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Pseudoscientific information is considered to be fallacy and not scientific fact due to the looseness of the pseudoscientific research methodology and its inability to withstand critical analysis and refutability.
		This pseudoscientific method argues that the principles upon which a pseudoscientific hypothesis are based are part of legitimate science, since their theory is similar or related to an earlier theory.
		Pseudoscientific research methods often do not provide the ability to be adequately replicated, yet pseudoscientist consider their knowledge claims to be irrefutable.
	www.lutz-sanfilippo.com /library/general/lsfmethods.html (1856 words)

	Pseudoscientific Seminars: Counterfeit Chiropractic
		Since pseudoscientific seminars exist in many areas of human interest, I was not particularly surprised to find them in the world of chiropractic, as well.
		Pseudoscientific seminars present a lot of great sounding ideas but inevitably do not clearly distinguish between what is merely a reasonable idea (i.e., an hypothesis), and what has actually been empirically tested and validated.
		For example, if the cost of attending a pseudoscientific seminar is $400 for two days, and there are 100 participants, the gross income amounts to $40,000 for the weekend.
	www.chiroweb.com /archives/09/01/24.html (1018 words)

	Pseudoscience - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The term "pseudoscience" is often used by adherents of fields considered pseudoscientific to criticize their mainstream equivalents.
		In some cases, no one applying scientific methods could disprove a pseudoscientific hypothesis (that is, untestable claims have been made) and failure to test and disprove these claims is often cited as evidence of the truth of the pseudoscience.
		Pseudoscientific science and medical practices are often quite popular.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Pseudoscience (2211 words)

	pseudoscience
		Some pseudoscientific theories can't be tested because they are so vague and malleable that anything relevant can be shoehorned to fit the theory, e.g., the enneagram, iridology, the theory of multiple personality disorder, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, the theories behind many New Age psychotherapies, and reflexology.
		Some pseudoscientific theories rely on ancient myths and legends rather than on physical evidence, even when their interpretations of those legends either requires a belief contrary to the known laws of nature or to established facts, e.g., Velikovsky's, von Däniken's, and Sitchen's theories.
		Some pseudoscientific theories not only confuse metaphysical claims with empirical claims, but they also maintain views that contradict known scientific laws and use ad hoc hypotheses to explain their belief, e.g., homeopathy.
	skepdic.com /pseudosc.html (766 words)

	Ray Hyman Q&A
		One theory is that, by definition, pseudoscientific beliefs and claims are formulated such that they cannot be falsified.
		The dowser for the ski-lodge, as you saw on the program, was not dissuaded by the obvious failure of his dowsing efforts.
		Back in the 1950s when my colleague Evon Z. Vogt and I began our investigation of water dowsing, we were intrigued by the fact that many educated individuals, including some with engineering or scientific training, were proponents of water witching.
	www.pbs.org /safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_rhyman.html (3382 words)

	Active Skim View of: 3 The Road to Reality Versus the Road to Illusion
		Pseudoscientific medical beliefs can even harm them physically if they seek help from faith healers, psychic surgeons, and other medical quacks for potentially life-threatening problems.
		Unfortunately, pseudoscientific hypotheses are usually so general or vague that predictions deduced from them allow too wide a margin of error for adequate evaluation.
		Pseudoscientific Recycling Even when pseudoscientific experimental results do not match predictions, adherents may still cling to their original belief because of its powerful attraction.
	www.nap.edu /nap-cgi/skimit.cgi?isbn=030907309X&chap=30-47 (772 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Psychology is different from pseudoscientific approaches in deciding what is true by the way they look at and interpret data.
		Pseudoscientific methods operate on the basis that people are easily fooled.
		Whereas pseudoscientific approaches do not use the principle of falsifiability, meaning that if a result goes against their hypothesis it is a freak case that neither supports nor refutes their hypothesis.
	www.runet.edu /~dhall/tht1goodexample.doc (3240 words)

	Paul R. Thagard - Why Astrology Is A Pseudoscience (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		However, I shall propose a criterion for distinguishing disciplines as pseudoscientific; this criterion is unlike verificationist and falsificationist attempts in that it introduces social and historical features as well as logical ones.
		What makes astrology pseudoscientific is not that it lacks periods of Kuhnian normal science, but that its proponents adopt uncritical attitudes of "normal" scientists despite the existence of more progressive alternative theories.
		The current fad of biorhythms, implausibly based like astrology on date of birth, can not be branded as pseudoscientific because we lack alternative theories giving more detailed accounts of cyclical variations in human beings, although much research is in progress.
	www.uwichill.edu.bb /bnccde/ph29a/thagard.html (3932 words)

	[No title]
		A few other miscellaneous beliefs, not strictly archaeological in their content, such as the existence of UFO's, the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot or equivalent creatures in various parts of the world, the factual basis of astrology, and the reality of reincarnation, ghosts and ghostly manifestations were also treated in their survey.
		Pseudoscientific gullibility is certainly not a rare phenomenon among our students.
		What I am suggesting here is not mere tautology, but an as yet untested hypothesis that religiosity may correlate with high levels of a general "willingness to believe" ideas known to be accepted by others, so long as those beliefs are not specifically in conflict with subjects' religious doctrines.
	cc.usu.edu /~FATH6/beliefs.htm (1895 words)

	Pseudoscience (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		A pseudoscientific theory is usually stated in such a way that it can't be proven false.
		Another good activity would be to take a pseudoscientific topic-preferably one that is only marginally controversial-present it, and then ask students to look for flaws in the "facts" or arguments presented.
		A good project would be for a student or a group of students to take a particular "pseudoscientific" topic and present arguments both supporting and refuting the claim.
	www.acs.org /portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=\education\curriculum\chemmatters\pseudo_0202.html (2112 words)

	Prometheus Books
		Claims of pseudoscientific and paranormal phenomena have grown in recent years - each claim seemingly more outlandish than the last.
		Pseudoscience and the Paranormal is a refreshing examination of the entire spectrum of pseudoscientific claims.
		Because of the lack of accurate reporting on the subject, many people find it difficult to distinguish pseudoscientific claims from legitimate ones, especially in the critically important areas of health and nutrition.
	www.prometheusbooks.com /catalog/book_692.html (233 words)

	The New England Skeptical Society - Articles
		Their status as alternative is not due to the protectionism of which chiropractors so often accuse their detractors, but rather to their persistent basis in pseudoscientific concepts, their anti-science attitudes, and their unethical practices.
		Although they are very active in advertising the alleged benefits of chiropractic, chiropractors are anything but aggressive in making known the theoretical basis of their therapies.
		They have called for absolute rejection of the subluxation theory of illness, disposing of pseudoscientific and unethical practices by chiropractors, and the restriction of chiropractic to treating acute musculoskeletal symptoms.
	www.theness.com /articles.asp?id=4 (2591 words)

	Skeptical Inquirer: Cult Archaeology and Creationism: Understanding... @ HighBeam Research (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		The alarmingly high percentages of students who believe in paranormal phenomena, particularly ESP and UFOs, clearly reflect Asimov's statement: These are young people, many of whom are living away from their parents for the first time, facing an intimidating world and an uncertain future.
		Hudson, who focused on pseudoscience, notes that although a minority of students were found to have strong beliefs in most of the pseudoscientific phenomena about which they were questioned, another minority also did not believe in them (with the remainder being undecided or ignorant of the topic).
		If this book leaves us with anything of certainty, it is that in the realm of educating the public to the dangers of creationist and pseudoscientific thinking, skeptics and scientists still have their work cut out for them, and will continue to for decades to come.
	www.highbeam.com /library/doc0.asp?docid=1G1:18372137&refid=ink_tptd_g1 (1271 words)

	Development of Beliefs in Paranormal and Supernatural Phenomena (Skeptical Inquirer Mar 2004)
		Pseudoscientific and paranormal beliefs provide a sense of order and comfort to those who hold them, giving us control over the unknown.
		Scientists and science educators (1) have high levels of paranormal and pseudoscientific belief, (2) do not use their scientific knowledge when voting, (3) use nonscientific approaches in personal and social decision-making, and (4) do not have high levels of science content knowledge outside of their specific disciplines.
		The media may provide fodder for pseudoscientific beliefs and create new monsters and demons for us to believe in, but each individual's culture is responsible for laying the groundwork for pseudoscientific and paranormal belief to take root.
	www.csicop.org /si/2004-03/belief.html (1641 words)

	Skeptical Inquirer: Hale-Bopp comet madness. @ HighBeam Research (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Religious sectors believe that the comet portends the end of the world, while pseudoscientists claim that the comet is actually a spaceship or is under intelligent control.
		The "course-corrections" claim very possibly arose from the fact that the initial calculations of Hale-Bopp's orbit, based upon extremely limited data and labeled as "highly uncertain" when they were published, differed in some particulars from the more definitive orbits published subsequently.
		Although I find this entire episode of the "Saturn-like object" and all the other pseudoscientific claims surrounding Comet Hale-Bopp quite amusing, the fact that claims such as these receive such widespread acceptance among large segments of the general public is not something that we scientists and rationalists should dismiss lightly.
	www.highbeam.com /library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1G1:19267323&refid=ip_almanac_hf (2338 words)

	Set Shawnee Co., Kansas Officials Straight on Poly
		As noted on the AntiPolygraph.org news page, the Shawnee County, Kansas Sheriff's Department is asking the county commissioners for funding to buy a polygraph instrument and train a polygrapher, on the ground that polygraphs are more reliable than voice stress analyzers (which the sheriff's department is currently using).
		They need to understand that polygraphy has not been shown by competent research to operate at better than chance levels of accuracy under field conditions, that it has a built-in bias against the truthful, and that polygraph "tests" are easily beaten through the use of readily-learned countermeasures.
		I e-mailed the commissioners and the sheriff regarding the dangers of relying on pseudoscientific polygraph "tests," on 31 January, but received no replies.
	antipolygraph.org /cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?board=Action&action=display&num=53 (932 words)

	First Homework Assignment (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		A pseudoscientific concept is one whose proponents claim to be scientific but is not.
		One way to recognize a scientific concept is to establish that the concept is fully consistent with the assumptions and characterisitics of science we discussed in class (see lecture on "Science as a Way of Knowing").
		Pseudoscientific ideas are diverse and often difficult to distinguish.
	krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu /BIOL100/homework/homework01.htm (291 words)

	The Occult and the Third Reich--Alan Skaggs
		This led to the increased popularity of several occult groups and acceptance of their pseudoscientific beliefs throughout Germany, which would eventually become the foundation of the Nazi Party.
		[7] Again, it is clear that this is a cult that gives credence to pseudoscientific ideas such as dowsing—the notion that water can be found by merely holding a stick and walking around until a mysterious force begins to pull the stick down, indicating to the diviner where water can be found.
		The next pseudoscientific belief of the Nazis that will be examined is the practice of and belief in astrology, which is still a closely held belief for a large number of people worldwide to this day.
	www.smu.edu /ecenter/discourse/AlanSkaggs.htm (3736 words)

	ACSH > Health Issues >
		Moreover, any subsequent or concurrent improvement in the subject's condition may well be mis-ascribed to the pseudoscientific treatment and thus may lead to further squandering of time and money.
		Deterioration or mere lack of improvement with a succession of enthusiastically promoted pseudoscientific methods may make members of autistic persons' families cynical even toward established treatments the autistic individual has never undergone.
		Health claims favoring novel, undertested, and/or pseudoscientific treatments for autism should be taken with a large grain of salt.
	www.acsh.org /healthissues/newsID.620/healthissue_detail.asp (1817 words)

	Cult Archaeology
		His main thesis is that people are drawn to cult or pseudoscientific archaeology not because of their unmistakable belief in the information that it encompasses, but because of the adventurousness of the unknown.
		Pseudoscientific researchers often leave out major sections of data when interpreting phenomena, most of which conflicts with the conclusion the researcher is hoping to find.
		This is not the case with pseudoscientific archaeology.
	www.nd.edu /~ikuijt/anth301/cult_defined/a5g2/a5g2.html (945 words)

	University of Iowa Press - Browse (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		Understanding why this should be so and how we as a society might deal with these widespread pseudoscientific beliefs are the subjects at the heart of this study.
		The authors—specialists in anthropology, archaeology, sociology, psychology, and history—explore creationism, which claims that there is evidence to support a literal interpretation of the origins of the world and of humanity as narrated in the Book of Genesis, and cult archaeology, which encompasses a wide range of fantastic beliefs about our past.
		Cult Archaeology and Creationism contains several essays on the history of pseudoscientific beliefs and their current manifestations as well as the results of a unique research project in which students at five campuses across the country were asked about their beliefs and about such background factors as their school experience and religious faith.
	www.uiowa.edu /uiowapress/harcularc.htm (267 words)

	Plants & Human Affairs
		Therefore, pseudoscience is literally translated as "false science." In other words, pseudoscience refers to ideas that proponents claim to be scientific but lack empirical evidence, and that have been arrived at by faulty logic, poor experiments and/or faith.
		Pseudoscientific studies don’t adhere to the philosophy and methods of science.
		Supermarket tabloids are outstanding sources of pseudoscientific hogwash.
	employees.csbsju.edu /ssaupe/biol106/lectures/pseudosci.htm (1054 words)

	Frivolous Pseudoscientific Discussion Discussion - Mars Rover Blog
		All jokes aside there are quite a few threads in here that should be in the open forum.
		Heck, I'll even make up some outrageous speculation just for the fun of it as long as it is in the furum titled "Frivolous Pseudoscientific Discussion".
		In all seriousness, the word "Pseudoscientific" usually implies a higher standard than what we sometimes see posted here.
	www.markcarey.com /mars/discuss-15262-frivolous-pseudoscientific-discussion.html (1694 words)

	[extropy-chat] Transhumanism mentioned in "Skeptic" re: cryonics (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		I can't imagine that there is any sort of sinister intention behind this; it's probably some disgruntled grad student working on WordNet at princeton who put it in just for kicks.
		I have requested that it be changed: I take issue with your definition of "Extropy": (the pseudoscientific prediction that human intelligence and technology will enable life to expand in an orderly way throughout the entire universe).
		I would be more than pleased if you were to remove the word "pseudoscientific"; it betrays an unacceptably biased point of view.
	lists.extropy.org /pipermail/extropy-chat/2004-December/011800.html (276 words)

	The Demise of Pseudoscience
		This phenomenon has caught the attention of scientist-practitioners in psychology, many of whom criticize these approaches as “pseudoscientific.” The purpose of this essay is to sketch a simpler, alternative approach to debunking dubious methods in clinical psychology.
		Falsifiability is useless for distinguishing scientific theories from pseudoscientific ones because any theory, however bizarre, can be clarified, amended, or supplemented with auxiliary hypotheses to prevent its refutation.
		For example, even though a theory might be falsifiable, its advocates may act pseudoscientifically by engaging in ad hoc attempts to explain away theoretically embarrassing observations.
	www.srmhp.org /0202/pseudoscience.html (2994 words)

	Gettin'
		Although these things are often coincident with pseudoscientific or supernatural claims made by cult organizations, we do not want to get bogged down in details of group structure or history.
		What is nice about the Yan Xin QiGong society is that they make their pseudoscientific claims explicitly, so it is easy to identify them as a cult.
		Sarkar’s pseudoscientific claims are legion but our favorite is his notion of “microvitae.” According to him, microvitae exist somewhere between an “electron and ectoplasm” and are the source of all life and consciousness.
	www.contumacy.org /9Cults.html (3450 words)

	The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience (Skeptical) - UFO Evidence (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)
		One may rationalize that compared to the magical thinking of the Middle Ages things are not so bad.
		But statistically speaking pseudoscientific beliefs are experiencing a revival in the late 20th century.
		A 1990 Gallup poll of 1,236 adult Americans show percentages of belief in the paranormal that are alarming (pp.
	www.ufoevidence.org /documents/doc1237.htm (6563 words)

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