Incubator escapee wiki

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Article Discussion
(Redirected from List of alternative, speculative and disputed sciences)

Template:Short description Template:Pp Template:Use dmy dates This is a list of topics that have been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers, either currently or in the past. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the context of educating the public about questionable or potentially fraudulent or dangerous claims and practices, efforts to define the nature of science, or humorous parodies of poor scientific reasoning.

Criticism of pseudoscience, generally by the scientific community or skeptical organizations, involves critiques of the logical, methodological, or rhetorical bases of the topic in question.<ref name="Pollak2002">Template:Cite book</ref> Though some of the listed topics continue to be investigated scientifically, others were only subject to scientific research in the past and today are considered refuted, but resurrected in a pseudoscientific fashion. Other ideas presented here are entirely non-scientific, but have in one way or another impinged on scientific domains or practices.

Many adherents or practitioners of the topics listed here dispute their characterization as pseudoscience. Each section here summarizes the alleged pseudoscientific aspects of that topic.

Physical sciencesEdit

Astronomy and space sciencesEdit

  • 2012 phenomenon – a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or otherwise transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar and as such, festivities to commemorate the date took place on 21 December 2012 in countries where the Maya civilization had formerly flourished (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala. Professional Mayanist scholars stated that no extant classic Maya accounts forecast impending doom and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresented Maya history and culture,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while astronomers rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios easily refuted by elementary astronomical observations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Ancient astronauts – a concept based on the belief that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies and religions. A common claim is that deities from most, if not all, religions are actually extraterrestrial in origin and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans. The idea that ancient astronauts existed is not taken seriously by academics and has received no credible attention in peer-reviewed studies.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • Anunnaki from Nibiru (Sitchin) (variant) – proposed by Zecharia Sitchin in his series The Earth Chronicles, beginning with The 12th Planet (1976), it revolves around Sitchin's unique interpretation of ancient Sumerian and Middle Eastern texts, megalithic sites, and artifacts from around the world. He hypothesizes that the gods of old Mesopotamia were actually astronauts from the planet "Nibiru", which Sitchin claims the Sumerians believed was a remote "12th planet" (counting the Sun, Moon and Pluto as planets) associated with the god Marduk. According to Sitchin, Nibiru continues to orbit the Sun on a 3,600-year elongated orbit.<ref name="Skepdic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Astrology (see also Astrology and science) – consists of a number of belief systems that hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events or descriptions of personality in the human world. Several systems of divination are based on the relative positions and movement of various real and construed celestial bodies. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted and no evidence has been found to support the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.<ref name=Zarka /> Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.<ref name=Zarka />Template:Rp
  • Creationist cosmologies are explanations of the origins and form of the universe in terms of the Genesis creation narrative (Genesis 1), according to which the God of the Bible created the cosmos in eight creative acts over the six days of the "creation week".<ref name="Hendel 2013 p.">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Evidence for life on Mars
  • The Face on Mars is a rock formation in Cydonia Mensae on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet. High-resolution images taken recently show it to appear less face-like.<ref name="NASA_face">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It features prominently in the works of Richard C. Hoagland and Tom Van Flandern.<ref name="Hoagland 2001 p.">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Flandern 1998 p.">Template:Cite book</ref> This effect can also be explained by the psychological phenomenon pareidolia, whereby one assigns meaning (such as facial perception) to an otherwise ambiguous or meaningless stimulus.

  • Lunar effect – the belief that the full Moon influences human and animal behavior.<ref name="skepdic_lunar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Modern flat Earth beliefs propose that Earth is a flat, disc-shaped planet that accelerates upward, producing the illusion of gravity. Proposers of a flat Earth, such as the Flat Earth Research Society, do not accept compelling evidence, such as photos of Earth from space.<ref name="Dure 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Modern geocentrism – In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism or the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the universe with Earth at the center. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars and planets all circled Earth. The geocentric model served as the predominant description of the cosmos in many ancient civilizations, such as those of Aristotle and Ptolemy.<ref name="Numbers 1993 p.">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Moon landing conspiracy theories – claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA with the aid of other organizations. The most notable claim is that the six crewed landings (1969–72) were faked and that 12 Apollo astronauts did not actually walk on the Moon. Various groups and individuals have made claims since the mid-1970s that NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened by manufacturing, tampering with or destroying evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes, radio and TV transmissions and Moon rock samples, and even killing some key witnesses.<ref name="Plait 2002 p.">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Nibiru cataclysm – a prediction first made by contactee Nancy Lieder that a mythological planet Nibiru would collide with Earth. After having adjusted her prediction many times, she later claimed the year of the occurrence to be 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, a conspiracy theorist known as David Meade claimed 2017 was the year Nibiru would hit.

Earth sciencesEdit

  • Megalithic geometry or 366 geometry – posits the existence of an Earth-based geometry dating back to at least 3500 BCE and the possibility that such a system is still in use in modern Freemasonry. According to proponents, megalithic civilizations in Britain and Brittany had advanced knowledge of geometry and the size of Earth. The megalithic yard is correlated to the polar circumference of Earth using a circle divided into 366 degrees.<ref name="HistoryOfComputers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NISTReport">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • The Bermuda Triangle – a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and (in its most popular version) Florida. Ship and aircraft disasters and disappearances perceived as frequent in this area have led to the circulation of stories of unusual natural phenomena, paranormal encounters and interactions with extraterrestrials.<ref name="NOVA,1976">Template:Cite episode</ref>
  • Climate change denial – involves denial, dismissal, unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which depart from the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its impacts on nature and human society, or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} "The first pillar of climate change denial—that climate change is bad science—attacks various aspects of the scientific consensus about climate change ... there are climate change deniers:

  • who deny that significant climate change is occurring
  • who...deny that human activity is significantly responsible
  • who...deny the scientific evidence about its significant effects on the world and our society...
  • who...deny that humans can take significant actions to reduce or mitigate its impact.

Of these varieties of climate change denial, the most visible are the first and the second."</ref><ref name="NCSE-why-denial">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book 'Anatomy of Denial—Global warming deniers...throw up a succession of claims, and fall back from one line of defense to the next as scientists refute each one in turn. Then they start over:
'The earth is not warming.'
'All right, it is warming but the Sun is the cause.'
'Well then, humans are the cause, but it doesn't matter, because it warming will do no harm. More carbon dioxide will actually be beneficial. More crops will grow.'
'Admittedly, global warming could turn out to be harmful, but we can do nothing about it.'
'Sure, we could do something about global warming, but the cost would be too great. We have more pressing problems here and now, like AIDS and poverty.'
'We might be able to afford to do something to address global warming some-day, but we need to wait for sound science, new technologies, and geoengineering.'
'The earth is not warming. Global warming ended in 1998; it was never a crisis.'</ref>

  • Flood geology – creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a global flood.<ref name="NCSE 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • The Hollow Earth – a proposal that Earth is either entirely hollow or consists of hollow sections beneath the crust. Certain folklore and conspiracy theories hold this idea and suggest the existence of subterranean life.<ref name="Storr 2014">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
  • Welteislehre, a.k.a. the World Ice Theory or Glacial Cosmogony – ice is proposed to be the basic substance of all cosmic processes and ice moons, ice planets and the "global ether" (also made of ice) had determined the entire development of the universe.
  • The Expanding Earth or growing Earth was a hypothesis attempting to explain the position and relative movement of continents by increase in the volume of Earth. With the recognition of plate tectonics in 20th century, the idea has been abandoned<ref name=Wu/><ref name=williams/><ref name="Bucher2005"/><ref name="NASA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Schmidt_&_Clark>Template:Cite journal</ref> and considered a pseudoscience.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

PhysicsEdit

  • Autodynamics – a physics theory proposed in the 1940s that claims the equations of the Lorentz transformation are incorrectly formulated to describe relativistic effects, which would invalidate Einstein's theories of special relativity and general relativity, and Maxwell's equations. The theory is discounted by the mainstream physics community.<ref name='Wired'>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • E-Cat – a claimed cold fusion reactor.<ref name="patent_app">Patent application Template:Cite patent</ref><ref name="zyga">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Einstein–Cartan–Evans theory – a unified theory of physics proposed by Myron Wyn Evans which claims to unify general relativity, quantum mechanics and electromagnetism.<ref name=AIAS>Template:Citation: "ECE Theory was discovered by chemist, physicist, and mathematician, Myron Wyn Evans...".</ref> The hypothesis was largely published in the journal Foundations of Physics Letters between 2003 and 2005; in 2008, the editor published an editorial note effectively retracting the journal's support for the hypothesis due to incorrect mathematical claims.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Electrogravitics – claimed to be an unconventional type of effect or anti-gravity propulsion created by an electric field's effect on a mass. The name was coined in the 1920s by Thomas Townsend Brown, who first described the effect and spent most of his life trying to develop it and sell it as a propulsion system. Follow-ups on the claims (R. L. Talley in a 1990 U.S. Air Force study, NASA scientist Jonathan Campbell in a 2003 experiment<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Martin Tajmar in a 2004 paper<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>) have found that no thrust could be observed in a vacuum, consistent with the phenomenon of ion wind.
  • Free energy – a class of perpetual motion that purports to create energy (violating the first law of thermodynamics) or extract useful work from equilibrium systems (violating the second law of thermodynamics).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Milbank>Template:Cite news</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Hongcheng Magic Liquid – a scam in China in which Wang Hongcheng (Chinese: 王洪成; pinyin: Wáng Hóngchéng), a bus driver from Harbin with no scientific education, claimed in 1983 that he could turn regular water into a fuel as flammable as petrol by simply dissolving a few drops of his liquid in it.<ref name="csicop_hongcheng">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Hydrinos (Randell L. Mills/Brilliant Light Power Inc.) – a supposed state of the hydrogen atom that, according to Mills, is of lower energy than ground state and has extremely high efficiency as a fuel.<ref name="parkorigin">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} and {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Critics say it lacks corroborating scientific evidence and is a relic of cold fusion. Critical analysis of the claims have been published in the peer-reviewed journals Physics Letters A, New Journal of Physics, Journal of Applied Physics, and Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics stating that the proposed hydrino states are unphysical and incompatible with key equations of quantum mechanics.<ref name="dombey"> Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Orgone – a pseudoscientific concept described as an esoteric energy or hypothetical universal life force, originally proposed in the 1930s.<ref>Kenneth S. Isaacs (psychoanalyst), 1999: "Orgone—a useless fiction with faulty basic premises, thin partial theory, and unsubstantiated application results. It was quickly discredited and cast away."Isaacs 1999, p. 240.</ref><ref name="blumenfeld">Template:Citation</ref>

Applied sciencesEdit

AgricultureEdit

  • Lysenkoism, or Lysenko-Michurinism – was a political campaign against genetics and science-based agriculture conducted by Trofim Lysenko, his followers and Soviet authorities. Lysenko served as the director of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Lysenkoism began in the late 1920s and formally ended in 1964. The pseudoscientific ideas of Lysenkoism built on Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's concepts of the heritability of acquired characteristics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lysenko's theory rejected Gregor Mendel's theory of inheritance and the concept of the "gene"; it departed from Darwinian evolutionary theory by rejecting natural selection, viewing that concept as being incompatible with Marxist ideology.<ref name="Perversion of Knowledge">Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Biodynamic agriculture – method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms. Biodynamics uses a calendar which has been characterized as astrological. The substances and composts used by biodynamicists have been described as unconventional and homeopathic. For example, field mice are countered by deploying ashes prepared from field mice skin when Venus is in the Scorpius constellation. No difference in beneficial outcomes has been scientifically established between certified biodynamic agricultural techniques and similar organic and integrated farming practices. Biodynamic agriculture lacks strong scientific evidence for its efficacy and has been labeled a pseudoscience because of its overreliance upon esoteric knowledge and mystical beliefs.<ref name=demarc>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • GMO skepticism – The belief that genetically modified foods are inherently unsafe. This contradicts the scientific consensus.<ref name="Nicolia2013">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="FAO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref name="Ronald2011">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Also">

But see also:

Template:Cite journal

Template:Cite journal

And contrast:

Template:Cite journal

and

Template:Cite journal</ref>

ArchitectureEdit

  • Feng shui – ancient Chinese system of mysticism and aesthetics based on astronomy, geography and the putative flow of qi. Evidence for its effectiveness is based on anecdote and there is a lack of a plausible method of action; this leads to conflicting advice from different practitioners of feng shui. Feng shui practitioners use this as evidence of variations or different schools; critical analysts have described it thus: "Feng shui has always been based upon mere guesswork."<ref name=duke>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Modern criticism differentiates between feng shui as a traditional proto-religion and the modern practice: "A naturalistic belief, it was originally used to find an auspicious dwelling place for a shrine or a tomb. However, over the centuries it...has become distorted and degraded into a gross superstition."<ref name=duke />
  • Ley lines – proposed intentional alignment of ancient monuments and landscape features was later explained by a statistical analysis of lines that concluded: "the density of archaeological sites in the British landscape is so great that a line drawn through virtually anywhere will 'clip' a number of sites."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Additional New Age and feng shui concepts have been proposed building on the original concept and pseudoscientific claims about energy flowing through the lines have been made.
  • Minimum parking requirements – system for assigning an optimal number of parking spaces to a given land use. It is characterized as a pseudoscience by UCLA planning professor Donald Shoup, especially as practiced by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He argues that the ITE's calculations are arcane, overly specific, and typically based on minimal data and approximations that cannot be widely applied to other businesses, even of the same type, and yet are presented as science-backed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • Vastu shastra is the ancient Hindu system of architecture, which lays down a series of rules for building houses in relation to ambiance.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Vastu Shastra is considered pseudoscience by rationalists like Narendra Nayak of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations<ref name=OUP-Johannes>Template:Cite book</ref> and astronomer Jayant Narlikar, who writes that Vastu does not have any "logical connection" to the environment.<ref name="narlikar_CUP">Template:Cite book</ref>

FinanceEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="MizrachWeerts2007">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which, being an aspect of active management, stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of both technical and fundamental analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is still considered by many academics to be pseudoscience.<ref name=Paulos2003>Template:Cite book</ref> Academics such as Eugene Fama say the evidence for technical analysis is sparse and is inconsistent with the weak form of the efficient-market hypothesis.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Health and medicineEdit

Template:See also

Pseudoscientific medical practices are often known as quackery. In contrast, modern medicine is (or seeks to be) evidence-based.

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Access Consciousness is an alternative medicine technique similar to a combination of phrenology, reiki, energy therapies and therapeutic touch, where health and wellness can be improved by touching the 32 "Energy Bars" on a person's head.<ref name="Houston">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Acupuncture – use of fine needles to stimulate acupuncture points and balance the flow of qi. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians and acupuncture is regarded as an alternative medical procedure.<ref name="Barrett2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some acupuncturists regard them as functional rather than structural entities, useful in guiding evaluation and care of patients. Acupuncture has been the subject of active scientific research since the late 20th century and its effects and application remain controversial among medical researchers and clinicians. Some scholarly reviews conclude that acupuncture's effects are mainly attributable to the placebo effect and others find likelihood of efficacy for particular conditions.

    • Dry needling is the therapeutic insertion of fine needles without regard to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is similarly controversial.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
    • Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique similar in principle to acupuncture. It is based on the concept of life energy, which flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to acupuncture points with the aim of clearing blockages in these meridians. Pressure may be applied by hand, by elbow, or with various devices. Some studies have suggested it may be effective at helping manage nausea and vomiting, lower back pain, tension headaches and stomach ache, although such studies have been found to have a high likelihood of bias.<ref name="Lee">Template:Cite journal</ref> Like many alternative medicines, it may benefit from a placebo effect. Quackwatch says acupressure is a dubious practice and its practitioners use irrational methods.<ref name=Quackwatch>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Adrenal fatigue or hypoadrenia is a pseudoscientific diagnosis described as a state in which the adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate quantities of hormones, primarily the glucocorticoid cortisol, due to chronic stress or infections.<ref name="2012Rev">Template:Cite journal Quote: "There is no scientific basis for the existence of this disorder and no conclusive method for diagnosis."</ref> Adrenal fatigue should not be confused with a number of actual forms of adrenal dysfunction such as adrenal insufficiency or Addison's disease.<ref name="webmd" /> The term "adrenal fatigue", which was invented in 1998 by James Wilson, a chiropractor,<ref name="sbm">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> may be applied to a collection of mostly nonspecific symptoms.<ref name=2012Rev/> There is no scientific evidence supporting the concept of adrenal fatigue and it is not recognized as a diagnosis by any scientific or medical community.<ref name=2012Rev/><ref name="webmd">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A systematic review found no evidence for the existence of adrenal fatigue, confirming the consensus among endocrinological societies that it is a myth.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • The Alexander Technique, named after its creator Frederick Matthias Alexander, is an educational process that was created to retrain habitual patterns of movement and posture. Alexander believed that poor habits in posture and movement damaged spatial self-awareness as well as health and that movement efficiency could support overall physical well-being. He saw the technique as a mental training technique as well.<ref name=blochLP>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Alexander began developing his technique's principles in the 1890s<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> in an attempt to address voice loss during public speaking.<ref name=blochLP/>Template:Rp He credited his method with allowing him to pursue his passion for reciting in Shakespearean theater.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some proponents of the Alexander Technique say that it addresses a variety of health conditions related to cumulative physical behaviors, but there is little evidence to support many of the claims made about the technique.<ref name=aus17LP/><ref name="NHSLP"/> As of 2015, there was evidence suggesting the Alexander Technique may be helpful for both long-term back pain and long-term neck pain and may help people cope with Parkinson's disease.<ref name="NHSLP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, both Aetna and the Australian Department of Health have conducted reviews and concluded that the technique has insufficient evidence to warrant insurance coverage.<ref name=aus17LP>Template:Cite book

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Animal magnetism – also known as mesmerism; was the name given by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century to what he believed to be an invisible natural force (Lebensmagnetismus) possessed by all living things, including humans, animals and vegetables. He believed that the force could have physical effects, including healing, and he tried persistently but without success to achieve scientific recognition of his ideas.<ref name="wolfart">Wolfart, Karl Christian; Friedrich Anton Mesmer. Mesmerismus: Oder, System der Wechselwirkungen, Theorie und Anwendung des thierischen Magnetismus als die allgemeine Heilkunde zur Erhaltung des Menschen (in German, facsimile of the 1811 edition). Cambridge University Press, 2011. Template:ISBN. Foreword.</ref>
  • Anthroposophic medicine, or anthroposophical medicine, is a form of alternative medicine.<ref name=teils>Template:Cite journal Cited in Template:Cite journal</ref> Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman, it was based on occult notions and drew on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts.<ref name=ernstmist>Template:Cite journal</ref> Many drug preparations used in anthroposophic medicine are ultra-diluted substances, similar to those used in homeopathy. Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination and this has led to preventable outbreaks of disease. Professor of complementary medicine Edzard Ernst and other critics have characterized anthroposophic medicine as having no basis in science,<ref name=mckie/> pseudoscientific<ref name=seop/> and quackery.<ref name="thes-aberdeen"/>
  • Apitherapy is a branch of alternative medicine that uses honey bee products, including honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Proponents of apitherapy make claims for its health benefits, which remain unsupported by evidence-based medicine.<ref name="acsLP">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=cassLP>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Applied kinesiology (AK) is a technique in alternative medicine claimed to be able to diagnose illness or choose treatment by testing muscles for strength and weakness.<ref name=pmid11926427>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to their guidelines on allergy diagnostic testing, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology stated there is "no evidence of diagnostic validity" of applied kinesiology.<ref name="pmid18431959">Template:Cite journal</ref> Another study has shown that as an evaluative method, AK "is no more useful than random guessing"<ref name=kenney>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the American Cancer Society has said that "scientific evidence does not support the claim that applied kinesiology can diagnose or treat cancer or other illness".<ref name=ACS2009>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Aromatherapy uses aromatic materials, including essential oils, and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological or physical well-being.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative medicine, the first meaning alongside standard treatments,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the second instead of conventional, evidence-based treatments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Aromatherapists, people who specialize in the practice of aromatherapy, utilize blends of supposedly therapeutic essential oils that can be used as topical application, massage, inhalation or water immersion. There is no good medical evidence that aromatherapy can either prevent, treat, or cure any disease.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Placebo-controlled trials are difficult to design, as the point of aromatherapy is the smell of the products. There is disputed evidence that it may be effective in combating postoperative nausea and vomiting.<ref name=Hines2018>Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Auriculotherapy (also auricular therapy, ear acupuncture, and auriculoacupuncture) is a form of alternative medicine based on the idea that the ear is a micro-system which reflects the entire body, represented on the auricle, the outer portion of the ear. Conditions affecting the physical, mental or emotional health of the patient are assumed to be treatable by stimulation of the surface of the ear exclusively. Similar mappings are used in many areas of the body, including the practices of reflexology and iridology. These mappings are not based on or supported by any medical or scientific evidence and are therefore considered to be pseudoscience.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Imbalance or stress in an individual's consciousness is believed to be the cause of diseases.<ref name="ayurveda_ama" /> Patients are classified by body types (three doshas, 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.<ref name="ayurveda_ama" /><ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch" /> It has long been the main traditional system of health care in India<ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch" /> and it has become institutionalized in India's colleges and schools, although unlicensed practitioners are common.<ref name="ayurveda_review">Template:Cite journal</ref> As with other traditional knowledge, much of it was lost; in the West, current practice is in part based on the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1980s,<ref name="todd" /> who mixed it with Transcendental Meditation; other forms of Ayurveda exist as well. The most notable advocate of Ayurveda in America is Deepak Chopra, who claims that the Maharishi's Ayurveda is based on quantum mysticism.<ref name="todd">Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Balneotherapy (Template:Langx "bath") is the presumed benefit from disease by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas.<ref name="ShorterOxfordEnglishDictionary">Template:Cite book</ref> Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation, or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular minerals such as silica, sulfur, selenium and radium. Scientific studies into the effectiveness of balneotherapy do not show that balneotherapy is effective for treating rheumatoid arthritis.<ref name="Verhagen2015">Template:Cite journal</ref> There is also no evidence indicating a more effective type of bath,<ref name="Verhagen2015" /> or to indicate that bathing is more effective than physical exercise, relaxation therapy, or mudpacks.<ref name="Verhagen2015" /> Most of the studies on balneotherapy have methodological flaws and are not reliable.<ref name="Verhagen2015" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A 2009 review of all published clinical evidence concluded that existing research is not sufficiently strong to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of balneotherapy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Bates method – an alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care physician William Horatio Bates (1860–1931) attributed nearly all sight problems to habitual "strain" of the eyes and thus felt that relieving such "strain" would cure the problems. In 1952, optometry professor Elwin Marg wrote of Bates, "Most of his claims and almost all of his theories have been considered false by practically all visual scientists."<ref name="Chou">Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Biological terrain assessment – a set of computerized tests used to measure the pH, resistivity and redox of a person's urine, blood and saliva, with the intention of recommending a customized program of health supplements and remedies (such as vitamins, homeopathic supplements, or herbal medicines) based on the results. Proponents suggest that BTA allows for a correction of biological imbalances before they become pathological, while opponents claim that the tests are imprecise and result in incorrect diagnoses.<ref name=Quackwatch_terrain>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Biorhythm theory – an attempt to predict various aspects of a person's life through simple mathematical cycles. The theory was developed by Wilhelm Fliess in the late 19th century and was popularized in the United States in the late 1970s. It was described as pseudoscience.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Body memory (BM) is a hypothesis that the body itself is capable of storing memories, as opposed to only the brain. While experiments have demonstrated the possibility of cellular memory<ref name="cosier">Template:Cite journal</ref> there are currently no known means by which tissues other than the brain would be capable of storing memories.<ref name="Smith">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Lilienfeld">Template:Cite book</ref> Modern usage of BM tends to frame it exclusively in the context of traumatic memory and ways in which the body responds to recall of a memory. In this regard, it has become relevant in treatment for PTSD.<ref name="M.D.2014">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Brain Gym – is an organization promoting a series of exercises claimed to improve academic performance. Twenty-six Brain Gym activities are claimed to improve eye teaming (binocular vision), spatial and listening skills, hand–eye coordination and whole-body flexibility and by doing this manipulate the brain, improving learning and recall of information. The Brain Gym program calls for children to repeat certain simple movements such as crawling, yawning, making symbols in the air and drinking water; these are intended to "integrate", "repattern", and increase blood flow to the brain.<ref name=wishful2007>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Goldacre2010>Template:Cite book</ref> Though the organization claims the methods are grounded in good neuroscience, the underlying ideas are pseudoscience.<ref name="HJ-NN2014">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=TES2016>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Candida hypersensitivity – It has been spuriously claimed that chronic yeast infections are responsible for many common disorders and non-specific symptoms, including fatigue, weight gain, constipation, dizziness, muscle and joint pain, asthma and others.<ref name="SBM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Barrett2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The notion has been strongly challenged by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.<ref name="AndersonChai1986">Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Carnivore dietTemplate:Snda fad diet in which nothing is eaten but meat. As well as being unhealthy the diet has a damaging environmental impact.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> the use of chelation therapy by alternative medicine practitioners for behavioral and other disorders is considered pseudoscientific; there is no proof that it is effective.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition to being ineffective, chelation therapy prior to heavy metal testing can artificially raise urinary heavy metal concentrations ("provoked" urine testing) and lead to inappropriate and unnecessary treatment.<ref name="toxicfive">Template:Citation</ref> The American College of Medical Toxicology and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology warn the public that chelating agents used in chelation therapy may have serious side effects, including liver and kidney damage, blood pressure changes, allergies and, in some cases, even death of the patient.<ref name="toxicfive"/>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Homola2010">Template:Cite journal</ref> The main chiropractic treatment technique involves manual therapy, especially spinal manipulation therapy (SMT), manipulations of other joints and soft tissues.<ref name="content-of-practice">Template:Cite book AHCPR Pub No. 98-N002.</ref> Its foundation is at odds with mainstream medicine and chiropractic is sustained by pseudoscientific ideas, such as vertebral subluxation and "innate intelligence" that reject science.<ref name=Trick-or-Treatment>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=History-PPC>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Chromotherapy, sometimes called color therapy, colorology or cromatherapy, is an alternative medicine method which is considered pseudoscience.<ref>Williams, William F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Facts on File Inc. p. 52. Template:ISBN</ref> Chromotherapists claim to be able to use light in the form of color to balance "energy" lacking from a person's body, whether it be on physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental levels. Color therapy is distinct from other types of light therapy, such as neonatal jaundice treatment<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and blood irradiation therapy, which is a scientifically accepted medical treatment for a number of conditions,<ref name=ACSCT>Template:Cite book</ref> and from photobiology, the scientific study of the effects of light on living organisms. French skeptic and lighting physicist Sébastien Point considers LED lamps at domestic radiance to be safe in normal use for the general population;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> he also pointed out the risk of overexposure to light from LEDs for practices like chromotherapy, when duration and time exposure are not under control.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Chronic Lyme disease (not to be confused with Lyme disease) is a generally rejected diagnosis that encompasses "a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to Borrelia burgdorferi infection."<ref name="nejm-feder">Template:Cite journal</ref> Despite numerous studies, there is no clinical evidence that "chronic" Lyme disease is caused by a persistent infection.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is distinct from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, a set of lingering symptoms which may persist after successful treatment of infection with Lyme spirochetes. The symptoms of "chronic Lyme" are generic and non-specific "symptoms of life".<ref name="SMB-Hall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Colloidal silver (a colloid consisting of silver particles suspended in liquid) and formulations containing silver salts were used by physicians in the early 20th century, but their use was largely discontinued in the 1940s following the development of safer and effective modern antibiotics.<ref name=pmid8632503CS>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="mskccCS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since about 1990, there has been a resurgence of the promotion of colloidal silver as a dietary supplement,<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/> marketed with claims of it being an essential mineral supplement, or that it can prevent or treat numerous diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, herpes<ref name=pmid8632503CS/> and tuberculosis.<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=pmid15748553CS>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=pmid7563503CS>Template:Cite journal</ref> No medical evidence supports the effectiveness of colloidal silver for any of these claimed indications.<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/><ref name="fda-ruleCS">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=pmid11593479CS>Template:Cite journal</ref> Silver is not an essential mineral in humans; there is no dietary requirement for silver and hence, no such thing as a silver "deficiency".<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/> There is no evidence that colloidal silver treats or prevents any medical condition and it can cause serious and potentially irreversible side effects, such as argyria.<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The epidemiologist Michael Osterholm called it "a dangerous mix of pixie dust and pseudoscience".<ref name="osterholm">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Craniosacral therapy – is a form of bodywork or alternative therapy using gentle touch to manipulate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. A practitioner of craniosacral therapy may also apply light touches to a patient's spine and pelvis. Practitioners believe that this manipulation regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and aids in "primary respiration." Craniosacral therapy was developed by John Upledger, D.O. in the 1970s as an offshoot of osteopathy in the cranial field, or cranial osteopathy, which was developed in the 1930s by William Garner Sutherland. According to the American Cancer Society, although CST may relieve the symptoms of stress or tension, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that craniosacral therapy helps in treating cancer or any other disease." CST has been characterized as pseudoscience and its practice has been called quackery.<ref name="quackcranial">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cranial osteopathy has received a similar assessment, with one 1990 paper finding there was no scientific basis for any of the practitioners' claims the paper examined.<ref name="Ferré 481–494">Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Cryonics – a field of products, techniques, and beliefs supporting the idea that freezing the clinically dead at very low temperatures (typically below −196 degrees Celsius) will enable future revival or re-substantiation. These beliefs often hinge on the existence of advanced human societies in the distant future that will possess as-of-yet unknown technology for the stabilization of dying cells. There is no evidence a human being can be revived after such freezing and no solid scientific evidence suggests that reanimation will be possible in the future.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=jk>Template:Cite news</ref>

  • Crystal healing – belief that crystals have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s with the New Age movement. There is no scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect.<ref name="Regal">Regal, Brian. (2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia. Greenwood. p. 51. Template:ISBN</ref>
  • Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine. Cupping is used in more than 60 countries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its usage dates back to as far as 1550 B.C.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are different forms of cupping; the most common are dry, wet and fire cupping. Cups are applied onto the skin and a suction is created, pulling the skin up. It is meant to increase blood flow to certain areas of the body.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Not a part of medical practice in the modern era, cupping has been characterized as a pseudoscience.<ref name="Crislip2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is no good evidence it has any health benefits and there are some risks of harm, especially in case of wet and fire cupping.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Detoxification – Detoxification in the context of alternative medicine consists of an approach that claims to rid the body of "toxins" – accumulated substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on individual health in the short or long term. The concept has received criticism from scientists and health organizations for its unsound scientific basis and lack of evidence for the claims made.<ref name=2015rev12>Template:Cite journal</ref> The "toxins" usually remain undefined, with little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in the patient. The British organisation Sense about Science has described some detox diets and commercial products as "a waste of time and money",<ref name="senseaboutscience.org.uk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> while the British Dietetic Association called the idea "nonsense" and a "marketing myth".<ref name=bdaa>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the human body, the processing of chemicals, including those considered 'toxins', is handled by a number of organs, most prominently the liver and kidneys, thus making detoxes unnecessary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Digit ratio – calculated by dividing the length of an index finger by the ring finger of the same hand, has been proposed to correlate with various personality, sexuality, biological, psychological and physical traits/outcomes. The field has been compared to pseudoscience due to irreproducible or contradictory findings, exaggerated claims of usefulness and lack of high quality research protocols.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a pseudoscientific<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> alternative medicine practice claimed to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal. Medical research has shown that the practice is both dangerous and ineffective<ref name="Seely">Template:Cite journal</ref> and does not functionally remove earwax or toxicants, despite product design contributing to that impression.<ref name=MayoClinic.org>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Anchor

  • Earthing therapy or grounding is a therapy that is claimed to ease pain, provide a better night's sleep, and assist with symptoms of inflammation by being in direct physical contact with the ground or a device connected to electrical ground.<ref name="MIT_Grounding">Template:Cite news</ref> Practitioners claim that Earth has an excess of electrons which people are missing due to insulating shoes and ground cover.<ref name="Oschman_JACM_2007">Template:Cite journal</ref> Being in electrical contact with Earth is claimed to provide the body with those excess electrons, which then act as antioxidants. A 2012 systematic review study showed inconclusive results related to methodological issues across the literature.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Subsequently, a 2017 systematic review of the benefits of spending time in forests demonstrated positive health effects, but not enough to generate clinical practice guidelines or demonstrate causality.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Electrohomeopathy (or Mattei cancer cure) is a derivative of homeopathy invented in the 19th century by Count Cesare Mattei. The name is derived from a combination of electro (referring to an electric bio-energy content supposedly extracted from plants and of therapeutic value, rather than electricity in its conventional sense) and homeopathy (referring to an alternative medicinal philosophy developed by Samuel Hahnemann in the 18th century). Electrohomeopathy has been defined as the combination of electrical devices and homeopathy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) – 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation<ref name="rubinetal2005"/> and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to [electromagnetic fields]."<ref name="BadScience EMF woo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WHO EMF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Energy medicine, energy therapy, energy healing, vibrational medicine, psychic healing, spiritual medicine, or spiritual healing are branches of alternative medicine based on a pseudoscientific belief that healers can channel healing energy into a patient and effect positive results. This idea itself contains several methods: hands-on, hands-off and distant (or absent) where the patient and healer are in different locations.<ref name=TimesLP>Template:Cite news</ref> While early reviews of the scientific literature on energy healing were equivocal and recommended further research,<ref name=AstinLP>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Ernst 2001 88–92">Template:Cite journal</ref> more recent reviews have concluded that there is no evidence supporting clinical efficiency.<ref>

Template:Cite journal </ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities. The facilitator holds the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a keyboard or other device.<ref name="Facilitated" /> Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC (involving ideomotor effect guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator).<ref name="Why debunked autism treatment fads persist">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ganz/Katsiyannis/Morin">Template:Cite journal</ref> Studies have consistently found that FC is unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object).<ref name="An experimental analysis of facilitated communication">Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Fad diet - a diet that becomes popular for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making pseudoscientific or unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements.<ref name="Hart2018">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hanky20174">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Whitney 20192">Whitney, Eleanor Noss; Rolfes, Sharon Rady; Crowe, Tim; Walsh, Adam. (2019). Understanding Nutrition. Cengage Learning Australia. pp. 321-325. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="bda4" /><ref name="Oxford2013">Template:Cite book</ref> Fad diets are generally restrictive (such as low-calorie diets e.g. fasting, or high protein-low carbohydrate diets e.g. Atkins diet), and are characterized by promises of fast weight loss<ref name="bda4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="phn3">Template:Cite book</ref> or great physical health (such as "detoxification" or diets purporting to be alternative cancer treatments).<ref name="Hanky20174"/><ref name="bda4" /><ref name="fitz3">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Williams20133">Template:Cite book</ref> Fad diets are not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.<ref name="Whitney 20192"/>

  • Faith healing – act of curing disease by such means as prayer and laying on of hands. There is no material benefit observed in excess of that expected by the placebo effect.<ref>Template:Cite book "Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread... Polls also show that one quarter to more than half of the public believes in ... faith healing."</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Template:Anchor The Feldenkrais Method is a type of exercise therapy devised by Israeli Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–1984) during the mid-20th century. The method is claimed to reorganize connections between the brain and body and so improve body movement and psychological state.<ref name=ehmLP>Template:Cite book</ref> There is no good medical evidence that the Feldenkrais method confers any health benefits. It is not known if it is safe or cost-effective,<ref name=aus17LP /> but researchers do not believe it poses serious risks.<ref name="CorgiLP">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Functional medicine is a form of alternative medicine that encompasses a number of unproven and disproven methods and treatments.<ref name=sampson1321>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Sampson2321>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Its proponents claim that it focuses on the "root causes" of diseases based on interactions between the environment and the gastrointestinal, endocrine and immune systems to develop "individualized treatment plans".<ref name=Ehrlich321>Template:Cite journal</ref> Opponents have described it as pseudoscience,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> quackery<ref name=quackademicfunctional>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and, at its essence, a re-branding of complementary and alternative medicine.<ref name=quackademicfunctional/>

  • Germanic New Medicine – Sometime after his son's death in 1978 Ryke Geerd Hamer developed testicular cancer; believing there was a link between the two events Hamer developed "Germanic New Medicine" (GNM). According to GNM no real diseases exist; rather, what established medicine calls a "disease" is actually a "special meaningful program of nature" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) to which bacteria, viruses and fungi belong. Hamer's GNM claims to explain every disease and treatment according to those premises and to thereby obviate traditional medicine. The cure is always the resolving of the conflict. Some treatments like chemotherapy or pain relieving drugs like morphine are deadly, according to Hamer.<ref name=hamer1321>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=hamer2321>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These "laws" are dogmas of GNM, not laws of nature or medicine, and are at odds with scientific understanding of human physiology.<ref>Another cancer tragedy in the making Template:Webarchive, David Gorski, Science Based Medicine</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body.<ref name="aquatechnology">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The term "hexagonal water" refers to a cluster of water molecules forming a hexagonal shape that supposedly enhances nutrient absorption, removes metabolic wastes and enhances cellular communication, among other things.<ref name="frequency">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Similar to the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, the scam takes advantage of the consumer's limited knowledge of chemistry, physics and physiology.

  • Homeopathy – the belief that a patient with symptoms of an illness can be treated with extremely dilute remedies that are thought to produce those same symptoms in healthy people. These preparations are often diluted beyond the point where any treatment molecule is likely to remain. Studies of homeopathic practice have been largely negative or inconclusive.<ref name="Homeopathy_BBC_Eggar">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_Bandolier">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_NCCIH1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> No scientific basis for homeopathic principles has been substantiated.<ref name="Beyerstein">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SAS_homeopathy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_NCCIH2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_ACS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BBC_Royal">Template:Cite news</ref>

  • Iridology – 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.<ref name="iridology_IntelliHealth">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ernst">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="iridology_AMA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.

  • Jilly Juice – a potentially dangerous fermented drink that has been claimed to treat a variety of medical conditions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Leaky gut syndrome – in alternative medicine, a proposed condition caused by the passage of harmful substances outward through the gut wall. It has been proposed as the cause of many conditions, including multiple sclerosis and autism, a claim which has been called pseudoscientific.<ref name="Kalichman2009">Template:Cite book</ref> According to the UK National Health Service, the theory is vague and unproven.<ref name=nhs-lg>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some skeptics and scientists say that the marketing of treatments for leaky gut syndrome is either misguided or an instance of deliberate health fraud.<ref name=nhs-lg />

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Macrobiotic diets (or macrobiotics) are fixed on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism.<ref name="Lerman2010macro">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=pimentelmacro>Template:Cite journal</ref> The diet attempts to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware.<ref name=fadmacro>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=oxrefmacro>Template:Cite book</ref> Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce animal products, eat locally grown foods that are in season and consume meals in moderation.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/> Macrobiotics writers often claim that a macrobiotic diet is helpful for people with cancer and other chronic diseases, although there is no good evidence to support such recommendations and the diet can be harmful.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/><ref name=cancer-dietsmacro>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=crukmacro>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Studies that indicate positive results are of poor methodological quality.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/> Neither the American Cancer Society nor Cancer Research UK recommend adopting the diet.<ref name=crukmacro/><ref name=ACSmacro>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Magnet therapy – practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence health. While there are legitimate medical uses for magnets and magnetic fields, the field strength used in magnetic therapy is too low to effect any biological change and the methods used have no scientific validity.<ref name="Shermer2002">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Park2000">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="mag_NSF">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • A medical intuitive is an alternative medicine practitioner who claims to use their self-described intuitive abilities to find the cause of a physical or emotional condition through the use of insight rather than modern medicine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other terms for such a person include medical clairvoyant, medical psychic, or intuitive counselor.<ref name=howes2009intuit>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2009, Steven Novella, writing on Science Based Medicine, calls medical intuitive diagnosis as "purely magical thinking" and refers to a Huffington Post article about it as "a promotion of a dubious pseudoscientific medical claim".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and acupuncturist,<ref name="ALicense">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in 1983, drawing on a combination of ideas from applied kinesiology, acupuncture, acupressure, nutritional management and chiropractic methods.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There is no credible evidence to support its effectiveness in assessing or treating allergies.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

  • Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a type of alternative medicine based on a belief in vitalism, which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth and adaptation.<ref>Sarris, J., and Wardle, J. 2010. Clinical naturopathy: an evidence-based guide to practice. Elsevier Australia. Chatswood, NSW.</ref> Naturopathy has been characterized as pseudoscience.<ref name=atwood2004>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Barrett-Naturopathy>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has particularly been criticized for its unproven, disproven, or dangerous treatments.<ref name=McKnight2009>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="NSBattitudes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WahlbergQuack">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}, a web page with further references</ref> Natural methods and chemicals are not necessarily safer or more effective than artificial or synthetic ones; any treatment capable of eliciting an effect may also have deleterious side effects.<ref name=Barrett-Naturopathy /><ref name="ACS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=SkepDic_natural>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=NCAHF_herb>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Negative air ionization therapy is the use of air ionizers as an experimental non-pharmaceutical treatment. It is widely considered pseudoscience.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Oil pulling – is a folk remedy where oil is "swished" or "held" in the mouth for up to 20 minutes with the goal of improving oral as well as systemic health. It is said that this technique "pulls out" toxins from the body and is claimed to be able to treat a plethora of conditions from migraines to diabetes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="orthomed">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The notions behind orthomolecular medicine are not supported by sound medical evidence and the therapy is not effective;<ref name=Aaronson2003>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=NIH_CSSS2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> even the validity of calling the orthomolecular approach a form of medicine has been questioned since the 1970s.<ref name="APAorthomed">Template:Cite report</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is ill-defined, subjective and unreliable.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Radionics – means of medical diagnosis and therapy which proponents believe can diagnose and remedy health problems using various frequencies in a putative 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 by Scientific American in 1924.<ref name="radionics_Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> The internal circuitry of radionics devices is often obfuscated and irrelevant, leading proponents to conjecture dowsing and ESP as operating principles.<ref name="radionics_BBC">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TalkOrigins Archive">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Radionic Association">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Similar devices continue to be marketed under various names, though none is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy or underlying premise of radionics devices.<ref name="radionics_ACS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="radionics_Gale">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 as radiotherapy or radiofrequency ablation.

  • Reiki is a form of alternative medicine called energy healing. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which a "universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing. Reiki is a pseudoscience,<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force, although there is no empirical evidence that such a life force exists.<ref name='Lee_SR'/><ref name="sciencebasedmedicine.org">Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation « Science-Based Medicine: Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation « Science-Based Medicine, accessdate: 28 May 2016</ref> Clinical research has not shown reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition.<ref name='Lee_SR'>Template:Cite journal</ref> There has been no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to the placebo effect. An overview of reiki investigations found that studies reporting positive effects had methodological flaws. The American Cancer Society stated that reiki should not replace conventional cancer treatment,<ref name=ACSreiki>Template:Cite book</ref> a sentiment echoed by Cancer Research UK<ref name=crukLP>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.<ref name=NCCIHreiki>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Developed in Japan in 1922 by Mikao Usui,<ref name="auto"/> it has been adapted into varying cultural traditions across the world.

  • Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion. It is based on what reflexologists claim to be a system of zones and reflex areas that they say reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands, with the premise that such work effects a physical change to the body.<ref name="Kunz&Kunz1993">Template:Cite book</ref> A 2009 systematic review of randomized controlled trials concluded that the best evidence available to date does not demonstrate convincingly that reflexology is an effective treatment for any medical condition.<ref name="Ernst E 2009 263–6">Template:Cite journal</ref> There is no consensus among reflexologists on how reflexology is supposed to work; a unifying theme is the idea that areas on the foot correspond to areas of the body and that, by manipulating these, one can improve health through one's qi.<ref name=TRH1>Template:Cite book</ref> Reflexologists divide the body into 10 equal vertical zones, five on the right and five on the left.<ref name=NS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Concerns have been raised by medical professionals that treating potentially serious illnesses with reflexology, which has no proven efficacy, could delay the seeking of appropriate medical treatment.<ref name=ncahf>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Rolfing (also called Structural Integration) – body manipulation devised by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) claimed by practitioners to be capable of ridding the body of traumatic memories stored in the muscles.<ref name=pop>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> There is no evidence that rolfing is effective as a treatment for any condition.<ref name=aus17LP />
  • Therapeutic touch – a form of vitalism where a practitioner, who may be also a nurse,<ref name=saf /><ref name="TT_CSI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> passes their hands over and around a patient to "realign" or "rebalance" a putative energy field.<ref name="scientificamerican" /> A recent Cochrane Review concluded that "[t]here is no evidence that [Therapeutic Touch] promotes healing of acute wounds."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> No biophysical basis for such an energy field has been found.<ref name="TT_QW_RN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="TT_NCCIH">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Tin foil hat – A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control and mind reading. The usage of a metal foil hat for protection against interference of the mind was mentioned in a science fiction short story by Julian Huxley, "The Tissue-Culture King", first published in 1926,<ref name="Huxley1926">Template:Cite journal</ref> in which the protagonist discovers that "caps of metal foil" can block the effects of telepathy.<ref name="Huxley1927">Template:Cite journal</ref> At this time, no link has been established between the radio-frequency EMR that tin foil hats are meant to protect against and subsequent ill health.
  • Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) – a traditional medical system originating in China and practiced as an alternative medicine throughout much of the world. It contains elements based in the cosmology of Taoism<ref name="Unschuld1985">Template:Cite book</ref> and considers the human body more in functional and vitalistic than anatomical terms.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Health and illness in TCM follow the principle of yin and yang and are ascribed to balance or imbalance in the flow of a vital force, qi.<ref name="NIH-1997consensus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Barrett2022" /> Diagnostic methods are solely external, including pulse examination at six points, examination of a patient's tongue and a patient interview; interpractitioner diagnostic agreement is poor.<ref name="TCM_MDA_DT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref><ref name="Acu_NCAHF_pos">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Maciocia">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="TCM_diag_QW">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The TCM description of the function and structure of the human body is fundamentally different from modern medicine.

    • TCM materia medica – a collection of crude medicines used in traditional Chinese medicine. These include many plants in part or whole, such as ginseng and wolfberry, as well as more exotic ingredients, such as seahorses. Preparations generally include several ingredients in combination, with selection based on physical characteristics such as taste or shape, or relationship to the organs of TCM.<ref name="TCM_MDA_HM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most preparations have not been rigorously evaluated or give no indication of efficacy.<ref name="TCM_CSI_1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Yuehua2004">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="TCM_Pulse">Template:Cite news</ref> Pharmacognosy research for potential active ingredients present in these preparations is active, though the applications do not always correspond to those of TCM.<ref name="Normile2003">Template:Cite journal</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gua sha is sometimes referred to as "scraping", "spooning" or "coining" by English speakers. Edzard Ernst has written that any apparent benefit from gua sha is due to the placebo effect.<ref name = ErnstGS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

    • Meridians are the channels through which qi flows, connecting the several zang-fu organ pairs.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /><ref name="meridian_NCI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.<ref name=Acu_NCAHF_pos /><ref name="Mann_drunkard">Template:Cite book</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

    • Qi – vital energy whose flow must be balanced for health. Qi has never been directly observed and is unrelated to the concept of energy used in science.<ref name="acu_SA_2005">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Acu_CSI">Template:Cite news "Despite complete scientific rejection, the concept of a special biological fields within living things remains deeply engraved in human thinking. It is now working its way into modern health care systems, as non-scientific alternative therapies become increasingly popular. From acupuncture to homeopathy and therapeutic touch, the claim is made that healing can be brought about by the proper adjustment of a person's or animal's 'bioenergetic fields.Template:'"</ref><ref name="TCM_CSI_2">Template:Cite news</ref>
    • Qigong (Template:IPAc-en),<ref>"qigong". Collins English Dictionary.</ref> qi gong, chi kung, or chi gung (Template:Zh) is a holistic system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality and martial arts training.<ref name="nccih2016LP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi), translated as "life energy".<ref name=CohenLP>Template:Cite book</ref> Research concerning qigong has been conducted for a wide range of medical conditions, including hypertension, pain and cancer, and with respect to quality of life.<ref name=nccih2016LP/> Most research concerning health benefits of qigong has been of poor quality, such that it would be unwise to draw firm conclusions at this stage.<ref name=Lee2011LP>Template:Cite journal</ref>

    • Zang-fu – concept of organs as functional yin and yang entities for the storage and manipulation of qi.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /> These organs are not based in anatomy.
  • Tomatis Method A type of auditory integration training devised by Alfred A. Tomatis and promoted, without supporting evidence, as being of benefit to people with autism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Urine therapy – drinking either one's own undiluted urine or homeopathic potions of urine for treatment of a wide variety of diseases is based on pseudoscience.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Promotion of a link between autism and vaccines, in which the vaccines are accused of causing autism-spectrum conditions, triggering them, or aggravating them, has been characterized as pseudoscience.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many epidemiological studies have reported no association between either the MMR vaccine and autism, or thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Consequently, the Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no causal link between either of these varieties of vaccines and autism.<ref name=IOM2004>Template:Cite book</ref> Similarly, "vaccine overload", a non-medical term describing the notion that giving many vaccines at once may overwhelm or weaken a child's immature immune system and lead to adverse effects<ref name="Hilton">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is strongly contradicted by scientific evidence.<ref name="Gerber2009"/>
  • Vitalism – doctrine that the processes of life are not explicable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is, in some part, self-determining. The book Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience stated "today, vitalism is one of the ideas that form the basis for many pseudoscientific health systems that claim that illnesses are caused by a disturbance or imbalance of the body's vital force." "Vitalists claim to be scientific, but in fact they reject the scientific method with its basic postulates of cause and effect and of provability. They often regard subjective experience to be more valid than objective material reality."<ref name="Williams">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Water memory – a homeopathic theory based on the purported ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Wilson's syndrome (not to be confused with Wilson's disease) is an alternative medicine concept, not recognized as a legitimate diagnosis in evidence-based medicine.<ref name="mayo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its supporters describe Wilson's syndrome as a mix of common and non-specific symptoms which they attribute to low body temperature and impaired conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3), despite normal thyroid function tests. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) says Wilson's syndrome is at odds with established knowledge of thyroid function, has vague diagnostic criteria and lacks supporting scientific evidence. The ATA further raised concern that the proposed treatments were potentially harmful.<ref name="ATA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Wind turbine syndrome and wind farm syndrome are terms for adverse health effects that have been ascribed to the proximity of wind turbines.<ref name="FPH">Template:Cite journal</ref> Proponents have claimed that these effects include death, cancer and congenital abnormality. The distribution of recorded events, however, correlates with media coverage of wind farm syndrome itself and not with the presence or absence of wind farms.<ref name="Chapman-Interview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Guardian-2013.03.15">Template:Cite news</ref> Reviews of the scientific literature have consistently found no reason to believe that wind turbines are harmful to health.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

TechnologyEdit

Social sciencesEdit

HistoryEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

  • Christ myth theory – A fringe theory that proposes that the historical Jesus did not exist in any capacity whatsoever. While the divinity of Jesus is disputed, Christian and non-Christian scholars of antiquity universally agree that Jesus of Nazareth was a Galilean Jew who lived in the first century, was baptized, and later crucified by Roman authorities. This is based on sources written by historians, scholars, and politicians who lived during the time of Christ.<ref name="DunnPaul35">James D.G. Dunn "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus" in Sacrifice and Redemption edited by S.W. Sykes (3 December 2007) Cambridge University Press Template:ISBN pp. 35–36</ref><ref name="Then' 2004 page 34">Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (1 April 2004) Template:ISBN p. 34</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 200">Jesus by Michael Grant 2004 Template:ISBN p. 200</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 145">The Gospels and Jesus by Graham Stanton, 1989 Template:ISBN Oxford University Press, p. 145</ref><ref name="voorst16">Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. Template:ISBN p. 16</ref>
  • Historical materialism – Karl Popper criticised the Marxist theory of history on the grounds of being unfalsifiable.<ref name="Popper">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Stanford1">Template:Citation</ref> Specifically, he claimed that while the theory was originally scientific, over time it has been modified and degraded into a non-scientific form.<ref name="Popper" /><ref name="Stanford1" /> Popper thus viewed Marxism as a pseudoscience.<ref name="Stanford1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Hudelson">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Others who shared a similar view were philosopher Imre Lakatos and sociologist Ernest van den Haag.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

LinguisticsEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PsychologyEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref name="quackwatch_attatchment_therapy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (The term "attachment therapy" may sometimes be used loosely to refer to mainstream approaches based on attachment theory, usually outside the US where the pseudoscientific form of attachment therapy is less known.) 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.<ref name="Shermer2002"/> Despite the practice's name, it is not based on traditional attachment theory and shares no principles of mainstream developmental psychology research.<ref name="Berlin et al.">Template:Cite book</ref> 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).<ref name="Chaffin">Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Template:Anchor Conversion therapy – sometimes called reparative therapy, seeks to change a non-heterosexual person's sexual orientation so they will no longer have same-sex attraction.<ref name="Haldeman1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> The American Psychiatric Association defines reparative therapy as "psychiatric treatment ... which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that a patient should change their sexual homosexual orientation."<ref name="Psych">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="APA_ConvTher">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NewAPA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Template:Anchor Coding is a catch-all term for various Russian alternative therapeutic methods used to treat addictions, in which the therapist attempts to scare patients into abstinence from a substance they are addicted to by convincing them that they will be harmed or killed if they use it again. Each method involves the therapist pretending to insert a "code" into patients' brains that will ostensibly provoke a strong adverse reaction should it come into contact with the addictive substance. The methods use a combination of theatrics, hypnosis, placebos, and drugs with temporary adverse effects to instill the erroneous beliefs. Therapists may pretend to "code" patients for a fixed length of time, such as five years.<ref name="Finn2005">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Template:Anchor Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy in which the person being treated is asked to recall distressing images; the therapist then directs the person in one type of bilateral sensory input, such as side-to-side eye movements or hand tapping.<ref name=feske>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is included in several guidelines for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<ref name=Schnyder2015>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=WHO2013>Template:Cite book</ref> Some clinical psychologists have argued that the eye movements do not add anything above imagery exposure and characterize its promotion and use as pseudoscience.<ref name="Herbert2000">Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Template:Anchor Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique<ref name="Autism Wars" /> that attempts to facilitate communication by people with severe educational and communication disabilities. The facilitator holds or gently touches the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a special keyboard. In addition to providing physical support needed for typing or pointing, the facilitator provides verbal prompts and moral support.<ref name="Facilitated">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is widespread agreement within the scientific community and multiple disability advocacy organizations that FC is not a valid technique for authentically augmenting the communication skills of those with autism spectrum disorder.<ref name="Review 2018FC">Template:Cite journal</ref> Instead, research indicates that the facilitator is the source of most or all messages obtained through FC (involving ideomotor effect guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator);<ref name="Why debunked autism treatment fads persist" /><ref name="Ganz/Katsiyannis/Morin" /> thus, studies have consistently found that patients are unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object) .<ref name="An experimental analysis of facilitated communication"/> In addition, numerous cases have been reported by investigators in which disabled persons were assumed by facilitators to be typing a coherent message while the patient's eyes were closed or while they were looking away from or showing no particular interest in the letter board.<ref name="Goldacre">Template:Cite news</ref>

  • Template:Anchor Graphology – psychological test based on a belief that personality traits or gender 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.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name=saf /><ref name="Graph_Beyer_PBS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Graph_BCCLA">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Graph_NT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Graphology is only superficially related to forensic document examination, which also examines handwriting.

  • Template:Anchor Hypnosis – 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 of animal magnetism, or mesmerism, originated by Franz Mesmer.<ref name="Hypnosis_ACS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mesmer's explanations were thoroughly discredited, and to this day there is no agreement amongst researchers whether hypnosis is a real phenomenon, or merely a form of participatory role-enactment.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name="Westen 2006">Westen et al. 2006 "Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition" John Wiley.</ref><ref name="Cathcart">Template:Cite news</ref> Some aspects of suggestion have been clinically useful.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nash">Nash, Michael R. "The Truth and the Hype of Hypnosis". Scientific American: July 2001 Template:Webarchive</ref> Other claimed uses of hypnosis more clearly fall within the area of pseudoscience. Such areas include the use of hypnotic regression, including past life regression.<ref name="Hypnosis_Lynn">Template:Cite book "[H]ypnotically induced past life experiences are rule-governed, goal-directed fantasies that are context generated and sensitive to the demands of the hypnotic regression situation."</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Using hypnosis for relaxation, mood control, and other related benefits (often related to meditation) is regarded as part of standard medical treatment rather than alternative medicine, particularly for patients subjected to difficult physical emotional stress in chemotherapy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Critics have asserted that the evidence provided is usually anecdotal and that, because of the self-selecting nature of the positive reports, as well as the subjective nature of any results, these reports are susceptible to confirmation bias and selection bias.<ref name="Kaptchuck">Template:Cite journal</ref> Physicist Ali Alousi, for instance, criticized it as unmeasurable and questioned the likelihood that thoughts can affect anything outside the head.<ref name=gazette />

  • Template:Anchor Memetics – approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept that units of information, or "memes", have an independent existence, are self-replicating, and are subject to selective evolution through environmental forces. Starting from a proposition put forward in the writings of Richard Dawkins, it has since turned into a new area of study, one that looks at the self-replicating units of culture. It has been proposed that just as memes are analogous to genes, memetics is analogous to genetics. Memetics has been deemed a pseudoscience on several fronts.<ref name="Polichak">Template:Cite book</ref> Its proponents' assertions have been labeled "untested, unsupported or incorrect".<ref name=Polichak /> Supporters of memetics include EO Wilson, Douglas Hofstadter and many others.
  • Template:Anchor Myers–Briggs Type Indicator – a personality test composed of four categories of two types. The test has consistent problems with repeatability, in addition to problems of whether or not it has exhaustive and mutually exclusive classifications.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The four categories are Introversion/Extroversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perception. Each person is said to have one quality from each category, producing 16 unique types. The Center for Applications of Psychological Type claims that the MBTI is scientifically supported, but most of the research on it is done through its own journal, Journal of Psychological Type, raising questions of bias.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Results are said to follow the Barnum effect.

  • Template:Anchor Neuro-linguistic programming – an approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created in the 1970s. The title refers to a stated connection between the neurological processes ("neuro"), language ("linguistic") and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ("programming") and can be organized to achieve specific goals in life.<ref name="Tosey & Mathison 2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dilts et al. 1980 p.2">Template:Cite book</ref> According to certain neuroscientists<ref name="Corballis 1999" /> psychologists<ref name="Drenth Promethius chained">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Witkowski 2010" /> and linguists,<ref name="Stollznow" /><ref name="Lum 2001" /> NLP is unsupported by current scientific evidence, and uses incorrect and misleading terms and concepts. Reviews of empirical research on NLP indicate that NLP contains numerous factual errors,<ref name="Von Bergen 1997">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Druckman 2004">Template:Cite journal</ref> and has failed to produce reliable results for the claims for effectiveness made by NLP's originators and proponents.<ref name="Witkowski 2010">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Sharpley 1987">Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Devilly,<ref name="Devilly 2005">Template:Cite journal</ref> NLP is no longer as prevalent as it was in the 1970s and 1980s. Criticisms go beyond the lack of empirical evidence for effectiveness; critics say that NLP exhibits pseudoscientific characteristics,<ref name="Devilly 2005" /> title,<ref name="Corballis 1999">Template:Cite book</ref> concepts and terminology.<ref name="Stollznow">Template:Cite journal</ref> NLP is used as an example of pseudoscience for facilitating the teaching of scientific literacy at the professional and university level.<ref name="Lum 2001">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Lilienfeld et al 2001">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Dunn et al 2008">Template:Cite book</ref> NLP also appears on peer-reviewed expert-consensus based lists of discredited interventions.<ref name="Witkowski 2010" /> In research designed to identify the "quack factor" in modern mental health practice, Norcross et al. (2006)<ref name="Norcross et al 2006">Template:Cite journal</ref> list NLP as possibly or probably discredited, and in papers reviewing discredited interventions for substance and alcohol abuse, Norcross et al. (2008)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> list NLP in the "top ten" most discredited, and Glasner-Edwards and Rawson (2010) list NLP as "certainly discredited".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Polygraphy has little credibility among scientists.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite periodical</ref> Despite claims of 90–95% validity by polygraph advocates, and 95–100% by businesses providing polygraph services,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> critics maintain that rather than a "test", the method amounts to an inherently unstandardizable interrogation technique whose accuracy cannot be established. A 1997 survey of 421 psychologists estimated the test's average accuracy at about 61%, a little better than chance.<ref name="usa">Template:Cite news</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref name="Gale_Primal">Template:Cite news</ref> Other sources have also questioned the scientific validity of primal therapy, some using the term "pseudoscience" (see Template:Format link).

  • Template:Anchor Psychoanalysis – body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior. Although psychoanalysis is a strong influence within psychiatry,Template:EfnTemplate:Efn it has been controversial ever since its inception. It is considered pseudoscience by some.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Karl Popper characterized it as pseudoscience based on psychoanalysis failing the requirement for falsifiability.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Frank Cioffi argued that "though Popper is correct to say that psychoanalysis is pseudoscientific and correct to say that it is unfalsifiable, he is mistaken to suggest that it is pseudoscientific because it is unfalsifiable. [...] It is when [Freud] insists that he has confirmed (not just instantiated) [his empirical theses] that he is being pseudoscientific."<ref>Template:Cite book. Reprinted in Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Template:Anchor Sluggish schizophrenia – a diagnosis used in some Communist nations to justify the involuntary commitment of political dissidents to mental institutions.<ref>Reich, Walter. The world of Soviet psychiatry. The New York Times. 30 January 1983 accessdate=1</ref>
  • Template:Anchor Subliminal advertising – visual or auditory information discerned below the threshold of conscious awareness, which is claimed to have a powerful enduring effect on consuming habits. It went into disrepute in the late 1970s,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> but there has been renewed research interest recently. Template:When <ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name="Westen 2006" /> The mainstream of accepted scientific opinion does not hold that subliminal perception has a powerful, enduring effect on human behaviour.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Racial theoriesEdit

Template:See also

  • Aryanism – the claim that there is a distinct "Aryan race" that is superior to other putative races<ref>Regal, Brian. 2009. Pseudoscience: a critical encyclopedia Greenwood Press. pp. 27–29</ref> was an important tenet of Nazism and "the basis of the German government policy of exterminating Jews, Gypsies, and other 'non-Aryans.'"<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica: Aryan. "This notion, which had been repudiated by anthropologists by the second quarter of the 20th century, was seized upon by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and made the basis of the German government policy of exterminating Jews, Gypsies, and other 'non-Aryans.'".</ref>
  • Drapetomania was a conjectural mental illness that, in 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright hypothesized as the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity.<ref name="White">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp It has since been debunked as pseudoscience<ref name="Caplan">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and part of the edifice of scientific racism.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Melanin theory – belief founded in the distortion of known physical properties of melanin, a natural polymer, that posits the inherent superiority of dark-skinned people and the essential inhumanity and inferiority of light-skinned people.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Turkish History Thesis – the belief that Turks from Central Asia migrated and brought civilization to China, India, the Middle East, and Europe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Eugenics – As a movement, eugenics was associated with pseudoscience including pseudoscientific journals and professional societies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

SociologyEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Strauss–Howe generational theory – claims that history moves through four 20-year "turnings" that repeat sequentially in a fixed pattern approximately every 80 years.<ref name="Lind">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Fernholz">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Greenberg">Template:Cite news</ref>

  • Unilineal evolution – Before Darwin's work On the Origin of Species, some models incorporated Enlightenment ideas of social progress, and thus, according to philosopher of science Michael Ruse, were pseudoscientific by current standards, and may have been viewed as such during the 18th century, as well as into the start of the 19th century (though the word pseudoscience may not have been used in reference to these early proposals). This pseudoscientific, and often political, incorporation of social progress with evolutionary thought continued for some 100 years following the publication of Origin of Species.<ref name=Ruse>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Pigliucci>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Paranormal and ufologyEdit

Paranormal subjects<ref name="Pollak2002"/><ref name="Beyerstein" /><ref name="russian">statement from the Russian Academy of Sciences.[1]</ref><ref name="astropacific">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> have been critiqued from a wide range of sources including the following claims of paranormal significance:

  • Animal mutilations – cases of animals, primarily domestic livestock, with seemingly inexplicable wounds. These wounds have been said to be caused by extraterrestrials, cults, covert government organizations, or cryptids such as el chupacabra, when in fact most such cases were found to be caused by natural predation.<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
  • An aura or human energy field is, according to New Age beliefs, a colored emanation said to enclose a human body or any animal or object.<ref name= Hanegraafaura>Template:Cite book</ref> In some esoteric positions, the aura is described as a subtle body.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Psychics and holistic medicine practitioners often claim to have the ability to see the size, color and type of vibration of an aura.<ref name = catsup/> In New Age alternative medicine, the human aura is seen as a hidden anatomy that affects the health of a client, and is often understood to be composed of centers of vital force called chakra.<ref name=Hanegraafaura/> Such claims are not supported by scientific evidence and are pseudoscience.<ref name = catsup>Template:Cite book</ref> When tested under controlled experiments, the ability to see auras has not been shown to exist.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Channeling – communication of information to or through a person allegedly from a spirit or other paranormal entity.<ref name="Pollak2002"/>
  • Crop circles – geometric designs of crushed or knocked-over crops created in a field. Aside from skilled farmers or pranksters working through the night, explanations for their formation include UFOs and anomalous, tornado-like air currents.<ref name="astropacific" /> The study of crop circles has become known as "cerealogy".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Cryptozoology – search for creatures that are considered not to exist by most biologists.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Well-known examples of creatures of interest to cryptozoologists include Bigfoot, the Yeren, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster. According to leading skeptical authors Michael Shermer and Pat Linse, "Cryptozoology ranges from pseudoscientific to useful and interesting, depending on how it is practiced."<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
  • Dowsing refers to practices said to enable one to detect hidden water, metals, gemstones or other objects.<ref name=saf>Template:Scientific American Frontiers</ref><ref name="scientificamerican" />
  • Electronic voice phenomenon – purported communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic devices.<ref name="ParapsychologyGlossaryEK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="alcock1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Carroll 2003">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The practice is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, science writers, and skeptics.<ref name="regalghost">Regal, Brian. (2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia. Greenwood. pp. 43; 75–77. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="NSBattitudes" /><ref name="JenzenMunt2014ghost">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Hillghost>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=Radford>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Hufington Post ghost">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Campbellghost>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pottsghost">Template:Cite book</ref> Science historian Brian Regal described ghost hunting as "an unorganized exercise in futility".<ref name="regalghost"/>

  • Lizard people – The idea of a reptilian reconquest was popularized by David Icke, a conspiracy theorist who claims shape-shifting reptilian aliens control Earth by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate human societies. Icke has stated on multiple occasions that many world leaders are, or are possessed by, so-called reptilians.
  • Levitation – act of rising up from the ground without any physical aids, usually by the power of thought.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Palmistry – the belief that the future can be foretold through palm reading. Predictions are based on the shape, line, and mounts of the hands. Palmists use cold reading in order to appear psychic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Parapsychology – (see Psychology section above)
  • Pseudoarchaeology – investigation of the ancient past using alleged paranormal or other means which have not been validated by mainstream science.<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
  • Psychic surgery – a type of medical fraud, popular in Brazil and the Philippines. Practitioners use sleight of hand to make it appear as though they are reaching into a patient's body and extracting "tumors". Psychic surgery is usually explicit deception; i.e., the "practitioners" are aware that they are practicing fraud or "quackery".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Psychokinesis – paranormal ability of the mind to influence matter or energy at a distance.<ref name="Vyse1997">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="astropacific" /><ref name="iowa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="UFO_NSF">Template:Cite book</ref>

NumerologyEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="skepdic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is often associated with the paranormal, alongside astrology and similar divinatory arts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Scriptural codes – the belief that a book or fragment of holy scripture contains encoded messages that impart esoteric knowledge. One such decoding method involves identifying "equidistant letter sequences" that spell out such messages.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Religious and spiritual beliefsEdit

Spiritual and religious practices and beliefs, according to astronomer Carl Sagan, are normally not classified as pseudoscience.<ref name=sagan1996>Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, religion can sometimes nurture pseudoscience, and "at the extremes it is difficult to distinguish pseudoscience from rigid, doctrinaire religion", and some religions might be confused with pseudoscience, such as traditional meditation.<ref name=sagan1996 /> The following religious/spiritual items have been related to or classified as pseudoscience in some way:

  • Affirmative prayer is a form of prayer or a metaphysical technique that is focused on a positive outcome, rather than a negative situation. For instance, a person who is experiencing some form of illness would focus the prayer on the desired state of perfect health and affirm this desired intention "as if already happened" rather than identifying the illness and then asking God for help to eliminate it. William James described affirmative prayer as an element of the American metaphysical healing movement that he called the "mind-cure"; he described it as the United States' "only decidedly original contribution to the systemic philosophy of life."<ref name= Zaleski>Template:Cite book</ref> What sets affirmative prayer apart from secular affirmations of the autosuggestion type taught by the 19th century self-help author Émile Coué (whose most famous affirmation was "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better") is that affirmative prayer addresses the practitioner to God, the Divine, the Creative Mind, emphasizing the seemingly practical aspects of religious belief.<ref name=Inge>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Christian Science is generally considered a Christian new religious movement; however, some have called it "pseudoscience" because its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, used "science" in its name, and because of its former stance against medical science. Also, "Eddy used the term Metaphysical science to distinguish her system both from materialistic science and from occult science."<ref>Religious outsiders and the making of Americans Robert Laurence Moore; Oxford University Press 1986, p. 223</ref> The church now accepts the use of medical science. Vaccinations were banned, but in 1901, Eddy, at the age of 80, advised her followers to submit to them.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Energy is used by writers and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine to refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena that defy measurement and thus can be distinguished from the scientific form of energy.<ref name="Stengerenergy">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Smithenergy">Template:Cite book</ref> There is no scientific evidence for the existence of such energy.<ref name="Stengerenergy"/><ref name="Smithenergy"/><ref name="energyenergy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Therapies that purport to use, modify, or manipulate unknown energies are thus among the most contentious of all complementary and alternative medicines. Claims related to energy therapies are most often anecdotal (from single stories), rather than being based on repeatable empirical evidence.<ref name="energyenergy"/><ref name=Barrettenergy>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Jarvisenergy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Exorcism (from Greek ἐξορκισμός, exorkismós "binding by oath") is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions. Requested and performed exorcism began to decline in the United States by the 18th century and occurred rarely until the latter half of the 20th century, when the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms were getting. There was "a 50% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s".
  • Koranic scientific foreknowledge (or Qur'anic science or Hadeeth science) asserts that foundational Islamic religious texts made accurate statements about the world that science verified hundreds of years later.<ref name="LewisHammer2011">Template:Cite book</ref> This belief is a common theme in Bucailleism.<ref name="Kuiper_2021">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hameed2019">Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Turkish American physicist Taner Edis, many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile science with their religious beliefs.<ref name="Edis2009ScienceEducation">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="EdisFreeInquiry">Template:Cite journal</ref> Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.<ref name=TanerEdis>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Quran is almost non-existent in the Muslim world, causing Muslims to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Quran.<ref name="TanerEdis"/>

Creation scienceEdit

Creation science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that claims to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove or reexplain the scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about geology, cosmology, biological evolution, archaeology, history and linguistics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Failed verification

  • Baraminology – taxonomic system that classifies animals into groups called "created kinds" or "baramins" according to the account of creation in the book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Creation biology – subset of creation science that tries to explain biology without macroevolution.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Creationist cosmologies – cosmologies which, among other things, allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old.
  • Flood geology – creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a global flood.<ref name="TalkOrigins Archive" /><ref name="Morton">Such as the existence of the geologic column; see {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> These features include:<ref name="council" /><ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Decker">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Specified complexity – claim that when something is simultaneously complex and specified, one can infer that it was produced by an intelligent cause (i.e., that it was designed) rather than being the result of natural processes.<ref name="council" /><ref name="ReferenceA" />

ScientologyEdit

  • Dianetics, a therapeutic technique promoted by Scientology, purports to treat a hypothetical reactive mind. There is no scientific evidence for the existence of an actual reactive mind,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> apart from the stimulus response mechanisms documented in behaviorist psychology.
  • Narconon and Purification Rundown are Scientology programs that purport to clean the human body of toxins and drugs respectively. Their method consists of very long saunas over many days, extremely large (possibly toxic) doses of vitamins including niacin, and Scientology 'training routines', sometimes including attempts at telekinesis. The programs have been described as "medically unsafe",<ref>Template:Cite news (courtesy link)</ref> "quackery"<ref name="LA_Times_1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="new_york_post">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and "medical fraud",<ref name="healing_or_stealing">Template:Cite book</ref> while academic and medical experts have dismissed Narconon's educational programme as containing "factual errors in basic concepts such as physical and mental effects, addiction and even spelling".<ref name="SF_Chronicle">Template:Cite news</ref> In turn, Narconon has claimed that mainstream medicine is "biased" against it, and that "people who endorse so-called controlled drug use cannot be trusted to review a program advocating totally drug-free living."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Narconon has said that criticism of its programmes is "bigoted",<ref name="nbc_rock_center">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and that its critics are "in favor of drug abuse [...] they are either using drugs or selling drugs".<ref name="welcomes_then_questions">Template:Cite news</ref>

OtherEdit

Idiosyncratic ideasEdit

The following concepts have only a very small number of proponents, yet have become notable:

  • Aquatic ape hypothesis – the idea that certain ancestors of modern humans were more aquatic than other great apes and even many modern humans and, as such, were habitual waders, swimmers and divers.<ref name="hawks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Lawsonomy – proposed philosophy and system of claims about physics made by baseball player and aviator Alfred William Lawson.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Morphic resonance – The idea put forth by Rupert Sheldrake that "natural systems, such as termite colonies, or pigeons, or orchid plants, or insulin molecules, inherit a collective memory from all previous things of their kind". It is also claimed to be responsible for "mysterious telepathy-type interconnections between organisms".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • N rays – A hypothesized form of radiation described by Prosper-René Blondlot in 1903 that briefly inspired significant scientific interest, but were subsequently found to have been a result of confirmation bias.<ref name = nye>

Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Penta Water – the claimed acoustically-induced structural reorganization of liquid water into long-lived small clusters of five molecules each. Neither these clusters nor their asserted benefits to humans have been shown to exist.<ref name="Penta_Goldacre">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Water Cluster Quackery. The junk science of structure-altered waters, Stephen Lower</ref>
  • Polywater – hypothetical polymerized form of water proposed in the 1960s with a higher boiling point, lower freezing point, and much higher viscosity than ordinary water. It was later found not to exist, with the anomalous measurements being explained by biological contamination.<ref name="polywater_Rousseau">Template:Cite journal</ref> Chains of molecules of varying length (depending on the temperature) tend to form in normal liquid water without changing the freezing or boiling point.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Time Cube<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> – a website created by Gene Ray, in 1997, where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong,<ref name="PCMag">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and his Time Cube model proposes that each day is really four separate days occurring simultaneously.<ref name=Swarthmore>"Truth is cubic?", by Kate Duffy,The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 19 September 2002. Archived by the Internet Archive, archive copy retrieved 25 July 2010.</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> UFO propulsion analogs, and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some such devices, in particular the miracle cure boxes, have been patented,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> manufactured and sold.

See alsoEdit

Template:Col div

Template:Colend

NotesEdit

Template:Notelist

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

Template:Refbegin

|CitationClass=web }}

|CitationClass=web }}

|CitationClass=web }}

|CitationClass=web }}

Template:Refend

External linksEdit

Template:Pseudoscience

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=List_of_topics_characterized_as_pseudoscience&oldid=179132"