Pseudoscience (by Anthony Stewart) What exactly is a pseudoscience?

Even though some people will disagree with which different sorts of practice should be classified as a pseudoscience, a commonly agreed upon definition of pseudoscience is any body of knowledge, methodology, or practice that is mistakenly thought of as science. In other words, a pseudoscience is anything that seems scientific at first glance, but upon delving deeper into the knowledge claims being made, we discover that the scientific method is not involved at all, but instead most of the knowledge claims are made based on improvable assumptions and personal interpretation. For instance, if Josey, the neighbourhood scientist, wanted to find out why Bob the neighbourhood mean-guy is so mean, she may hypothesise that Bob has highly elevated levels of testosterone; since she knows testosterone can lead to aggressive behaviour. Josey could subsequently test Bobs testosterone levels and compare Bobs levels with the levels of the neighbourhood-average-people. If she found that Bob did indeed have higher levels of testosterone, she will have scientifically proven that his levels are high, and made an empirically backed knowledge claim about the reason for Bobs aggression. Although she may have not found the cause for sure (it is hard to tell for sure when dealing with humans since other factors could cause aggressiveness), she will at least have some empirical support for her claim. If she then treats Bobs aggression with a testosterone suppressing hormone and Bob becomes less aggressive, then there is further empirical backing for her claim. On the other hand Ron, the neighbourhood phrenologist, would explain Bobs aggressive behaviour in another way. What a phrenologist does is read the bumps on a persons head and by interpreting the bumps and the shape of the head, the phrenologist claims that he can tell about the personality of the patient in question. The phrenologist assumes that the shape of the cranium represents the shape of the brain and the cranium therefore is reflective of the development of the brain organs (organs which were never shown to exist). Bobs aggressive personality would be explained by certain types of bumps, in certain locations on Bobs head. This idea sounds rather absurd to us today, but the development of phrenology came about as a serious attempt by German physicist Franz Joseph Gall in the early 1800s to explain and predict peoples personalities. Phrenology enjoyed quite extensive popularity throughout much of the entire 19th

century, and during this time many people did assume the shape of the head had a bearing on ones personality. The problem with phrenology and any pseudoscience is that the claims are not backed up by empirical data and are too greatly based upon assumption and personal interpretation. Recognizing a Pseudoscience

since its beginning.

Asserting claims or theories unconnected to previous experimental results. Asserting claims which cannot be verified or falsified. Asserting claims which contradict experimentally established results. Failing to provide an experimental possibility of reproducible results. Failing to submit results to peer-review before making public claims. Little or no evolution of the field and its claims

Pseudoscience is often motivated by commercial goals.

Other areas considered pseudosciences Astrology, Graphology, Creation Science, Chakra Theory, Characterology Clairvoyance, Feng Shui, Homeopathy, Hypnosis, Orgonomy, Palm Reading, Parapsychology, UFO-ology, Phrenology, Physiognomy, Precognition, Numerology, Alchemy, Chiropractic