The Pseudo-Science Bullshit-Detector Check List''I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration
a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive.
The doctrine
in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when
there is no ground whatever for supposing it true." --Bertrand Russell Consider the source! Apply this check list to books, media advertisements, and anyone with a glint in their eye (and a bee in their bonnet) ranting and raving about such topics as the miracles of alternative medicine, getting rich quick, the validity of parapsychology, secrets to attaining spiritual growth or mental health, aliens in our midst, quick fixes to the economy or the education system, the removal from society of such evils as drug-abuse, pornography and violent crime, or how to become sexier, smarter, more creative, and a better parent. Total up the 'yes' answers to these five simple questions.
If the total is anything greater than zero, your bullshit-detector alarm
should
go off. In most cases sources that are grounded in real science will score
a big fat zero, while charlatans and lunatics and con artists will get
a 'perfect' or near perfect score. Does your source of 'information'...
1 -- make a big deal about being 'scientific'? (For
example, repeatedly saying things such as "research proves", "scientists have found", "laboratory
tests show", etc.) 2 -- lack any self-critical elements or qualification
of claims? (For example, never using phrases such as "sometimes", "could", "may be",
etc.) 3 -- stand to gain financially by your acceptance
of the claims? (For example, by the sale of a book or some other product.) 4-- base claims on a conspiracy theory? (For example,
the Medical Establishment doesn't really want you to get well, the government
is hiding
alien bodies in Arizona, the scientific community is persecuting an heretical
genius, etc.) 5-- appeal to emotions and 'common sense', flattering
one's intelligence without challenging it? (For example, by saying things
like "any fool can
see", while never presenting anything that requires serious intellectual
effort to understand, such as closely reasoned arguments or mathematical
analyses).
-- Ken Stange |