Thursday, January 2, 2025

Nine red flags of pseudoscience


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can we tell if our research is finding just pseudoscience rather than real science? At my friendly, local public library I recently found, and am enjoying reading, the 2024 book by Jonathan N. Stea titled Mind the Science: Saving your mental health from the wellness industry. He is a clinical psychologist in Calgary. There is a preview of it at Google Books. In a section titled Mind the Takeaways on pages 200 and 201 he describes the following Nine Red Flags of Pseudoscience:

 

Explain away negative findings (i.e., overuse of ad hoc hypotheses)

“Your horoscope didn’t work this time because you didn’t think positively enough when you read it.”

 

Absence of self-correction

“Sure – maybe Scientology hasn’t changed much since L. Ron Hubbard’s writings, but it still has undiscovered potential!”

 

Evasion of peer review

“They don’t publish their results in top-tier, peer reviewed scientific journals because Western medicine has brainwashed us to believe that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the only kind of evidence.”

 

Emphasis on conformation rather than refutation

“I don’t care if you think the Amazing James Randi has thoroughly debunked telekinetic spoon bending. Those people at the workshop swear it isn’t a magic trick.”

 

Reversed burden of proof

“No! YOU prove to ME that it isn’t an alien-operated UFO.”

 

Claims divorced from the broader scientific literature (i.e., absence of connectivity)

“Science doesn’t have all the answers! It can’t explain how past life regression therapy uses ideas about reincarnation to help treat posttraumatic stress disorder.”

 

Elevation of anecdotal evidence

“I received energy healing and happen to feel better afterward; therefore, it works.”

 

Use of science-y sounding language

“Once the diagnosis using quantum mechanics is completed, current treatments revert to biochemistry instead of using treatments involving the subtle energies that made the original diagnosis.” (From an actual published article on energy medicine that is now retracted)

 

Absence of boundary conditions

“Why, of course, detoxification diets can treat depression, anxiety, addiction, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, chronic pain, marital conflict, glaucoma, Covid-19, laziness, and heartburn – and it can do so in adults, children, infants, dogs, cats, and horses.”

 

The preceding quote is typical of homeopathy. For example, in the Homeopathic Materia Medica by William Boericke there is a web page about Natrium Muriaticum – chloride of sodium claiming that rather than just being edible salt (the shaker on your dining table) it is:

 

“A great remedy for certain forms of intermittent fever, anemia, chlorosis, many disturbances of the alimentary tract and skin.”

 

On January 4, 2016 I blogged about Will homeopathic Natrium Muriaticum reduce stage fright? How could that work?

 

An image of a red flag came from Openclipart.

 


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