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These are the displaced concepts which can attributed and placed in each source's respective Wikipedia article as a record of their opinion on this matter. This is a work in process as suggested per Talk:List_of_pseudosciences_and_pseudoscientific_concepts#Purpose_of_retitling.

Astronomy and Space sciences

[edit]
  • The Face on Mars (in Cydonia Mensae) is a rock formation on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet.[1] High resolution images taken recently show it to appear less face-like. It features prominently in the pseudoscientific speculations of Richard C. Hoagland.

Earth and Earth sciences

[edit]
  • The Bermuda Triangle is a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and (in its most popular version) Florida. Frequent disappearances and ship and aircraft disasters in this area have led to the circulation of stories of unusual natural phenomona, paranormal encounters, and interactions with extraterrestrial.[2]

Paranormal and Ufology

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  • Pseudoarchaeology is the investigation of the ancient past using alleged paranormal or otherwise means which have not been validated by mainstream science.[2]
  • Tutankhamun's curse was allegedly placed on the discoverers of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, causing widespread deaths and other disastrous events.[2]
  • Tunguska event is an anomalous meteor strike said to actually be the impact of a miniature black hole or a large body composed of antimatter, or Ball lightning.[2]

Psychology

[edit]
  • Attachment therapy is a set of potentially fatal[3] clinical interventions and parenting techniques aimed at controlling aggressive, disobedient, or unaffectionate children using "restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results."[4] Probably the most common form is holding therapy in which the child is restrained by adults for the purpose of supposed cathartic release of suppressed rage and regression. Perhaps the most extreme, but much less common, is "rebirthing," in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.[2] Despite its name it is not based on attachment theory or research.[5] In 2006 it was the subject of an almost entirely critical Taskforce Report commissioned by the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC).[6]
  • Graphology is a purported psychological test based on a belief that personality traits unconsciously and consistently influence handwriting morphology - that certain types of people exhibit certain quirks of the pen. Analysis of handwriting attributes provides no better than chance correspondence with personality, and neuroscientist Barry Beyerstein likened the assigned correlations to sympathetic magic.[7][8][2][9] Graphology is only superficially related to forensic document examination, which also examines handwriting.
  • Phrenology is a defunct theory for determining personality traits by feeling bumps on the skull proposed by 18th century physiologist Franz Joseph Gall.[2] In an early recorded use of the term "pseudo-science", François Magendie referred to phrenology as "a pseudo-science of the present day".[10] The assumption that personality can be read from bumps in the skull has since been thoroughly discredited. However, Gall's assumption that character, thoughts, and emotions are located in the brain is considered an important historical advance toward neuropsychology (see also localization of brain function, Brodmann's areas, neuro-imaging, modularity of mind or faculty psychology).[11]
  • Primal therapy is sometimes presented as a science.[12] The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology (2001) states that: "The theoretical basis for the therapy is the supposition that prenatal experiences and birth trauma form people's primary impressions of life and that they subsequently influence the direction our lives take... Truth be known, primal therapy cannot be defended on scientifically established principles. This is not surprising considering its questionable theoretical rationale."[13]. Other sources have also questioned the scientific validity of primal therapy, some using the term "pseudoscience" (see Criticism of Primal Therapy).
  • Subliminal perception is visual or auditory information that is discerned below the threshold of conscious awareness and has an effect on human behavior. It went into disrepute in the late 1970s [14] but there has been renewed research interest recently.[15][16][2]

Health and Medicine

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  • Anthroposophic medicine, or Anthroposophically extended medicine, is a school of complementary medicine[17] founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Ita Wegman based on the spiritual philosophy ofanthroposophy. It is an individualized holistic and salutogenic approach to health, deemphasizing randomized controlled trials.[18][19] Medications are formulated to stimulate healing by matching "key dynamic forces" with symptoms,[20] and are prepared for external, oral, or parenteral introduction in various dilutions ranging from whole to homeopathic.[21] The use of vaccinations, antibiotics, and antipyretics is generally restricted or delayed.[22][23][24] SkepticRobert Carroll likens to sympathetic magic the principle that curative plants may be identified by distortions or abnormalities in their morphology or physiology.[25] Carroll and others state that the system is not based in science.[25][26][27]No thorough scientific analysis of the efficacy of anthroposophical medicine as a system independent of its philosophical underpinnings has been undertaken; no evidence-based conclusion of the overall efficacy of the system can be made at this time.[28]
  • Applied kinesiology is a means of medical diagnosis which proponents believe can identify health problems or nutritional deficiencies through practitioner assessment of external physical qualities such as muscle response, posture, or motion analysis. A variety of therapies are prescribed based on tested weakness or smoothness of muscle action and a conjectured viscerosomatic association between particular muscles and organs. The sole use of Applied Kinesiology to diagnose or treat any allergy[29] or illness[30][31] is not scientifically supported, and the International College of Applied Kinesiology requires concurrent use of standard diagnostic techniques.[32] Applied kinesiologists are often chiropractors, but may also be naturopaths, physicians, dentists, nutritionists, physical therapists, massage therapists, and nurses.[30]Applied Kinesiology should not be confused with kinesiology, the scientific study of human movement.
  • The Bates method for better eyesight is an educational method developed by ophthalmologist William Bates intended to improve vision "naturally" to the point at which it can allegedly eliminate the need for glasses by undoing a habitual strain to see.[33] In 1929 Bates was cited by the FTC for false or misleading advertising in connection with his book describing the method, Perfect Sight Without Glasses,[34] though the complaint was later dismissed.[35] Although some people claim to have improved their eyesight by following his principles, Bates' ideas about vision and accommodation have been rejected by mainstream ophthalmology and optometry.[36][37][38][39][40]
  • Biorhythms – a hypothesis holding that human physiology and behavior are governed by physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles lasting 23, 28, and 33 days, respectively; not to be confused with Chronobiology, the scientific study of biological rhythms. The system posits that, for instance, errors in judgment are more probable on days when an individual's intellectual cycle, as determined by days since birth, is near a minimum. No biophysical mechanism of action has been discovered, and the predictive power of biorhythms charts is no better than chance.[41][42][43][2] For the scientific study of biological cycles such as circadian rhythms, see chronobiology.
  • Brain Gym – a commercial training program that claims that any learning challenges can be overcome by finding the right movements, to subsequently create new pathways in the brain. They claim that the repetition of the 26 Brain Gym movements "activates the brain for optimal storage and retrieval of information",[44] and are designed to "integrate body and mind" in order to improve "concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more."[45] Its theoretical foundation has been thoroughly discredited by the scientific community, who describe it aspseudoscience.[46][47][48][49] Peer reviewed scientific studies into Brain Gym have found no significant improvement in general academic skills. Its claimed results have been put down to the placebo effect and the benefits of breaks and exercise. Its founder, Paul Dennison, has admitted that many of Brain Gym's claims are not based good science, but on his "hunches".[50]
  • Crystal healing is the belief that crystals have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it has recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with the new age movement.[51][52][53]
  • Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) is a reported sensitivity to electric and magnetic fields or electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies at exposure levels well below established safety standards. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and similar non-specific indications.[54] Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation,[55][56] and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to [electromagnetic fields]."[57]
  • Faith healing is the act of curing disease by such means as prayer and laying on of hands. No material benefit in excess of that expected by placebo is observed.[2][58][59]
  • Hypnosis is a state of extreme relaxation and inner focus in which a person is unusually responsive to suggestions made by the hypnotist. The modern practice has its roots in the idea ofanimal magnetism, or mesmerism, originated by Franz Mesmer[60] and Though Mesmer's explanations were thoroughly discredited, hypnosis itself is today almost universally regarded as real.[16][2] It is clinically useful for e.g. pain management, but some claimed uses of hypnosis outside of hypnotherapy clearly fall within the area of pseudoscience. Such areas include the use of hypnotic regression beyond plausible limits, including past life regression.[61] Also see false memory syndrome.
  • Iridology is a means of medical diagnosis which proponents believe can identify and diagnose health problems through close examination of the markings and patterns of the iris. Practitioners divide the iris into 80-90 zones, each of which is connected to a particular body region or organ. This connection has not been scientifically validated, and disorder detection is neither selective nor specific.[62][63][64] Because iris texture is a phenotypical feature which develops during gestation and remains unchanged after birth (which makes the iris useful for Biometrics), Iridology is all but impossible.
  • Magnetic therapy is the practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence health. While there are legitimate medical uses for magnets and magnetic fields, the field strength used inmagnetic therapy is too low to effect any biological change, and the methods used have no scientific validity.[2][65][66]
  • Maharishi's Ayurveda. Traditional Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old alternative medical practice with roots in ancient India based on a mind-body set of beliefs.[67][68] Imbalance or stress in an individual’s consciousness is believed to be the reason of diseases.[67] Patients are classified by body types (threedoshas, which are considered to control mind-body harmony, determine an individual’s "body type"); and treatment is aimed at restoring balance to the mind-body system.[67][68] It has long been the main traditional system of health care in India,[68] and it has become institutionalized in India's colleges and schools.[69] Although it superficially adheres to modern institutions, the institutional practitioners are haunted by Ayurvedic vaidyas, who were trained outside the traditional medicine school.[69] As with other traditional knowledge, it was not recorded anywhere and most of it was lost, and the current practice is mostly based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the 1980s,[70] who mixed it with Transcendental Meditation. The most notable advocate of Ayurveda on America is Deepak Chopra, who claims that Maharishi's Ayurveda is based on quantum physics.[70]
  • Radionics is a means of medical diagnosis and therapy which proponents believe can diagnose and remedy health problems using various frequencies in aputative energy field coupled to the practitioner's electronic device. The first such "black box" devices were designed and promoted by Albert Abrams, and were definitively proven useless by an independent investigation commissioned byScientific American in 1924.[71] The internal circuitry of radionics devices is often obfuscated and irrelevant, leading proponents to conjecture dowsing and ESP as operating principles.[72][73]Similar devices continue to be marketed under various names, though none is approved by the USFood and Drug Administration; there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy or underlying premise of radionics devices.[74][75] The radionics of Albert Abrams and his intellectual descendants should not be confused with similarly named reputable and legitimate companies, products, or medical treatments such asradiotherapy or radiofrequency ablation.
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine. Practices such as qigong and ideas such as chi are held as pseudoscience and "quackery", and acupuncture as pseudoscientific, byCSICOP.[76][77] According to the NIHconsensus statement on acupuncture, these traditional Chinese medical concepts "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture."[78][unreliable source?] The effectiveness of acupuncture remains controversial.[79] A 2007 review led by Professor of Complementary MedicineEdzard Ernst finds that research is active and growing and the "emerging clinical evidence seems to imply that acupuncture is effective for some but not all conditions."[79] The World Health Organization lists 28 conditions "for which acupuncture has been proved - through controlled trials - to be an effective treatment", and several dozen more for which evidence is suggestive.[80]
  • Vertebral subluxation. Metaphysical chiropractic theory of how the body's general health is linked to nervous system and misalignments of the spine.[81]

Religious and spiritual beliefs

[edit]

Spiritual and religious practices and beliefs are normally not classified as pseudoscience.[82] The following have been related pseudoscience in some way, however:

  • Biblical scientific foreknowledge asserts that the Bible makes accurate statements about the world that science verifies thousands of years later.
  • Dianetics is L. Ron Hubbard's pseudoscience that purports to treat a hypotheticalreactive mind by means of an E-meter, a device which Hubbard was later legally forced to admit "does nothing".[83][84][85][86][87]
  • The Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth believed by some members of the Christian community to have been Jesus' death shroud.[2] Radiocarbon dating of the original material has shown that it dates from the 13th or 14th century,[88] though some claim that the material tested was not representative of the whole shroud.[89][90] Analyses of the paint and the herringbone twill weave of the cloth similarly point to a medieval origin.[91]

Other

[edit]
  • Hongcheng Magic Liquid is a pseudoscience incident in China where an inventor claimed that could turn water into a usable fuel by just adding a few drops of his "secret formula" liquid. The government and China and the Chinese Communist Party were alarmed by pseudoscience developments like this one and issued a joint proclamation condemning the recent decline of public education in science.[92]
  • Laundry balls are spherical or toroidal objects marketed as soap substitutes for washing machines.[2]
  • Scientific racism is the claim that scientific evidence shows the inferiority or superiority of certain races.[93][94]
    • Melanin Theory is a belief founded in the distortion of known physical properties of melanin, a natural polymer, that posits the inherent superiority of Black people and the essential inhumanity and an inferiority of Whites.[95][96]
  • Stock market prediction can involve prediction of stock prices using technical analysis techniques based purely on charts of past price behavior or patterns in various metrics.[2][97] These techniques are dubiously justified, and violate the efficient market hypothesis.[98]
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference [a] was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cite error: The named reference [s] was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Randi, James (2004-07-16 "This is a total quack procedure that has actually killed children."). "Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF". Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Maloney, Shannon-Bridget. "Be Wary of Attachment Therapy". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  5. ^ Preface to "Enhancing Early Attachments. Theory, Research, Intervention and Policy." Duke series in child development and public policy. Eds. Lisa J. Berlin, Yair Ziv, Lisa Amaya-Jackson and Mark T. Greenberg Guilford Press ISBN 1-59385-470-6 p. xvii
  6. ^ Chaffin M, Hanson R, Saunders BE; et al. (2006). "Report of the APSAC task force on attachment therapy, reactive attachment disorder, and attachment problems". Child Maltreat. 11 (1): 76–89. doi:10.1177/1077559505283699. PMID 16382093. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Barry Beyerstein Q&A". Ask the Scientists. Scientific American Frontiers. Retrieved 2008-02-22. "they simply interpret the way we form these various features on the page in much the same way ancient oracles interpreted the entrails of oxen or smoke in the air. I.e., it's a kind of magical divination or fortune telling where 'like begets like.'"
  8. ^ "The use of graphology as a tool for employee hiring and evaluation". British Columbia Civil Liberties Union. 1988. Retrieved 2008-02-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "On the other hand, in properly controlled, blind studies, where the handwriting samples contain no content that could provide non-graphological information upon which to base a prediction (e.g., a piece copied from a magazine), graphologists do no better than chance at predicting the personality traits"
  9. ^ Thomas, John A. (2002). "Graphology Fact Sheet". North Texas Skeptics. Retrieved 2008-02-22. "In summary, then, it seems that graphology as currently practiced is a typical pseudoscience and has no place in character assessment or employment practice. There is no good scientific evidence to justify its use, and the graphologists do not seem about to come up with any."
  10. ^ Magendie, F (1843) An Elementary Treatise on Human Physiology. 5th Ed. Tr. John Revere. New York: Harper, note: "pseudo-science" (p.150).
  11. ^ Fodor, JA. (1983) The Modularity of Mind. MIT Press. p.14, 23, 131
  12. ^ therapy homepage
  13. ^ Moore, Timothy (2001). Primal Therapy. Gale Group. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Business (Subliminal Advertising)". The Urban Legends Reference Pages. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  15. ^ For example, processing of happy and sad faces affecting the desirability of subsequent stimulus (Westen, 2006 p.184-185).
  16. ^ a b Westen et al. 2006 "Psychology: Austraian and New Zealand edition" John Wiley.
  17. ^ von Rohr et al., "Experiences in the realisation of a research project on anthroposophical medicine in patients with advanced cancer", Schweiz Med Wochenschr 2000;130:1173–84
  18. ^ Klotter, Jule (May 2006). "Anthroposophical Medicine". Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, 24(1):274.
  19. ^ Helmut Kiene, Complementary Methodology in Clinical Research - Cognition-based Medicine, Springer Publishers: Heidelberg, New York. 2001. ISBN 3-540-41022-8
  20. ^ "Miscellaneous Holistic Remedies". Holistic Online. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  21. ^ "The Position of Anthroposophic Medicine". Internationale Vereinigung Anthroposophischer Ärztegesellschaften (International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations). Retrieved 2008-02-09. "Some medicines are similar to herbal medicinal products, some are prepared according to the guidelines of homeopathic pharmacopoeias."
  22. ^ Alm, J. S., Swartz, J., Lilja, G., Scheynius, A., and Pershagen, G. (1999). Atopy in children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle. Lancet, 353(9163):1485-8. PMID 10232315Reprint copy
  23. ^ Flöistrup, Helen (2006-01). "Allergic disease and sensitization in Steiner school children". The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 117 (1): 59–66. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2005.09.039. Retrieved 2008-03-03. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Klotter, Jule. "Anthroposophic lifestyle & allergies in children.(Shorts)." Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients 274 (May 2006): 24(2).
  25. ^ a b Carroll, Robert. "anthroposophic medicine". Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  26. ^ Hansson, Sven Ove (1991). "Is Anthroposophy Science?". Conceptus. XXV (64): 37–49. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "The claims that anthroposophy is a science are not justified."
  27. ^ Ernst, Edzard (2006), "Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer", BMJ, 333 (7582): 1282, doi:10.1136/bmj.39055.493958.80, PMID 17185706 "Anthroposophic drugs are based on ancient alchemistic and homeopathic notions, far removed from the concepts of pharmacology."
  28. ^ Ernst, Edzard, "Anthroposophical Medicine: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials." Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, ISSN 0043-5325, 2004, vol. 116, no4, pp. 128–130
  29. ^ "Report of the Special Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medical Practitioners, In Opposition to the Licensure of Naturopaths" (PDF). Massachusetts Medical Society. Retrieved 2008-01-27. "Many of the means by which naturopaths diagnose these toxins and allergies are outright quackery: electrodiagnostic devices (banned by the FDA as worthless), hair analysis, applied kinesiology, iridology, and more."
  30. ^ a b "Applied Kinesiology". American Cancer Society. 2007-05-23. Retrieved 2008-01-27. "Available scientific evidence does not support the claim that applied kinesiology can diagnose or treat cancer or other illness."
  31. ^ "Applied Kinesiology". Natural Standard. 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2008-01-27."applied kinesiology has not been shown to be effective for the diagnosis or treatment of any disease."
  32. ^ "Applied Kinesiology Status Statement". International College of Applied Kinesiology. 1992-06-16. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  33. ^ Quackenbush, Thomas R. (2000). Better Eyesight The complete magazines of William H. Bates. North Atlantic Books. pp. page 643. ISBN 1-55643-351-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  34. ^ Worrall, Russell S. (2007-09-12 "The claims Bates made in advertising his book were so dubious that in 1929 the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint against him for advertising "falsely or misleadingly.""). "Eye-Related Quackery". Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Pollack P. (1956). "Chapter 3: Fallacies of the Bates System". The Truth about Eye Exercises. Philadelphia: Chilton Co. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Leanna Skarnulis (February 5, 2007). "Natural Vision Correction: Does It Work?". WebMD. "No evidence was found that visual training had any effect on the progression of nearsightedness, or that it improved visual function for patients with farsightedness or astigmatism, or that it improved vision lost to diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy."
  37. ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). "Chapter 19: Throw Away Your Glasses". Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Reprint: Courier Dover. pp. 230–241. ISBN 0-486-20394-8. "Actually, Bates' theory of accommodation (so necessary to explain the value of his exercises) is so patently absurd that even most of his present-day followers have discarded it."
  38. ^ Robyn E. Bradley (September 23, 2003). "ADVOCATES SEE ONLY BENEFITS FROM EYE EXERCISES" (PDF). The Boston Globe (MA).
  39. ^ Marg, E. (1952). ""Flashes" of clear vision and negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual training" (PDF). Am J Opt Arch Am Ac Opt. 29 (4): 167–84.
  40. ^ Randi, James (2006-11-11 "This is pure old quackery, it’s wishful thinking, and it’s profitable."). "Swift: the weekly newsletter of the JREF". Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  41. ^ "Biological Rhythms: Implications for the Worker". OTA-BA-463 Box 2-A pg. 30. Office of Technology Assessment. 1991-09. Retrieved 2008-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "No evidence exists to support the concept of biorhythms; in fact, scientific data refute their existence."
  42. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd. "Biorhythms". Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-02-21. "The theory of biorhythms is a pseudoscientific theory that claims our daily lives are significantly affected by rhythmic cycles overlooked by scientists who study biological rhythms."
  43. ^ Hines, Terence (1998). "Comprehensive Review of Biorhythm Theory" (pdf (summary)). Psychological Reports. 83: 19–64. doi:10.2466/PR0.83.5.19-64. Retrieved 2008-02-20. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "The conclusion is that biorhythm theory is not valid."
  44. ^ "Brain Gym - FAQ". The Official Brain Gym Web Site. Retrieved 2008-08-11. BRAIN GYM works by facilitating optimal achievement of mental potential through specific movement experiences. All acts of speech, hearing, vision, and coordination are learned through a complex repertoire of movements. BRAIN GYM promotes efficient communication among the many nerve cells and functional centers located throughout the brain and sensory motor system.
  45. ^ About Brain Gym
  46. ^ "Neuroscience and Education: Issues and Opportunities" (PDF). the ESRC's Teaching and Learning Research Programme website. Retrieved 2007-08-03. The pseudo-scientific terms that are used to explain how this works, let alone the concepts they express, are unrecognisable within the domain of neuroscience.
  47. ^ Goswami, Usha (2006). "Neuroscience and education: from research to practice?" (fee required). Nature. 7: 406–413. doi:10.1038/nrn1907. Retrieved 2008-08-11. Cognitive neuroscience is making rapid strides in areas highly relevant to education. However, there is a gulf between current science and direct classroom applications. Most scientists would argue that filling the gulf is premature. Nevertheless, at present, teachers are at the receiving end of numerous 'brain-based learning' packages. Some of these contain alarming amounts of misinformation, yet such packages are being used in many schools. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  48. ^ "Sense About Science - Brain Gym". Sense About Science. Retrieved 2008-04-11. These exercises are being taught with pseudoscientific explanations that undermine science teaching and mislead children about how their bodies work. ... There have been a few peer reviewed scientific studies into the methods of Brain Gym, but none of them found a significant improvement in general academic skills.
  49. ^ Hyatt, Keith J. (2007). "Brain Gym - Building Stronger Brains or Wishful Thinking?" (fee required). Remedial and Special Education. 28 (2). SAGE Publications: 117–124. doi:10.1177/07419325070280020201. ISSN 0741-9325. Retrieved 2008-09-12. a review of the theoretical foundations of Brain Gym and the associated peer-reviewed research studies failed to support the contentions of the promoters of Brain Gym®. Educators are encouraged to become informed consumers of research and to avoid implementing programming for which there is neither a credible theoretical nor a sound research basis. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  50. ^ "News in brief". The Times. 2008-04-05. Retrieved 2008-09-01. Paul Dennison, a Californian educator who created the programme, admitted that many claims in his teacher's guide were based on his 'hunches' and were not proper science. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  51. ^ Campion, Edward (1993). "Why Unconventional Medicine". New England Journal of Medicine. 328: 282. doi:10.1056/NEJM199301283280413. PMID 8418412.
  52. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd. "crystal power". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
  53. ^ Stephen S. Carey. A Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-58450-0.
  54. ^ Roosli, Martin (2004). "Symptoms of ill health ascribed to electromagnetic field exposure--a questionnaire survey". Int J Hyg Environ Health. 207 (2): 141–50. doi:10.1078/1438-4639-00269. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  55. ^ Rubin, G James (2005). "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review of Provocation Studies". Psychosomatic Medicine. 67: 224–232. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000155664.13300.64. PMID 15784787. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  56. ^ Goldacre, Ben. "Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  57. ^ "Electromagnetic fields and public health". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  58. ^ National Science Board (2002). Science and Engineering Indicators – 2002. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation. pp. ch. 7. ISBN 978-0160665790. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread... Polls also show that one quarter to more than half of the public believes in ... faith healing."
  59. ^ Frazier, Kendrick (2005-01). "In the Land of Galileo, Fifth World Skeptics Congress Solves Mysteries, Champions Scientific Outlook". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 2007-12-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "The majority of rigorous trials show no effect beyond placebo." (Edzard Ernst)
  60. ^ "Hypnosis". American Cancer Society. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  61. ^ Lynn, Steven Jay (2003), "The remembrance of things past: problematic memory recovery techniques in psychotherapy", in Lilienfeld, Scott O. (ed.), Science and Pseudoscience in Psychotherapy, New York: Guilford Press, pp. 219–220, ISBN 1572308281 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coeditors= ignored (help) "hypnotically induced past life experiences are rule-governed, goal-directed fantasies that are context generated and sensitive to the demands of the hypnotic regression situation."
  62. ^ "Iridology". Natural Standard. 2005-07-07. Retrieved 2008-02-01. "Research suggests that iridology is not an effective method to diagnose or help treat any specific medical condition."
  63. ^ Ernst E. Iridology: not useful and potentially harmful. Arch. Ophthalmol. 2000 Jan;118(1):120-1. PMID 10636425
  64. ^ "H-175.998 Evaluation of Iridology". American Medical Association. Retrieved 2008-02-01. "Our AMA believes that iridology, the study of the iris of the human eye, has not yet been established as having any merit as a diagnostic technique."
  65. ^ Park, Robert L. (2000). Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 58–63. ISBN 0-19-513515-6 "Not only are magnetic fields of no value in healing, you might characterize these as "homeopathic" magnetic fields.". {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  66. ^ National Science Board (2002). Science and Engineering Indicators – 2002. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation. pp. ch. 7. ISBN 978-0160665790. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "Among all who had heard of [magnet therapy], 14 percent said it was very scientific and another 54 percent said it was sort of scientific. Only 25 percent of those surveyed answered correctly, that is, that it is not at all scientific."
  67. ^ a b c "Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-97)". American Medical Association. 1997.
  68. ^ a b c "Ayurvedic medicine". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  69. ^ a b Lesley A. Sharp (2003). "Review of Fluent bodies: Ayourvedic Remedies for Postcolonial Imbalance". Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 17 (4): 511–512. doi:10.1525/maq.2003.17.4.512. Retrieved 2008-08-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) (page512)
  70. ^ a b Robert Todd Carroll (2003). John Wiley and Sons (ed.). The Skeptic's Dictionary. pp. 45-4?. ISBN 0471272426. (Pseudoscience and medicine entries on the online version)
  71. ^ Pilkington, Mark (2004-04-15). "A vibe for radionics". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-02-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "Scientific American concluded: 'At best, [ERA] is all an illusion. At worst, it is a colossal fraud.'"
  72. ^ "10 lesser-known alternative therapies". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2008-02-07. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) " Radionics is a technique of healing using extrasensory perception (ESP) and an instrument."
  73. ^ "What is Radionics". The Radionic Association. Retrieved 2008-02-07. "This subtle field cannot be accessed using our conventional senses. Radionic practitioners use a specialised dowsing technique to both identify the sources of weakness in the field and to select specific treatments to overcome them. "
  74. ^ "Electromagnetic Therapy". American Cancer Society. Retrieved 2008-02-06."There is no relationship between the conventional medical uses of electromagnetic energy and the alternative devices or methods that use externally applied electrical forces. Available scientific evidence does not support claims that these alternative electrical devices are effective in diagnosing or treating cancer or any other disease."
  75. ^ Helwig, David (2004-12), "Radionics", in Longe, Jacqueline L. (ed.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, Gale Cengage, ISBN 978-0787674243, retrieved 2008-02-07 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)
  76. ^ "Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 2)". CSICOP. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  77. ^ Barrett, Stephen (December 30, 2007). "Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and "Chinese Medicine"". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  78. ^ NIH Consensus Development Program (November 3–5, 1997). "Acupuncture --Consensus Development Conference Statement". National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2007-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  79. ^ a b Ernst E, Pittler MH, Wider B, Boddy K. (2007). "Acupuncture: its evidence-base is changing". Am J Chin Med. 35 (1): 21–5. doi:10.1142/S0192415X07004588. PMID 17265547.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  80. ^ Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials. World Health Organization, 2003. Section 3. Section 3 (HTML); [1]
  81. ^ "Chiropractic: A Profession Seeking Identity". CSICOP. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  82. ^ Carl Sagan, "Does Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization", Skeptical Inquirer, 1996
  83. ^ Christopher Riche Evans (1974). Cults of Unreason. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-13324-7. Chapter 6.
  84. ^ Russell Miller. Bare-faced messiah: The true story of L. Ron Hubbard. Key Porter.
  85. ^ Dr. Peter Banys in the SF Chronicle
  86. ^ defined as pseudoscience at Skeptic's Dictionary
  87. ^ "Dianetics, that unholy alliance of psychoanalysis and cybernetics, rates a special chapter." - Some Comments on Popular-Science Books, John Pfeiffer, Science (New Series), Vol. 117, No. 3042 (Apr., 1953), pp. 399-403, referencing Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner
  88. ^ Damon, P. E. (1989-02). "Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin". Nature. 337 (6208): 611–615. doi:10.1038/337611a0. Retrieved 2007-11-18. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  89. ^ Rogers, Raymond N.: "Studies on the radiocarbon sample from the shroud of turin." Thermochimica Acta, Volume 425, Issue 1–2 (20 January 2005), pages 189–194
  90. ^ Ball, Philip. "To Know a Veil". Nature online, 28 January 2005.
  91. ^ Nickell, Joe "the scientific approach allows the preponderance of evidence to lead to a conclusion: the shroud is the work of a medieval artisan". "PBS "Secrets of the Dead" Buries the Truth About Turin Shroud". Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  92. ^ Does truth matter?, byCarl Sagan "[text of proclamation] activities of superstition and ignorance have been growing, and antiscience and pseudoscience cases have become frequent. Therefore, effective measures must be applied as soon as possible to strengthen public education in science." (pages 8-9)
  93. ^ Gould, Stephen Jay (1981). The Mismeasure of Man. New York, NY: W W Norton and Co. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-393-01489-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within."
  94. ^ Kurtz, Paul (2004-09). "Can the Sciences Help Us to Make Wise Ethical Judgments?". Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 2007-12-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "There have been abundant illustrations of pseudoscientific theories-monocausal theories of human behavior that were hailed as "scientific"-that have been applied with disastrous results. Examples: ... Many racists today point to IQ to justify a menial role for blacks in society and their opposition to affirmative action."
  95. ^ Skeptinq, Ortiz de Montellano, B. R. 1993. “Afrocentricity, Melanin, and Pseudoscience," Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 36, 33-58
  96. ^ Ortiz de Montellano, Bernard R. (December 17, 2006). "Afrocentric Pseudoscience: The Miseducation of African Americans". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 775. New York Academy of Sciences: 561–572. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb23174.x.
  97. ^ Lo, A.W. (2000). "Foundations of Technical Analysis: Computational Algorithms, Statistical Inference, and Empirical Implementation". The Journal of Finance. 55 (4): 1705–1765. doi:10.1111/0022-1082.00265. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  98. ^ Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street
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