10 red flag warnings for pseudoscience
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:40 pm
The "10 red flag warnings for pseudoscience" put together by skeptic Brian Dunning:
1. Appeal to Authority - Celebrity endorsements, lab coats, fancy degrees or certifications... all distractions that point to the impressiveness of the claimant, not the truth of the claim.
2. Ancient Wisdom - Commonly seen attached to "alternative" medical therapies, and a pet peeve of mine – lots of "ancient wisdom" will get you killed! As Brian points out: all that matters is not the age of the "wisdom", but simply this: Does it work?
3. Confirmation Bias - The tendency to remember events that coincide with beliefs, and ignore or forget those that don't. Confirmation bias is one of the worst sloppy-thinking offenders, in my opinion - and one of the hardest for us to overcome.
4. Confusion of Correlation with Causation - Another common sticking point for many people. Brian's example: You'll find correlation between rice consumption and black hair, but not causation.
5. Red Herrings - Irrelevant information that distracts without addressing facts.
6. Proof by Verbosity - Information overload to create the appearance of comprehensiveness and thorough research. It's quantity over quality.
7. Mystical Energy - "Chi", "negative energy", "positive energy"... Brian suggests that you replace any mention of "energy" with the word's actual meaning - "measurable work capability" - and ask whether the claim still makes sense.
8. Suppressed by Authorities - Conspiracy! Beware! Yet... Why would pharmaceutical giants suppress miracle cures... or automakers squelch super-efficient engines... instead of embracing and profiting wildly from those discoveries?
9. All Natural - Yes, a pseudoscience health supplement may be "all natural"... but so are poison oak, scorpion venom, lead, mercury, bubonic plague, black holes... Natural doesn't mean safe!
10. Ideological Support - Causes that use courts, marches, campaigns, and so on to push a belief may be fueled more by indeology than by science.
See this video (beginning about 6:26).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752V173e31o
1. Appeal to Authority - Celebrity endorsements, lab coats, fancy degrees or certifications... all distractions that point to the impressiveness of the claimant, not the truth of the claim.
2. Ancient Wisdom - Commonly seen attached to "alternative" medical therapies, and a pet peeve of mine – lots of "ancient wisdom" will get you killed! As Brian points out: all that matters is not the age of the "wisdom", but simply this: Does it work?
3. Confirmation Bias - The tendency to remember events that coincide with beliefs, and ignore or forget those that don't. Confirmation bias is one of the worst sloppy-thinking offenders, in my opinion - and one of the hardest for us to overcome.
4. Confusion of Correlation with Causation - Another common sticking point for many people. Brian's example: You'll find correlation between rice consumption and black hair, but not causation.
5. Red Herrings - Irrelevant information that distracts without addressing facts.
6. Proof by Verbosity - Information overload to create the appearance of comprehensiveness and thorough research. It's quantity over quality.
7. Mystical Energy - "Chi", "negative energy", "positive energy"... Brian suggests that you replace any mention of "energy" with the word's actual meaning - "measurable work capability" - and ask whether the claim still makes sense.
8. Suppressed by Authorities - Conspiracy! Beware! Yet... Why would pharmaceutical giants suppress miracle cures... or automakers squelch super-efficient engines... instead of embracing and profiting wildly from those discoveries?
9. All Natural - Yes, a pseudoscience health supplement may be "all natural"... but so are poison oak, scorpion venom, lead, mercury, bubonic plague, black holes... Natural doesn't mean safe!
10. Ideological Support - Causes that use courts, marches, campaigns, and so on to push a belief may be fueled more by indeology than by science.
See this video (beginning about 6:26).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752V173e31o