Pseudoscience Explained

Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. It is not the same as junk science.^[1]

The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is widespread agreement "that creationism, astrology, homeopathy, Kirlian photography, dowsing, ufology, ancient astronaut theory, Holocaust denialism, Velikovskian catastrophism, and climate change denialism are pseudosciences." There are implications for health care, the use of expert testimony, and weighing environmental policies.^[2] Recent empirical research has shown that individuals who indulge in pseudoscientific beliefs generally show lower evidential criteria, meaning they often require significantly less evidence before coming to conclusions. This can be coined as a 'jump-to-conclusions' bias that can increase the spread of pseudoscientific beliefs.^[3] Addressing pseudoscience is part of science education and developing scientific literacy.^[4]

Pseudoscience can have dangerous effects. For example, pseudoscientific anti-vaccine activism and promotion of homeopathic remedies as alternative disease treatments can result in people forgoing important medical treatments with demonstrable health benefits, leading to deaths and ill-health.^{[5] [6] [7]} Furthermore, people who refuse legitimate medical treatments for contagious diseases may put others at risk. Pseudoscientific theories about racial and ethnic classifications have led to racism and genocide.

The term pseudoscience is often considered pejorative, particularly by its purveyors, because it suggests something is being presented as science inaccurately or even deceptively. Therefore, practitioners and advocates of pseudoscience frequently dispute the characterization.^[8]

Etymology

The word pseudoscience is derived from the Greek root pseudo meaning "false"^[9] and the English word science, from the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge". Although the term has been in use since at least the late 18th century (e.g., in 1796 by James Pettit Andrews in reference to alchemy), the concept of pseudoscience as distinct from real or proper science seems to have become more widespread during the mid-19th century. Among the earliest uses of "pseudo-science" was in an 1844 article in the Northern Journal of Medicine, issue 387:

An earlier use of the term was in 1843 by the French physiologist François Magendie, that refers to phrenology as "a pseudo-science of the present day".^{[10] [11] [12]} During the 20th century, the word was used pejoratively to describe explanations of phenomena which were claimed to be scientific, but which were not in fact supported by reliable experimental evidence.

Dismissing the separate issue of intentional fraudsuch as the Fox sisters' "rappings" in the 1850sthe pejorative label pseudoscience distinguishes the scientific us, at one extreme, from the pseudo-scientific them, at the other, and asserts that our beliefs, practices, theories, etc., by contrast with that of the others, are scientific. There are four criteria:
     (a) the 'pseudoscientific' group asserts that its beliefs, practices, theories, etc., are scientific;
     (b) the pseudoscientific group claims that its allegedly established facts are justified true beliefs;
     (c) the pseudoscientific group asserts that its established facts have been justified by genuine, rigorous, scientific method; and
     (d) this assertion is false or deceptive: "it is not simply that subsequent evidence overturns established conclusions, but rather that the conclusions were never warranted in the first place"

From time to time, however, the usage of the word occurred in a more formal, technical manner in response to a perceived threat to individual and institutional security in a social and cultural setting.^[13]

Relationship to science

Pseudoscience is differentiated from science because – although it usually claims to be science – pseudoscience does not adhere to scientific standards, such as the scientific method, falsifiability of claims, and Mertonian norms.

Scientific method

See main article: Scientific method.

A number of basic principles are accepted by scientists as standards for determining whether a body of knowledge, method, or practice is scientific. Experimental results should be reproducible and verified by other researchers. These principles are intended to ensure experiments can be reproduced measurably given the same conditions, allowing further investigation to determine whether a hypothesis or theory related to given phenomena is valid and reliable. Standards require the scientific method to be applied throughout, and bias to 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^[14] are also important tools for the scientific method.

Falsifiability

See main article: Falsifiability. During the mid-20th century, the philosopher Karl Popper emphasized the criterion of falsifiability to distinguish science from non-science.^[15] Statements, hypotheses, or theories have falsifiability or refutability if there is the inherent possibility that they can be proven false, that is, if it is possible to conceive of an observation or an argument that negates them. 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 metaphysical formulations on one hand, and pseudoscientific formulations on the other.

Another example which shows the distinct need for a claim to be falsifiable was stated in Carl Sagan's publication The Demon-Haunted World when he discusses an invisible dragon that he has in his garage. The point is made that there is no physical test to refute the claim of the presence of this dragon. Whatever test one thinks can be devised, there is a reason why it does not apply to the invisible dragon, so one can never prove that the initial claim is wrong. Sagan concludes; "Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all?". He states that "your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true", once again explaining that even if such a claim were true, it would be outside the realm of scientific inquiry.

Mertonian norms

See main article: Mertonian norms. During 1942, Robert K. Merton identified a set of five "norms" which characterize real science. If any of the norms were violated, Merton considered the enterprise to be non-science. His norms were:

• Originality: The tests and research done must present something new to the scientific community.
• Detachment: The scientists' reasons for practicing this science must be simply for the expansion of their knowledge. The scientists should not have personal reasons to expect certain results.
• Universality: No person should be able to more easily obtain the information of a test than another person. Social class, religion, ethnicity, or any other personal factors should not be factors in someone's ability to receive or perform a type of science.
• Skepticism: Scientific facts must not be based on faith. One should always question every case and argument and constantly check for errors or invalid claims.
• Public accessibility: Any scientific knowledge one obtains should be made available to everyone. The results of any research should be published and shared with the scientific community.^[16]

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 suggested the categories of "belief fields" and "research fields" to help distinguish between pseudoscience and science, where the former is primarily personal and subjective and the latter involves a certain systematic method. The 2018 book about scientific skepticism by Steven Novella, et al. The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe lists hostility to criticism as one of the major features of pseudoscience.^[17]

Criticism of the term

Larry Laudan has suggested pseudoscience has no scientific meaning and is mostly used to describe human 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".^[18] Likewise, Richard McNally states, "The term 'pseudoscience' has become little more than an inflammatory buzzword for quickly dismissing one's opponents in media sound-bites" and "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?"^[19]

Alternative definition

For philosophers Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz "pseudo-science may be defined as one where the uncertainty of its inputs must be suppressed, lest they render its outputs totally indeterminate". The definition, in the book Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy,^[20] alludes to the loss of craft skills in handling quantitative information, and to the bad practice of achieving precision in prediction (inference) only at the expenses of ignoring uncertainty in the input which was used to formulate the prediction. This use of the term is common among practitioners of post-normal science. Understood in this way, pseudoscience can be fought using good practices to assess uncertainty in quantitative information, such as NUSAP and – in the case of mathematical modelling – sensitivity auditing.

History

See main article: History of pseudoscience. The history of pseudoscience is the study of pseudoscientific theories over time. A pseudoscience is a set of ideas that presents itself as science, while it does not meet the criteria to be properly called such.^{[21] [22]}

Distinguishing between proper science and pseudoscience is sometimes difficult.^[23] One proposal for demarcation between the two is the falsification criterion, attributed most notably to the philosopher Karl Popper.^[24] In the history of science and the history of pseudoscience it can be especially difficult to separate the two, because some sciences developed from pseudosciences. An example of this transformation is the science of chemistry, which traces its origins to the pseudoscientific or pre-scientific study of alchemy.

The vast diversity in pseudosciences further complicates the history of science. Some modern pseudosciences, such as astrology and acupuncture, originated before the scientific era. Others developed as part of an ideology, such as Lysenkoism, or as a response to perceived threats to an ideology. Examples of this ideological process are creation science and intelligent design, which were developed in response to the scientific theory of evolution.^[25]

Indicators of possible pseudoscience

A topic, practice, or body of knowledge might reasonably be termed pseudoscientific when it is presented as consistent with the norms of scientific research, but it demonstrably fails to meet these norms.

Use of vague, exaggerated or untestable claims

• Assertion of scientific claims that are vague rather than precise, and that lack specific measurements.
• Assertion of a claim with little or no explanatory power.
• 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 measure or test them independently) (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).
• 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 in experimental design, such as the use of placebos and double-blinding.
• Lack of understanding of basic and established principles of physics and engineering.^[26]

Improper collection of evidence

• Assertions that do not allow the logical possibility that they can be shown to be false by observation or physical experiment (See also: Falsifiability).^{[15] [27]}
• 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).^[28]
• Assertion that claims which have not been proven false must therefore be true, and vice versa (See: Argument from ignorance).^[29]
• 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).
• Use of myths and religious texts as if they were fact, or basing evidence on readings of such texts.^[30]
• Use of concepts and scenarios from science fiction as if they were fact. This technique appeals to the familiarity that many people already have with science fiction tropes through the popular media.^[31]
• Presentation of data that seems to support claims while suppressing or refusing to consider data that conflict with those claims. This is an example of selection bias or cherry picking, 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.
• Repeating excessive or untested claims that have been previously published elsewhere, and promoting those claims as if they were facts; an accumulation of such uncritical secondary reports, which do not otherwise contribute their own empirical investigation, is called the Woozle effect.^[32]
• Reversed burden of proof: science places the burden of proof 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 on the claimant.^[33]
• Appeals to holism as opposed to reductionism to dismiss negative findings: proponents of pseudoscientific claims, especially in organic medicine, alternative medicine, naturopathy and mental health, often resort to the "mantra of holism" .

Lack of openness to testing by other experts

• Evasion of peer review before publicizing results (termed "science by press conference"):^{[33] [34]} Some proponents of ideas 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 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.
• Substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all viewpoints is not encouraged.

Absence of progress

• Failure to progress towards additional evidence of its claims.^[27] Terence Hines has identified astrology as a subject that has changed very little in the past two millennia.^[35]
• Lack of self-correction: scientific research programmes make mistakes, but they tend to reduce these errors over time. By contrast, ideas may be regarded as 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 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 a conspiracy on the part of the mainstream scientific community, government, or educational facilities to suppress pseudoscientific information. People who make these accusations often compare themselves to Galileo Galilei and his persecution by the Roman Catholic Church; this comparison is commonly known as the Galileo gambit.^[36]
• Attacking the motives, character, morality, or competence of critics, rather than their arguments (see ad hominem)^[37]

Use of misleading language

• Creating scientific-sounding terms to 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" 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.

Prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs

Countries

The Ministry of AYUSH in the Government of India is purposed with developing education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India. The ministry has faced significant criticism for funding systems that lack biological plausibility and are either untested or conclusively proven as ineffective. Quality of research has been poor, and drugs have been launched without any rigorous pharmacological studies and meaningful clinical trials on Ayurveda or other alternative healthcare systems.^{[38] [39]} There is no credible efficacy or scientific basis of any of these forms of treatment.^[40]

In his book The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan discusses the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party's concern about Western pseudoscience developments and certain ancient Chinese practices in China. He sees pseudoscience occurring in the United States as part of a worldwide trend and suggests its causes, dangers, diagnosis and treatment may be universal.

A large percentage of the United States population lacks scientific literacy, not adequately understanding scientific principles and method.^[41] In the Journal of College Science Teaching, Art Hobson writes, "Pseudoscientific beliefs are surprisingly widespread in our culture even among public school science teachers and newspaper editors, and are closely related to scientific illiteracy."^[42] However, a 10,000-student study in the same journal concluded there was no strong correlation between science knowledge and belief in pseudoscience.^[43]

During 2006, the U.S. 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, "belief in pseudoscience is widespread" and, referencing a Gallup Poll,^{[44] [45]} stated that belief in the 10 commonly believed examples of paranormal phenomena listed in the poll were "pseudoscientific beliefs".^[46] The items were "extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted, ghosts, telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, that people can mentally communicate with the dead, witches, reincarnation, and channelling".^[46] Such beliefs in pseudoscience represent a lack of knowledge of how science works. The scientific community may attempt to communicate information about science out of concern for the public's susceptibility to unproven claims.^[46] The NSF stated that pseudoscientific beliefs in the U.S. became more widespread during the 1990s, peaked about 2001, and then decreased slightly since with pseudoscientific beliefs remaining common. According to the NSF report, there is a lack of knowledge of pseudoscientific issues in society and pseudoscientific practices are commonly followed.^[47] Surveys indicate about a third of adult Americans consider astrology to be scientific.^{[48] [49] [50]}

In Russia, in the late 20th and early 21st century, significant budgetary funds were spent on programs for the experimental study of "torsion fields",^[51] the extraction of energy from granite,^[52] the study of "cold nuclear fusion", and astrological and extrasensory "research" by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Duma^[51] (see Military Unit 10003). In 2006, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Spassky published an article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, where among the priority areas for the development of the Russian energy sector, the task of extracting energy from a vacuum was in the first place.^[53] The Clean Water project was adopted as a United Russia party project; in the version submitted to the government, the program budget for 2010–2017 exceeded $14 billion.^{[54] [53]}

Racism

There have been many connections between pseudoscientific writers and researchers and their anti-semitic, racist and neo-Nazi backgrounds. They often use pseudoscience to reinforce their beliefs. One of the most predominant pseudoscientific writers is Frank Collin, a self-proclaimed Nazi who goes by Frank Joseph in his writings.^[55] The majority of his works include the topics of Atlantis, extraterrestrial encounters, and Lemuria as well as other ancient civilizations, often with white supremacist undertones. For example, he posited that European peoples migrated to North America before Columbus, and that all Native American civilizations were initiated by descendants of white people.^[56]

The Alt-Right using pseudoscience to base their ideologies on is not a new issue. The entire foundation of anti-semitism is based on pseudoscience, or scientific racism. In an article from Newsweek by Sander Gilman, Gilman describes the pseudoscience community's anti-semitic views. "Jews as they appear in this world of pseudoscience are an invented group of ill, stupid or stupidly smart people who use science to their own nefarious ends. Other groups, too, are painted similarly in 'race science', as it used to call itself: African-Americans, the Irish, the Chinese and, well, any and all groups that you want to prove inferior to yourself".^[57] Neo-Nazis and white supremacist often try to support their claims with studies that "prove" that their claims are more than just harmful stereotypes. For example Bret Stephens published a column in The New York Times where he claimed that Ashkenazi Jews had the highest IQ among any ethnic group.^[58] However, the scientific methodology and conclusions reached by the article Stephens cited has been called into question repeatedly since its publication. It has been found that at least one of that study's authors has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist.^[59]

The journal Nature has published a number of editorials in the last few years warning researchers about extremists looking to abuse their work, particularly population geneticists and those working with ancient DNA. One article in Nature, titled "Racism in Science: The Taint That Lingers" notes that early-twentieth-century eugenic pseudoscience has been used to influence public policy, such as the Immigration Act of 1924 in the United States, which sought to prevent immigration from Asia and parts of Europe.^[60]

Explanations

In a 1981 report Singer and Benassi wrote that pseudoscientific beliefs have their origin from at least four sources.^[61]

• Common cognitive errors from personal experience.
• Erroneous sensationalistic mass media coverage.
• Sociocultural factors.
• Poor or erroneous science education.

A 1990 study by Eve and Dunn supported the findings of Singer and Benassi and found pseudoscientific belief being promoted by high school life science and biology teachers.^[62]

Psychology

The psychology of pseudoscience attempts to explore and analyze pseudoscientific thinking by means of thorough clarification on making the distinction of what is considered scientific vs. pseudoscientific. 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 pseudoscientific thinking. According to Beyerstein, humans are prone to associations based on resemblances only, and often prone to misattribution in cause-effect thinking.^[63]

Michael Shermer's theory of belief-dependent realism is driven by the belief that the brain is essentially a "belief engine" which scans data perceived by the senses and looks for patterns and meaning. There is also the tendency for the brain to create cognitive biases, as a result of inferences and assumptions made without logic and based on instinct – usually resulting in patterns in cognition. These tendencies of patternicity and agenticity are also driven "by a meta-bias called the bias blind spot, or the tendency to recognize the power of cognitive biases in other people but to be blind to their influence on our own beliefs".^[64] 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.^[65]

Anyone searching for psychological help that is based in science should seek a licensed therapist whose techniques are not based in pseudoscience. Hupp and Santa Maria provide a complete explanation of what that person should look for.^[66]

Education and scientific literacy

There is a trend to believe in pseudoscience more than scientific evidence.^[67] Some people believe the prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs is due to widespread scientific illiteracy.^[68] Individuals lacking scientific literacy are more susceptible to wishful thinking, since they are likely to turn to immediate gratification powered by System 1, our default operating system which requires little to no effort. This system encourages one to accept the conclusions they believe, and reject the ones they do not. Further analysis of complex pseudoscientific phenomena require System 2, which follows rules, compares objects along multiple dimensions and weighs options. These two systems have several other differences which are further discussed in the dual-process theory.^[69] The scientific and secular systems of morality and meaning are 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.^[70]

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 happens in most people when exposed to certain circumstances such as reading a book, an advertisement 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.^[71]

Boundaries with science

Classification

Philosophers classify types of knowledge. In English, the word science is used to indicate specifically the natural sciences and related fields, which are called the social sciences.^[72] Different philosophers of science may disagree on the exact limits – for example, is mathematics a formal science that is closer to the empirical ones, or is pure mathematics closer to the philosophical study of logic and therefore not a science?^[73] – but all agree that all of the ideas that are not scientific are non-scientific. The large category of non-science includes all matters outside the natural and social sciences, such as the study of history, metaphysics, religion, art, and the humanities.^[72] Dividing the category again, unscientific claims are a subset of the large category of non-scientific claims. This category specifically includes all matters that are directly opposed to good science.^[72] Un-science includes both "bad science" (such as an error made in a good-faith attempt at learning something about the natural world) and pseudoscience.^[72] Thus pseudoscience is a subset of un-science, and un-science, in turn, is subset of non-science.

Science is also distinguishable from revelation, theology, or spirituality in that it offers insight into the physical world obtained by empirical research and testing.^[74] 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.^[75] 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, although they may be based on untestable beliefs, can be tested by the scientific method.

Some statements and common beliefs of 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.^[76] Indeed, pop science is disseminated to, and can also easily emanate from, persons not accountable to scientific methodology and expert peer review.

If claims of a given field can be tested experimentally and standards are upheld, it is not pseudoscience, regardless of how odd, astonishing, or counterintuitive those claims are. If claims made are inconsistent with existing experimental results or established theory, but the method is sound, caution should be used, since 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 tested adequately 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.^[15]

Philosophy

See main article: Demarcation problem.

Karl Popper stated it is insufficient to distinguish science from pseudoscience, or from metaphysics (such as the philosophical question of what existence means), by the criterion of rigorous adherence to the empirical method, which is essentially inductive, based on observation or experimentation.^[77] He proposed a method to distinguish between genuine empirical, nonempirical or even pseudoempirical methods. The latter case was exemplified by astrology, which appeals to observation and experimentation. While it had empirical evidence based on observation, on horoscopes and biographies, it crucially failed to use acceptable scientific standards.^[77] Popper proposed falsifiability as an important criterion in distinguishing science from pseudoscience.

To demonstrate this point, Popper^[77] gave two cases of human behavior and typical explanations from Sigmund Freud and Alfred 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."^[77] From Freud's perspective, the first man would have suffered from psychological repression, probably originating from an Oedipus complex, whereas the second man 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, drove him to rescue the child. Popper was not able to find any counterexamples of human behavior in which the behavior could not be explained in the terms of Adler's or Freud's theory. Popper argued^[77] it was that the observation always fitted or confirmed the theory which, rather than being its strength, was actually its weakness. In contrast, Popper^[77] gave the example of Einstein's gravitational theory, which predicted "light must be attracted by heavy bodies (such as the Sun), precisely as material bodies were attracted."^[77] 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."^[77] 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 it would delineate as pseudoscientific such practices as witchcraft and pyramidology, while leaving physics, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience, biology, and archaeology in the realm of science.

In the philosophy and history of science, Imre Lakatos stresses the social and political importance of the demarcation problem, the normative methodological problem of distinguishing between science and pseudoscience. His distinctive historical analysis of scientific methodology based on research programmes suggests: "scientists regard the successful theoretical prediction of stunning novel facts – such as the return of Halley's comet or the gravitational bending of light rays – as what demarcates good scientific theories from pseudo-scientific and degenerate theories, and in spite of all scientific theories being forever confronted by 'an ocean of counterexamples'". Lakatos offers a "novel fallibilist analysis of the development of Newton's celestial dynamics, [his] favourite historical example of his methodology" and argues in light of this historical turn, that his account answers for certain inadequacies in those of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn. "Nonetheless, Lakatos did recognize the force of Kuhn's historical criticism of Popper – all important theories have been surrounded by an 'ocean of anomalies', which on a falsificationist view would require the rejection of the theory outright...Lakatos sought to reconcile the rationalism of Popperian falsificationism with what seemed to be its own refutation by history".^[78]

The boundary between science and pseudoscience is disputed and difficult to determine analytically, even after more than a century of study by philosophers of science and scientists, and despite some basic agreements on the fundamentals of the scientific method.^[79] The concept of pseudoscience rests on an understanding that the scientific method 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".

Laudan maintained that the demarcation between science and non-science was a pseudo-problem, preferring to focus on the more general distinction between reliable and unreliable knowledge.^[80]

Politics, health, and education

Political implications

The demarcation problem between science and pseudoscience brings up debate in the realms of science, philosophy and politics. 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.^[81]

Something becomes pseudoscientific when science cannot be separated from ideology, scientists misrepresent scientific findings to promote or draw attention for publicity, when politicians, journalists and a nation's intellectual elite distort the facts of science for short-term political gain, or when powerful individuals of the public conflate causation and cofactors by clever wordplay. These ideas reduce the authority, value, integrity and independence of science in society.^[82]

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 bad decisions in selecting curricula.

The extent to which students acquire a range of social and cognitive thinking skills related to the proper usage of science and technology determines whether they are scientifically literate. Education in the sciences encounters 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 curriculum is one that shapes students to contend with its changing influence on human welfare. Scientific literacy, which allows a person to distinguish science from pseudosciences such as astrology, is among the attributes that enable students to adapt to the changing world. Its characteristics are embedded in a curriculum where students are engaged in resolving problems, conducting investigations, or developing projects.^[83]

Alan J. Friedman mentions why most scientists avoid educating about pseudoscience, including that paying undue attention to pseudoscience could dignify it.^[84]

On the other hand, Robert L. Park emphasizes how pseudoscience can be a threat to society and considers that scientists have a responsibility to teach how to distinguish science from pseudoscience.^[85]

Pseudosciences such as homeopathy, even if generally benign, are used by charlatans. This poses a serious issue because it enables incompetent practitioners to administer health care. True-believing zealots may pose a more serious threat than typical con men because of their delusion to homeopathy's ideology. Irrational health care is not harmless and it is careless to create patient confidence in pseudomedicine.^[86]

On 8 December 2016, journalist Michael V. LeVine pointed out the dangers posed by the Natural News website: "Snake-oil salesmen have pushed false cures since the dawn of medicine, and now websites like Natural News flood social media with dangerous anti-pharmaceutical, anti-vaccination and anti-GMO pseudoscience that puts millions at risk of contracting preventable illnesses."^[87]

The anti-vaccine movement has persuaded large numbers of parents not to vaccinate their children, citing pseudoscientific research that links childhood vaccines with the onset of autism.^[88] These include the study by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that a combination of gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression, which are often seen in children with ASD, occurred within two weeks of receiving vaccines.^{[89] [90]} The study was eventually retracted by its publisher, and Wakefield was stripped of his license to practice medicine.^[88]

Alkaline water is water that has a pH of higher than 7, purported to host numerous health benefits, with no empirical backing. A practitioner known as Robert O. Young who promoted alkaline water and an "Alkaline diet" was sent to jail for 3 years in 2017 for practicing medicine without a license.^[91]

See also

• Antiscience
• Credulity
• Factoid
• Fringe theory
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
• Magical thinking
• Not even wrong
• Normative science
• Pseudo-scholarship
• Pseudolaw
• Pseudomathematics

Bibliography

Works cited

• Web site: The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism. Abbott. K.. October 30, 2012. Smithsonian.com. 19 July 2020. 19 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200719224127/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697/. live.
• Book: Andrews. James Pettit. James Pettit Andrews. Henry. Robert. Robert Henry (minister). 1796. History of Great Britain, from the death of Henry VIII to the accession of James VI of Scotland to the crown of England. II. T. Cadell and W. Davies. London. 7 November 2020. 16 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716200307/https://books.google.com/books?id=QIUUAAAAQAAJ&q=%22pseudo-science%22&pg=PA87. live.
• Book: Blum, J.M.. 1978. Pseudoscience and Mental Ability: The Origins and Fallacies of the IQ Controversy . New York . Monthly Review Press.
• Bunge. Mario. Mario Bunge. 1983a . Demarcating science from pseudoscience. Fundamenta Scientiae. 3. 369–388.
• Book: Bunge, Mario. Epistemology & Methodology II: Understanding the World. 1983b. Springer Netherlands. 978-90-277-1634-7. Treatise on Basic Philosophy: Volume 6. 223–228. 13 June 2020. 13 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613205523/https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789027716347. live.
• Devilly GJ. 208627667. Power therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 39 . 6. 437–445. 2005. 15943644. 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01601.x.
• physics/0608061. Is pseudoscience the solution to science literacy?. C.J. Efthimiou. R. Llewellyn. 2006. .
• Book: Gauch, Hugh G.. 2003. Scientific Method in Practice . Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-01708-4. 2002022271.
• Encyclopedia: 5 May 2021. Hansson SO. Science and Pseudo-Science . Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University .
• Book: Moll, A. . 1902 . Christian Science, Medicine, and Occultism . London . Rebman.
• Book: Ruscio, John. Clear thinking with psychology : separating sense from nonsense . Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning. Belmont, CA. 2002. 978-0-534-53659-6 . 47013264.
• Web site: 2008. Carrie. Sager. National Center for Science Education. Voices for evolution. 21 May 2010. 18 December 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101218135536/http://ncse.com/files/pub/evolution/Voices_3e.pdf. live.
• Book: Sagan, Carl. Carl Sagan. 1994. The demon-haunted world. Ballantine Books. New York. 978-0-345-40946-1. The Demon-Haunted World.
• Book: Shermer, Michael. Michael Shermer. 1997. Why people believe weird things: pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time. registration. New York. W. H. Freeman and Company. 978-0-7167-3090-3.
• Thagard. Paul R.. Paul Thagard. 1978. Why astrology is a pseudoscience. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. 1978. 1. 223–234. 0270-8647. 10.1086/psaprocbienmeetp.1978.1.192639. 147050929. 5 November 2018. 28 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328142123/https://philpapers.org/rec/THAWAI. live.
• Yeates . L.B. . Autumn 2018 . James Braid (II): Mesmerism, Braid's Crucial Experiment, and Braid's Discovery of Neuro-Hypnotism . Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy & Hypnosis . 40 . 1 . 40–92 .

Further reading

• Alcock, J. (2001). Science vs. Pseudoscience, Nonscience, and Nonsense. The Skeptical Inquirer, 25(3), 50–54.
• Book: Bauer, Henry H.. 2000. Science or Pseudoscience: Magnetic Healing, Psychic Phenomena, and Other Heterodoxies. University of Illinois Press. 978-0-252-02601-0.
• Book: Charpak. Georges. Georges Charpak. Broch. Henri. fr. Bart K.. Holland. 2004. Debunked: Esp, telekinesis, other pseudoscience. Johns Hopkins University Press. 978-0-8018-7867-1. registration. Debunked.. Originally published 2002 by Odile Jacob as Devenez sorciers, devenez savants
• Book: Cioffi, Frank. Freud and the Question of Pseudoscience. 1998. Open Court, division of Carus. Chicago and La Salle, Illinois. 978-0-8126-9385-0. 314.
• Derksen AA. 140478903. 1993. The seven sins of pseudo-science . J Gen Phil Sci. 24. 17–42. 10.1007/BF00769513.
• Derksen AA. 141312494. 2001. The seven strategies of the sophisticated pseudo-scientist: a look into Freud's rhetorical toolbox. J Gen Phil Sci. 32 . 2. 329–350 . 10.1023/A:1013100717113.
• Frietsch, Ute, Boundaries of Science/ Pseudoscience, EGO – European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2015, retrieved: March 8, 2021 (pdf).
• Book: 1957. Gardner M. Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. 2nd, revised & expanded. Mineola, NY. Dover Publications. 978-0-486-20394-2. registration. fads and fallacies.. Originally published 1952 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, under the title In the Name of Science.
• Book: Gardner M. 1990. Science – Good, Bad and Bogus. Prometheus Books. 978-0-87975-573-7.
  • 29 October 1981. Little, John. John Little (academic). Review and useful overview of Gardner's book. New Scientist. 320. 92. 1277.
• Book: 2000. Gardner M. Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 978-0-393-32238-5.
• Book: Gordon, Michael D.. On the Fringe: Where Science Meets Pseudoscience. Oxford University. 2021. 978-0-19-755576-7.
• Hansson. Sven Ove. Sven Ove Hansson. 1996 . Defining pseudoscience. Philosophia Naturalis. 33. 169–76.
• Kaufman, Allison B. & Kaufman, James C. (eds.), Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science, The MIT Press, (Cambridge, MA), 2018.
• Martin M. 22730647. 1994. Pseudoscience, the paranormal, and science education. Science & Education. 3. 4. 1573–901. 10.1007/BF00488452 . 1994Sc&Ed...3..357M.
• Book: Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem. Pigliucci . Massimo. Massimo Pigliucci. Boudry. Maarten. Maarten Boudry. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 2013. 978-0-226-05196-3.
• Pratkanis. Anthony R. Anthony Pratkanis. 1995. How to Sell a Pseudoscience. Skeptical Inquirer. 19. 4. 19–25. dead. 11 December 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061211055201/http://www.positiveatheism.org//writ/pratkanis.htm.
• Shermer. Michael. Michael Shermer. 2011. What Is Pseudoscience?: Distinguishing between science and pseudoscience is problematic. Scientific American. 305. 3. 92. 10.1038/scientificamerican0911-92. 21870452. 28 April 2018. 29 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729171335/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pseudoscience/. live.
• Book: Michael. Shermer. Steven J.. Gould. Michael Shermer. Stephen Jay Gould. 2002. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. Holt Paperbacks. New York. 978-0-8050-7089-7.
• Book: Wilson F.. 2000. The Logic and Methodology of Science and Pseudoscience . Canadian Scholars Press. 978-1-55130-175-4.
• Book: 1994. Wolpert, Lewis. 44724752. Lewis Wolpert. The Unnatural Nature of Science. Lancet. 341. 8840. 310. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-92981-4. 8093949. 10.1016/0140-6736(93)92665-g. First published 1992 by Faber & Faber, London.

Notes and References

1. Book: Kaufman . Allison B. . Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science . Kaufman . James C. . 2019-03-12 . MIT Press . 978-0-262-53704-9 . 471 . en . Pseudoscience is different from junk science....
2. Encyclopedia: Hansson. Sven Ove. Science and Pseudo-Science, Section 1: The purpose of demarcations. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. 16 April 2011. 3 September 2008. From a practical point of view, the distinction is important for decision guidance in both private and public life. Since science is our most reliable source of knowledge in a wide variety of areas, we need to distinguish scientific knowledge from its look-alikes. Due to the high status of science in present-day society, attempts to exaggerate the scientific status of various claims, teachings, and products are common enough to make the demarcation issue pressing in many areas.. 5 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150905091332/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/#PurDem. live.
3. Rodríguez-Ferreiro . Javier . Barberia . Itxaso . 2021-12-21 . Believers in pseudoscience present lower evidential criteria . Scientific Reports . en . 11 . 1 . 24352 . 10.1038/s41598-021-03816-5 . 2045-2322 . 8692588 . 34934119. 2021NatSR..1124352R .
4. Gropp. Robert E.. 1 August 2003. Evolution Activists Organize to Combat Pseudoscience in Public Schools. BioScience. 53. 8. 700. 10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0700:EAOTCP]2.0.CO;2. 84435133 . 0006-3568. free.
5. Web site: Vyse. Stuart. Stuart Vyse. What Should Become of a Monument to Pseudoscience?. Skeptical Inquirer. 10 July 2019. Center for Inquiry. 1 December 2019. 9 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191209061824/https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/what-should-become-of-a-monument-to-pseudoscience/. live.
6. Web site: How anti-vax pseudoscience seeps into public discourse. Salon. 13 January 2019. 16 December 2020. 15 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201215171126/https://www.salon.com/2019/01/13/how-anti-vax-pseudoscience-seeps-into-public-discourse/. live.
7. Web site: Anti-vaccination websites use 'science' and stories to support claims, study finds. Johns Hopkins. Science Daily. 16 December 2020. 16 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716200305/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151103134800.htm. live.
8. Frietsch. Ute. The boundaries of science/ pseudoscience. European History Online . 7 April 2015. 15 April 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170415202501/http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/crossroads/knowledge-spaces/ute-frietsch-the-boundaries-of-science-pseudoscience. 15 April 2017.
9. Web site: Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015. Douglas Harper. 12 April 2018. 10 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190510075346/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=pseudo. live.
10. Book: An Elementary Treatise on Human Physiology. Magendie F. Harper. John Revere. 1843. 5th. New York. 150.
11. Book: Lamont, Peter. Extraordinary Beliefs: A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem. 2013. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-01933-1. 58. 19 August 2019. 16 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716200304/https://books.google.com/books?id=wgkgeQl9wN8C. live.
12. Book: Lamont, Peter. Extraordinary Beliefs: A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem. 2013. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-107-01933-1. 58. When the eminent French physiologist, François Magendie, first coined the term 'pseudo-science' in 1843, he was referring to phrenology.. 19 August 2019. 16 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716200304/https://books.google.com/books?id=wgkgeQl9wN8C. live.
13. J Theory Soc Behav. 2004. 34. 3. 265–290. The Social Psychology of "Pseudoscience": A Brief History. Still A, Dryden W. 10.1111/j.0021-8308.2004.00248.x.
14. , especially Chapter 6, "Probability", and Chapter 7, "inductive Logic and Statistics"
15. Book: Popper, Karl. Karl Popper. 1959. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. 978-0-415-27844-7. Routledge. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. The German version is currently in print by Mohr Siebeck .
16. Book: Casti, John L.. John Casti. Paradigms lost: tackling the unanswered mysteries of modern science. 1990. Avon Books. New York. 978-0-380-71165-9. 51–52. 1st.
17. Book: Novella, Steven. Steven Novella. The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake. 2018. Grand Central Publishing. 165.
18. Book: Laudan, Larry. Larry Laudan. 1996. The demise of the demarcation problem . Ruse M. But Is It Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy. 337–350.
19. McNally RJ . Is the pseudoscience concept useful for clinical psychology?. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. 2. 2. 2003 . live. 30 April 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100430162007/http://www.srmhp.org/0202/pseudoscience.html.
20. Book: Funtowicz S, Ravetz J. 1990. Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy. Dordrecht. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy. 54.
21. Book: Pseudoscientific – pretending to be scientific, falsely represented as being scientific. Pseudoscientific. Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford English Dictionary.
22. Book: http://skepdic.com/pseudosc.html. The Skeptic's Dictionary. Pseudoscience. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20090201091026/http://www.skepdic.com/pseudosc.html. 1 February 2009.
23. Kåre Letrud, "The Gordian Knot of Demarcation: Tying Up Some Loose Ends" International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 32 (1):3–11 (2019)
24. Book: Popper, Karl R. (Karl Raimund). Conjectures and refutations : the growth of scientific knowledge. 2002. Routledge. 0-415-28593-3. London. 33–39. 49593492.
25. Greener M. Taking on creationism. Which arguments and evidence counter pseudoscience?. EMBO Reports. 8. 12. 1107–09. 2007. 18059309. 2267227. 10.1038/sj.embor.7401131.
26. Web site: Donald E. Simanek. What is science? What is pseudoscience?. https://web.archive.org/web/20090425202814/http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/pseudo/scipseud.htm. 25 April 2009.
27. Book: Lakatos I. 1970. Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes. Lakatos I, Musgrave A. Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. 91–195.
28. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy Vol. 3, "Fallacies" 174 ff, esp. section on "Ignoratio elenchi"
29. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy Vol 3, "Fallacies" 174 ff esp. 177–178
30. Web site: Rory Coker . Science versus Pseudoscience . web2.ph.utexas.edu . 1 March 2022 . 1 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220301104806/https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~coker2/index.files/distinguish.htm . live .
31. Web site: Rory Coker . SF in pseudoscience . web2.ph.utexas.edu . 1 March 2022 . 27 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220627154318/https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~coker2/index.files/sfandps.shtml . live .
32. Book: Eileen Gambrill. Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice: Improving the Quality of Judgments and Decisions. 1 May 2012. John Wiley & Sons. 978-0-470-90438-1. 109. 3rd. 25 October 2015. 22 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191222023232/https://books.google.com/books?id=NsuHtwciwQwC&pg=PA109. live.
33. Lilienfeld SO (2004). Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology Guildford Press
34. Gitanjali B. Peer review – process, perspectives and the path ahead. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine. 47. 3. 210–14. 2001. 11832629. https://web.archive.org/web/20060623193431/http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/PDF/PeerReview.pdf. dead. 23 June 2006.
35. Book: Hines, Terence. Terence Hines . 1988. Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: A Critical Examination of the Evidence . Prometheus Books. Buffalo, NY. 978-0-87975-419-8 .
36. Web site: Recognizing Microstructural Fallacies . 24 March 2014 . Amsden, Brian . 22 . 12 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190712055955/http://www.indiana.edu/~c228/Fallacies.pdf . dead .
37. Web site: Ad Hominem and Related Fallacies. philosophy.lander.edu. 30 August 2022. 4 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201204164205/http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/person.html. live.
38. News: What is AYUSH and the controversy around it?. Rathee. Pranshu. Deccan Herald. live. 4 April 2021. 20 November 2018. 22 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201122144706/https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/what-ayush-and-controversy-703993.html. The Printers (Mysore).
39. News: Firstpost. AYUSH Ministry is endangering people, jeopardising Ayurveda with lax response to Patanjali's Coronil and COVID-19, warn experts. https://web.archive.org/web/20201121014011/https://www.firstpost.com/india/patanajali-covid-19-ayush-ministry-weak-response-ramdevs-coronil-stunt-endangers-people-jeopardises-ayurveda-homeopathy-8529151.html. 21 November 2020. 1 July 2020. Narayanan. Kavya.
40. Sources that criticize the entirety of AYUSH as a pseudo-scientific venture:
    • News: Questions over science swirl, but AYUSH stands firm. Shrinivasan. Rukmini. 26 April 2015. The Hindu. 22 January 2019. en-IN. 0971-751X. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827085300/https://www.thehindu.com/sunday-anchor/medicine-wars-homeopathy-allopathy-ayurveda-unani-in-india/article10792873.ece. live.
    • News: AYUSH Ministry rails against global study on homeopathy. Krishnan. Vidya. The Hindu. 24 May 2017. en. 28 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428082147/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/policy-and-issues/ayush-ministry-rails-against-global-study-on-homeopathy/article8561466.ece. live.
    • Web site: Bridge course for AYUSH – the seed of destruction. 8 January 2018. The Hans India. en. 17 September 2018. 17 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215412/http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/National/2018-01-08/Bridge-course-for-AYUSH--the-seed-of-destruction/350752/amp. live.
    • Web site: The Threat of Pseudoscience in India. Undark. en-US. 31 January 2019. 10 December 2018. 7 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190707131151/https://undark.org/article/indian-scientists-confront-pseudoscience/. live.
    • Web site: Indian academia is fighting a toxic mix of nationalism and pseudoscience. Kumar. Ruchi. Quartz India. 13 December 2018 . en. 31 January 2019. 20 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210820170045/https://qz.com/india/1492838/how-scientists-are-fighting-fake-news-and-superstition-in-india/. live.
    • Book: Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science. 293. Kaufman. Allison B.. Kaufman. James C.. 12 January 2018. MIT Press. 978-0-262-03742-6. en. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827085300/https://books.google.com/books?id=dwFKDwAAQBAJ. live.
41. Web site: Raloff. Janet. 21 February 2010. Science literacy: U.S. college courses really count. Science News . 13 October 2017. Society for Science & the Public. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013224518/https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/science-literacy-us-college-courses-really-count. 13 October 2017.
42. Hobson. Art. 2011. Teaching relevant science for scientific literacy . Journal of College Science Teaching . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110824105754/http://physics.uark.edu/hobson/pubs/00.12.JCST.pdf. 24 August 2011.
43. Impey C, Buxner S, Antonellis J, Johnson E, King C. A twenty-year survey of science literacy among college undergraduates. Journal of College Science Teaching. 40. 1. 2011. 31–37. 13 October 2017. 13 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013225058/http://edcipr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NSTA_Survey_Science-Literacy_2011.pdf. live.
44. Book: 2006 . Figure 7-8 – Belief in paranormal phenomena: 1990, 2001, and 2005. Chapter 7: Science and Technology Public Attitudes and Understanding: Public Knowledge About S&T. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 . Arlington, VA . National Science Foundation. National Science Board.
45. Web site: Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal . 16 June 2005. David W. Moore. https://web.archive.org/web/20100822003849/http://www.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx. 22 August 2010. live.
46. Book: National Science Board. 2006. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm. Chapter 7: Science and Technology Public Attitudes and Understanding: Public Knowledge About S&T. dead. https://wayback.archive-it.org/5902/20150628042314/https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm. 28 June 2015 . Science and Engineering Indicators 2006. Arlington, VA. National Science Foundation . Footnote 29.
47. Book: National Science Board. 2006. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006: Volume 1. Arlington, VA. National Science Foundation. 7–3. 13 August 2021. 28 June 2015. https://wayback.archive-it.org/5902/20150628031335/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/pdf/volume1.pdf. dead.
48. Book: National Science Board. 2006. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006: Volume 2, Appendix Tables. Arlington, VA. National Science Foundation. Appendix table 7-16: Attitudes toward science and technology, by country/region: Most recent year. A7–17. 6 April 2018. 11 February 2016. https://wayback.archive-it.org/5902/20160211065248/https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/pdf/volume2.pdf. dead .
49. FOX News . Poll: More Believe In God Than Heaven. 18 June 2004. 26 Apr 2009 . Fox News Channel. live. 5 March 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090305093146/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99945,00.html.
50. Web site: Taylor. Humphrey. Harris Poll: The Religious and Other Beliefs of Americans 2003. 26 February 2003. 26 Apr 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070111214109/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=359 . 11 January 2007 .
51. http://vivovoco.astronet.ru/VV/JOURNAL/VRAN/2004/FALSCI.HTM Чем угрожает обществу лженаука? (заседание Президиума РАН) 2003
52. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=609312 Лженаука и жизнь
53. Book: Alexandrov, Ye. B. . Феномен лженауки в современном обществе и меры по противодействию лженаучным проявлениям . The Phenomenon of Pseudoscience in Modern Society and Measures to Counter Pseudoscientific Manifestations . https://web.archive.org/web/20170516194158/http://klnran.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/BVZN_13-14.pdf . 16 May 2017 . Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research, In Defence of Science . 2014 . 13–14 . 978-5-02-039044-7.
54. http://www.politcom.ru/article.php?id=9764 Грызлова выводят на «чистую воду»
55. Web site: Frank Joseph. Inner Traditions. 1 December 2020. 16 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716201807/https://www.innertraditions.com/author/frank-joseph. live.
56. Web site: Colavito. Jason. Review of "Power Places And The Master Builders of Antiquity" By Frank Joseph. Jason Colavito. 4 December 2020. 25 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201125111536/http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-power-places-and-the-master-builders-of-antiquity-by-frank-joseph. live.
57. Web site: Gilman. Sander. The Alt-Right's Jew-Hating Pseudoscience Is Not New. Newsweek. 3 January 2018. 28 November 2020. 9 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033008/http://www.newsweek.com/alt-right-jew-hating-pseudoscience-not-new-769309. live.
58. News: The Secrets of Jewish Genius. Stephens. Bret. December 28, 2019. The New York Times. 21 April 2021. 23 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210423114651/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/opinion/jewish-culture-genius-iq.html. live.
59. Web site: Shapiro. Adam. The Dangerous Resurgence in Race Science. American Scientist. 27 January 2020. 1 December 2020. 16 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201116062011/https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/macroscope/the-dangerous-resurgence-in-race-science. live.
60. Nelson. Robin. Racism in Science: The Taint That Lingers. Nature. 2019. 570. 7762. 440–441. 10.1038/d41586-019-01968-z. 2019Natur.570..440N. 195354000. free.
61. Barry. Singer. Victor A.. Benassi. Occult beliefs: Media distortions, social uncertainty, and deficiencies of human reasoning seem to be at the basis of occult beliefs. American Scientist. 69. 1. 1981. 49–55. 27850247.
62. Raymond A.. Eve. Dana. Dunn. Psychic powers, astrology & creationism in the classroom? Evidence of pseudoscientific beliefs among high school biology & life science teachers. The American Biology Teacher. 52. 1. 1990. 10–21. 10.2307/4449018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013224934/https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/D_Dunn_Psychic_1990.pdf. 13 October 2017. 4449018.
63. Beyerstein B, Hadaway P. 1991. On avoiding folly. Journal of Drug Issues. 20. 4. 689–700. 10.1177/002204269002000418. 148414205.
64. Shermer. Michael. Michael Shermer. 2011. Understanding the believing brain: Why science is the only way out of belief-dependent realism . Scientific American. 10.1038/scientificamerican0711-85. 14 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160830132644/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-believing-brain/. 30 August 2016. live.
65. Lindeman M. Motivation, cognition and pseudoscience. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 39. 4. 257–265. 1998 . 9883101. 10.1111/1467-9450.00085.
66. Book: Hupp . Stehpen . Santa Maria . Cara . Pseudoscience in Therapy . 2023 . Cmbridge University Press . New York and London . 978-1-009-00510-4 . 54–64.
67. Matute H, Blanco F, Yarritu I, Díaz-Lago M, Vadillo MA, Barberia I. Illusions of causality: how they bias our everyday thinking and how they could be reduced. Frontiers in Psychology. 6. 888. 2015. 26191014. 4488611. 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00888. free.
68. Web site: Lack. Caleb. Great Plains Skeptic. Skeptic Ink Network. What does Scientific Literacy look like in the 21st Century?. 10 October 2013. 9 April 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130541/http://www.skepticink.com/gps/2013/10/10/what-does-scientific-literacy-look-like-in-the-21st-century/. 13 April 2014.
69. Evans. Jonathan St. B. T.. In two minds: dual-process accounts of reasoning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2003. 7. 10. 454–459. 10.1016/j.tics.2003.08.012. 14550493. 12508462. 15 October 2020. 21 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181121191442/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661303002250. live.
70. Book: Michael. Shermer. Steven J.. Gould. Michael Shermer. Stephen Jay Gould. 2002. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. Holt Paperbacks. New York. 978-0-8050-7089-7. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time.
71. Matute H, Yarritu I, Vadillo MA. Illusions of causality at the heart of pseudoscience. British Journal of Psychology. 102. 3. 392–405. 2011. 21751996. 10.1348/000712610X532210. 10.1.1.298.3070.
72. Book: Hansson, Sven Ove. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2017. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Zalta. Edward N.. Summer 2017. 16 April 2018. 10 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190510091608/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/pseudo-science/. live.
73. Book: Philosophy of Science: From Problem to Theory. Bunge, Mario Augusto. Transaction Publishers. 1998 . 978-0-7658-0413-6. 24.
74. Stephen Jay. Gould. Stephen Jay Gould. Nonoverlapping magisteria. Natural History. 1997 . 106. 16–22. dead . 4 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170104061453/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/gould_noma.html.
75. Royal Society statement on evolution, creationism and intelligent design. 11 April 2006. . London. https://web.archive.org/web/20071013040110/http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?year=&id=4298 . 13 October 2007.
76. Web site: George. Pendle. Popular Science Feature – When Science Fiction is Science Fact. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060214144307/http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat20.htm. 14 February 2006.
77. Book: Popper, Karl. Karl Popper. 1963. Conjectures and Refutations. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013124349/http://www.paul-rosenfels.org/Popper.pdf. 13 October 2017.
78. Book: Bird, Alexander. The Historical Turn in the Philosophy of Science . Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Stathis. Psillos. Martin. Curd. Abingdon. Routledge. 2008 . 9, 14. http://eis.bris.ac.uk/~plajb/research/papers/The-Historical-Turn.pdf. https://web.archive.org/web/20130601030150/http://eis.bris.ac.uk/~plajb/research/papers/The-Historical-Turn.pdf. 1 June 2013. live.
79. Book: Gordin, Michael D.. That a clear line of demarcation has separated science from pseudoscience. Numbers. Ronald L.. Kampourakis. Kostas. Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science. 219–25. Harvard University Press. 2015. 978-0-674-91547-3. 11 January 2022. 11 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211011230629/https://books.google.com/books?id=pWouCwAAQBAJ&q=newton%27s+apple+and+other+myths+about+science. live.
80. Book: Laudan L. Larry Laudan. Cohen RS, Laudan L. Physics, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Essays in Honor of Adolf Grünbaum. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. 76. 1983. D. Reidel. Dordrecht. 978-90-277-1533-3. 111–127. https://books.google.com/books?id=AEvprSJzv2MC. The Demise of the Demarcation Problem. 25 October 2015. 25 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200925144320/https://books.google.com/books?id=AEvprSJzv2MC. live.
81. Web site: Lakatos . Imre. 1973. Science and Pseudoscience . The London School of Economics and Political Science, Dept of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. mp3 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110725130745/http://richmedia.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/2002_LakatosScienceAndPseudoscience128.mp3 . 25 July 2011. Web site: Science and Pseudoscience (transcript) . https://web.archive.org/web/20110728012423/http://www2.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/about/lakatos/scienceAndPseudoscienceTranscript.aspx. 2011-07-28. dead.
82. Makgoba MW. Politics, the media and science in HIV/AIDS: the peril of pseudoscience. Vaccine. 20 . 15. 1899–1904. 2002. 11983241 . 10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00063-4.
83. Hurd PD. Scientific literacy: New minds for a changing world. Science Education. 82. 3. 407–16. 1998. 10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199806)82:3<407::AID-SCE6>3.0.CO;2-G. 1998SciEd..82..407H.
84.  – Efthimiou quoting Friedman: "We could dignify pseudoscience by mentioning it at all".
85.  – Efthimiou quoting Park: "The more serious threat is to the public, which is not often in a position to judge which claims are real and which are voodoo. ... Those who are fortunate enough to have chosen science as a career have an obligation to inform the public about voodoo science".
86. News: NCAHF Position Paper on Homeopathy. The National Council Against Health Fraud. 1994. 19 January 2011. 25 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181225185228/https://www.ncahf.org/pp/homeop.html#haven. live.
87. Web site: LeVine. Michael. 8 December 2016. What scientists can teach us about fake news and disinformation. Business Insider. 15 December 2016. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161210131026/http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-fake-news-and-disinformation-pseudoscience-2016-12. 10 December 2016.
88. Book: Pseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science. Kaufman. Allison. Kaufman. James. MIT Press. 2017. 978-0-262-03742-6. Cambridge, MA. 239.
89. Book: Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains. Lack. Caleb. Rousseau. Jacques. Springer Publishing Company, LLC. 2016. 978-0-8261-9419-0. New York. 221.
90. Book: Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology, Second Edition. Lilienfeld. Scott. Lynn. Steven Jay. Lohr. Jeffrey. Guilford Publications. 2014. 978-1-4625-1789-3. New York. 435.
91. News: Mahdawi . Arwa . 2018-10-29 . Is alkaline water a miracle cure – or BS? The science is in . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-12-01 . 0261-3077.