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:Wikipedia:WikiProject Skepticism/List

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This is a partial list of articles related to scientific skepticism. To explore all articles that have been tagged into this project, use the [https://tools.wmflabs.org/bambots/cwb/bycat/Skepticism.html cleanup tool], or see the articles sorted by importance and quality.

= Valid science =

File:1919 eclipse negative.jpg. Einstein predicted the position of stars during the event with his theory of general relativity. Refutable predictions distinguish valid science from pseudoscience.]]

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== [[Lists about skepticism]] ==

==Publications==

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===Websites===

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= Pseudoscience =

file:Animal magnetism, 1814.jpg was debunked in 1784, during a blind experiment.]]

{{main|Pseudoscience}}

== Promoters of pseudoscientific ideas ==

This list includes promoters of any non-scientific claims, including those within the realms of pseudohistory, pseudomathetics, etc.

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===Former promoters of pseudoscientific ideas ===

==Victims of pseudoscientific ideas==

  • Eliza Jane Scovill - daughter of HIV-positive AIDS denialist Christine Maggiore, who died of AIDS at age 3, following a pregnancy in which her mother refused to take antiretroviral drugs or other measures which reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

==Events in pseudoscience==

== Pseudophysics ==

{{main|Pseudophysics}}

==Pseudohistory==

== Health and healing ==

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== Paranormal and science denial ==

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= Valid philosophy =

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= Pseudophilosophy =

== Cults ==

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=Pseudoarchaeology=

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= Glossary =

  • Ad hominem An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: "argument to the person", "argument against the man") is a logical fallacy consisting of replying to an argument by attacking or appealing to the person making the argument, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument. It is most commonly used to refer specifically to the ad hominem abusive, or argumentum ad personam, which consists of criticizing or personally attacking an argument's proponent in an attempt to discredit that argument.{{cite book

| last = Hurley

| first = Patrick

| author-link = Patrick Hurley

| title = A Concise Introduction to Logic, Seventh Edition

| publisher = Wadsworth, a division of Thompson Learning

| date = 2000

| pages = 125–128, 182

| isbn = 0534520065 }}Humbug! Online [http://humbugonline.blogspot.com/2005/01/examples-of-personal-abuse.html Personal Abuse Article].Nizkor.org. [http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem.html Fallacy: Ad Hominem].Nizkor.org. [http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/circumstantial-ad-hominem.html Fallacy: Circumstantial Ad Hominem].Philosophy.lander.edu. [http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/person.html Argumentum Ad Hominem]University of Winnipeg. [http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~walton/papers%20in%20pdf/04historical.pdf Argumentation Schemes and Historical Origins of the Circumstantial Ad Hominen Argument]About.com. [http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skepticism/blfaq_fall_adhominem_index.htm Argument Against the Person (Argumentum ad hominem)]The Fallacy Files. [http://www.fallacyfiles.org/adhomine.html Argumentum ad Hominem]

  • Anecdotal evidence Information passed along by word-of-mouth but not documented scientifically is anecdotal evidence. In science, anecdotal evidence has been defined as: "information that is not based on facts or careful study"[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=2834&dict=CALD Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary] or "non-scientific observations or studies, which do not provide proof but may assist research efforts"[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=anecdotal%20evidence Dictionary.com] or "reports or observations of usually unscientific observers"[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/anecdotal Merriam-Webster] or "casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis"[http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0294100.html YourDictionary.com]
  • Anti-intellectualism Anti-intellectualism describes a sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits. This may be expressed in various ways, such as an attack on the merits of science, education, or literature. Anti-intellectuals often perceive themselves as champions of the ordinary people and egalitarianism against elitism, especially academic elitism. These critics argue that heavily educated people form an insular social class that tends to dominate political discourse and higher education (academia).Anti-intellectualism in American Life, by Richard Hofstadter: {{ISBN|0-394-70317-0}}Anti-Intellectualism in American Media, by Dane S. Claussen: New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8204-5721-3}}Evening Chats in Beijing: Probing China's Predicament, by Perry Link: New York,London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991. {{ISBN|0393310655}}Hinton, William. Hundred Day War: The Cultural Revolution at Tsinghua University. New York: New York UP, 1972. {{ISBN|0-85345-281-4}}.[http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/moynihan/appa7.html Moynihan Commission Report, Appendix A, 7. The Cold War, footnote 103] quoted from Robert Warshow, The Legacy of the 30’s: Middle-Class Mass Culture and the Intellectuals’ Problem, Commentary Magazine (December 1947): 538.[http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Action.html "Action Will be Taken" Left Anti-Intelectualism and its Discontents] by Liza Featherstone, Doug Henwood, and Christian Parenti (Left Business Observer)
  • Antiscience Antiscience is a position critical of science and the scientific method. It has been considered the "self-defeating...essentially anti-intellectual, rhetoric of many activists."[http://annals.org/cgi/content/full/127/3/250 Robert A. Aronowitz "Pure or Impure Science?" Ann. Int. Med. 1997 127(3), 250-254]
  • Charlatan A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money or advantage by false pretenses. If the ascription is false, then "charlatan" is derogative; if it is true, then the description "charlatan" is not defamation.[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?charlatan Definition of charlatan]
  • Confirmation bias In psychology and cognitive science, confirmation bias (or confirmatory bias) is a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors. Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias and represents an error of inductive inference toward confirmation of the hypothesis under study.Wason, P.C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 129-140.Wason, P.C. (1966). Reasoning. In B. M. Foss (Ed.), New horizons in psychology I, 135-151. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.Wason, P.C. (1968). Reasoning about a rule. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20, 273-281.Mynatt, C.R., Doherty, M.E., & Tweney, R.D. (1977). Confirmation bias in a simulated research environment: an experimental study of scientific inference. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 85-95.Griggs, R.A. & Cox, J.R. (1982). The elusive thematic materials effect in the Wason selection task. British Journal of Psychology, 73, 407-420.Nickerson, R.S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2, 175-220.Fugelsang, J., Stein, C., Green, A., & Dunbar, K. (2004). Theory and data interactions of the scientific mind: Evidence from the molecular and the cognitive laboratory. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 132-141.[http://skepdic.com/confirmbias.html Skeptic's Dictionary: confirmation bias][http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/method/confirmation_bias.html Teaching about confirmation bias]
  • Consciousness causes collapse Consciousness causes collapse is the theory that observation by a conscious observer is responsible for the wavefunction collapse in quantum mechanics. It is an attempt to solve the Wigner's friend paradox by simply stating that collapse occurs at the first "conscious" observer. Supporters claim this is not a revival of substance dualism, since (in a ramification of this view) consciousness and objects are entangled and cannot be considered as separate. Nevertheless, the doctrine that the world is made up of objects whose existence is independent of human consciousness turns out to be in conflict with Quantum Mechanics and with facts established by experiment."Bernard d'Espagnat, Scientific American, Nov. 1979. The Quantum Theory and Reality 158-181
  • Controversial science The phrase controversial science describes ideas and theories at odds with mainstream science. These ideas have often been advanced by individuals either from outside the field of science, or by scientists outside the mainstream of their own disciplines.Controversial Science: From Content to Contention by Thomas Brante et al.Communicating uncertainty: Media coverage of new and controversial science by Sharon Dunwoody et al.
  • Crank (person) "Crank" is a pejorative term for a person who holds some belief which the vast majority of his contemporaries would consider false, clings to this belief in the face of all counterarguments or evidence presented to him. The term implies that a "cranky" belief is so wildly at variance with some commonly accepted truth as to be ludicrous, arguing with the crank is useless, because he will invariably dismiss all evidence or arguments which contradict his cranky belief. Common synonyms for "crank" include kook and crackpot.{{cite book | author=Dudley, Underwood | title=A Budget of Trisections | location=New York | publisher= Springer-Verlag | year=1987 | isbn=0-387-96568-8 }}{{cite book | author=Dudley, Underwood | title=Mathematical Cranks | location=Washington, D.C. | publisher= Mathematical Association of America | year=1992 | isbn=0-88385-507-0 }}{{cite book | author=Dudley, Underwood | title=The Trisectors | location=Washington, D.C. | publisher= Mathematical Association of America | year = 1996 | isbn=0-88385-514-3 }}{{cite book | author=Dudley, Underwood | title=Numerology: Or, What Pythagoras Wrought | location=Washington, D.C. | publisher= Mathematical Association of America | year = 1997 | isbn=0-88385-524-0 }}{{cite book | author=Eves, Howard | title= Mathematical Circles Squared; A Third Collection of Mathematical Stories and Anecdotes | location=Boston | publisher= Prindle, Weber & Schmidt | year=1972 | isbn= 0-87150-154-6 }}{{cite book | author=Gardner, Martin | title= Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science | location=New York | publisher= Dover | year=1957 | isbn= 0-486-20394-8 | lccn= 57003844 }}{{cite journal |author1=Kruger, Justin |author2=David Dunning |name-list-style=amp | title=Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments | journal=J. Pers. And Soc. Psych. | year=1989 | volume=71 | pages=1121–1134 | url=http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf}} A classic paper on a common phenomenon in social psychiatry which in extreme cases is strongly associated with crackpottery.William F. Williams, editor (2000) Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy Facts on File {{ISBN|0-8160-3351-X}}
  • Folk scienceFolk Science http://agham.asti.dost.gov.ph/1998/8th/extras/sophia/article.htm ArticleScientific American: Folk Science http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=000A760C-14A5-14C1-94A583414B7F0181 ArticleBrainConnection.com - Education and Neuroscience: Bridging the Gap - Page 2 http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/education-neuroscience2 Article
  • Fraud In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and is also a civil law violation. Many hoaxes are fraudulent, although those not made for personal gain are not technically frauds. Defrauding people of money is presumably the most common type of fraud, but there have also been many fraudulent "discoveries" in art, archaeology, and science.Podgor, Ellen S. Criminal Fraud, (1999) Vol, 48, No. 4 American Law Review 1 [http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/48/48-4.cfm Review Fraud - Alex Copola]
  • Fringe science Fringe science is a phrase used to describe scientific inquiry in an established field that departs significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories.CSI On-line: Scientifically Investigating Paranormal and Fringe Science Claims [http://www.csicop.org/ fringe science investigators]
  • Intellectual dishonesty Intellectual dishonesty is the advocacy of a position known to be false. Rhetoric is used to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence. If a person is aware of the evidence and the conclusion it portends, yet holds a contradictory view, it is intellectual dishonesty. If the person is unaware of the evidence, their position is ignorance, even if in agreement with the scientific conclusion.Intellectual Dishonesty Meanings [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?IntellectualDishonesty Definition]
  • Junk scienceCenter for Informed Decision Making, Sound Science versus Junk Science [http://cygnus-group.com/CIDM/science.html Article][http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/junk%20science Dictionary: Junk Science][http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/563mgsyh.asp A Textbook Case of Junk Science]
  • Logical fallacy[http://www.virtuescience.com/logicalfallacies.html Logical Fallacies-a semi ordered list with definitions][http://esgs.free.fr/uk/logic.htm Fallacies - ESGS. Europeean Society for General Semantics][http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ Logical Fallacies .Info][http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate][http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/logic.html Logic & Fallacies: Constructing a Logical Argument]
  • Pejorative[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pejorative Wiktionary - pejorative][http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pejorative Definition][http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=58502&dict=CALD Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Cambridge University Press - Definition]
  • Pathological science Pathological science is a neologism that describes the process in science in which people are tricked into false results by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions. It found resonance among skeptical scientists, who enjoy debunking recurrent pseudoscientific views and claims.Irving Langmuir, "Colloquium on Pathological Science", held at The Knolls Research Laboratory, December 18, 1953. Kenneth Steiglitz, Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University. [http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~ken/Langmuir/langmuir.htm Transcript] See also: I. Langmuir, "Pathological Science", General Electric, (Distribution Unit, Bldg. 5, Room 345, Research and Development Center, P. O. Box 8, Schenectady, NY 12301), 68-C-035 (1968); I. Langmuir, "[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1989PhT....42j..36L&db_key=PHY&data_type=HTML&format=&high=42ca922c9c20135 Pathological Science]", (1989) Physics Today, Volume 42, Issue 10, October 1989, pp.36-48
  • Plagiarism Plagiarism is the practice of claiming, or implying, original authorship, or incorporating material from someone else's written or creative work in whole or in part, into ones own, without adequate acknowledgment. The written or creative work which is plagiarized may be a book, article, musical score, film script, or other work. Unlike cases of forgery, in which the authenticity of the writing, document, or some other kind of object, itself is in question, plagiarism is concerned with the issue of false attribution.[http://www.uk-student.net/modules/wfsection/viewarticles.php?category=8 UK Student Portal - Academic Directory: Plagiarism][http://www.ncusd203.org/central/html/where/plagiarism_stoppers.html Plagiarism Stoppers : A Teachers Guide][http://www.turnitin.com/research_site/e_what_is_plagiarism.html What is plagiarism?]
  • Pseudoscience Pseudoscience, or junk science, is any body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that claims to be scientific but does not follow the scientific method."Pseudoscientific - pretending to be scientific, falsely represented as being scientific", from the Oxford American Dictionary, published by the Oxford English Dictionary. Pseudosciences may appear scientific, but they do not adhere to the testability requirement of the scientific methodFor example, Hewitt et al. Conceptual Physical Science Addison Wesley; 3 edition (July 18, 2003) {{ISBN|0-321-05173-4}}, Bennett et al. The Cosmic Perspective 3e Addison Wesley; 3 edition (July 25, 2003) {{ISBN|0-8053-8738-2}} and are often in conflict with current scientific consensus.
  • Pseudoskepticism"Marcello Truzzi, [http://www.anomalist.com/commentaries/pseudo.html On Pseudo-Skepticism]" Zetetic Scholar (1987) No. 12/13, 3-4.
  • Quackery Quackery is a derogatory term that is defined as the "medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings. The dishonesty of a charlatan."[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quackery Definition of Quackery] - Online dictionary A "quack" is "a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill. A person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess; a charlatan."[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quack Definition of quack] - Online dictionary "Health fraud" is often used as a synonym for quackery, but this use can be problematic, since quackery can exist without fraud, a word which always implies deliberate deception.[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quackdef.html Quackery: How Should It Be Defined?] The word "quack" derives from "quacksalver," an archaic word originally of Dutch origin (spelled kwakzalver in contemporary Dutch), meaning "boaster who applies a salve." [http://www.bartleby.com/61/60/Q0006000.html quacksalver]- American Heritage Dictionary The correct meaning of the German word "quacksalber" is "questionable salesperson (literal translation: quack salver)." In the Middle Ages the word quack itself meant "shouting. The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice." [http://accurapid.com/journal/german-glossary.htm German-English Glossary of Idioms]
  • Scientific misconduct[http://star.arm.ac.uk/administration/scientific/node3.html Definition of Scientific Misconduct][http://www.indiana.edu/~poynter/tre4-2a.html Defining Misconduct in Science][http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Assign/topics/ethics/conduct.html Rethinking Unscientific Attitudes About Scientific Misconduct]
  • Self-deception Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and logical argument. When one can believe their own "lie" (i.e., their presentation that is biased toward their own self-interest), the theory goes, they will consequently be better able to persuade others of its "truth." Self-deception enables someone to believe their distortions, and they will not present such signs of deception and will therefore appear to be telling the truth.[http://www.skepdic.com/selfdeception.html Self-deception article][http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/self-deception/ Self-Deception (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]

[http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s6983.html Sample Chapter for Mele, A.R.: Self-Deception Unmasked.]

  • Self-serving bias A self-serving bias occurs when people are more likely to claim responsibility for successes than failures. It may also manifest itself as a tendency for people to evaluate ambiguous information in a way beneficial to their interests. This happens in a way that could be unknown consciously to the person, flattering their own views.Miller, D. T., & Ross, M. (1975). Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction? Psychological Bulletin, 82, 213-225.Babcock, L. & Loewenstein, G., (1997). Explaining Bargaining Impasse: The Role of Self-Serving Biases, Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), 109-26
  • Skepticism In ordinary usage, skepticism or scepticism (UK spelling) refers to an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object, the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain, or the method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism that is characteristic of skeptics (Merriam–Webster). In philosophy, skepticism refers more specifically to any one of several propositions. These include propositions about the limitations of knowledge, a method of obtaining knowledge through systematic doubt and continual testing, the arbitrariness, relativity, or subjectivity of moral values, a method of intellectual caution and suspended judgment, a lack of confidence in positive motives for human conduct or positive outcomes for human enterprises, that is, cynicism and pessimism (Keeton, 1962).[http://pantheon.yale.edu/~kd47/responding.htm Responding to Skepticism], by Keith DeRose. Introduction to [http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/?view=usa&ci=0195118278 Skepticism: A Contemporary Reader] (Oxford University Press, 1999). Describes the main lines of response to philosophical skepticism.[http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/book1.htm Skepticism and the Veil of Perception], book about philosophical skepticism & perceptual knowledge[http://www.randi.org/ James Randi Educational Foundation][http://www.skepticality.com/ Skepticality][http://www.skepticreport.com/general/index.htm Skeptic Report][http://www.csicop.org Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal][http://www.rationalistinternational.net Rationalist International][http://www.skeptic.com/ Skeptics Society]Peter Suber, [http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/skept.htm Classical Skepticism]. An exposition of Pyrrho's skepticism through the writings of Sextus Empiricus.[http://www.csicop.org/articles/19991214-century/ Outstanding skeptics of the 20th century] - Skeptical Inquirer Magazine
  • Straw man[http://humbugonline.blogspot.com/2005/01/examples-of-false-positioning.html Examples of False Positioning] (Humbug! Online)[http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html Nizkor: Straw man]
  • True-believer syndrome True-believer syndrome is a term used by skeptics to describe an irrational, persistent belief in the paranormal or concepts that have been proven by science to be false and unverified.{{cite book | author=W. Sumer Davis | title=Just Smoke and Mirrors: Religion, Fear and Superstition in Our Modern World | year=2003 | pages=11–12| isbn=0-595-26523-5 }}
  • Wishful thinking Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence or rationality.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16156178&dopt=Citation A study demonstrating wishful thinking in memory][http://humbugonline.blogspot.com/2005/01/examples-of-wishful-thinking.html Examples of Wishful Thinking] @ Humbug! Online.

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=Media promoting pseudoscience=

==Film==

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==Television==

==Books==

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==Journals and Magazines==

==Websites==