Science woo

From RationalWiki
(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{pseudosciencenav}}
 
{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''Science woo''' is woo that confuses science with magic, often in the heads of the people espousing it. The science is often accurate and current, but the "woo" comes from poor understanding of the scientific background, the [[scientific method]] or the [[burden of proof]].
+
'''Science woo''' is woo that confuses science with magic, often in the heads of the people espousing it. The science is often accurate and current, but the "woo" comes from poor understanding of the scientific background, the [[scientific method]] or the [[burden of proof]] - thus people are blinded by the science and may be mislead as to what it actually means.
  
In some cases, like "chaos theory", "vacuum energy", "zero point energy" and "quantum computing", only the ''name'' of the scientific principle or discovery has actually made it into the popular culture and minor details like ''what they actually mean'' are left up to the imagination.<ref>Pretty much all the major sci-fi TV shows are guilty as sin of this. If you want your TV scientifically accurate, you're best off with the [[big bang]] theory.</ref> [[New Age]] is particularly enamoured of [[quantum woo]], where the behavior of subatomic particles, which is difficult for humans to understand, is claimed to work macroscopically.
+
In some cases, like "chaos theory", "vacuum energy", "zero point energy" and "quantum computing", only the ''name'' of the scientific principle or discovery has actually made it into the popular culture and minor details like ''what they actually mean'' are left up to the imagination.<ref>Pretty much all the major sci-fi TV shows are guilty as sin of this. If you want your TV scientifically accurate, you're best off with ''The [[big bang|Big Bang]] Theory''.</ref> [[New Age]] is particularly enamoured of [[quantum woo]], where the unique behavior of subatomic particles, which is difficult for humans to understand, is claimed to work in the macroscopic world, which is contrary to knowledge about quantum mechanics.
  
The popular press may be partially to blame for this, by simplifying science reporting so far that they leave the science out. [[Popular science]] media also bears some of the blame, by playing to public tastes for sensationalism over skepticism and drama over fact; hence, articles on speculative topics such as [[doomsday scenario|how the universe will end]], may be based on accurate science but have an actual likelihood of occurring of close to nil.<ref>See the [http://www.livescience.com/technology/destroy_earth_mp.html Top 10 Ways To Destroy The Earth]. Implausible; maybe. Fun; definitely. Which sort of proves the point, really.</ref>
+
The popular press may be partially to blame for this, by simplifying science reporting so far that they almost completely leave out any real science; one particularly striking example being a picture of an X chromosome and a pair of scissors to "cut one leg off" to convert it to a Y chromosome. [[Popular science]] media, especially the ''bad'' kind, also bears some of the blame by playing to public tastes for sensationalism over skepticism and drama over fact. Aticles on speculative topics such as [[doomsday scenario|how the universe will end]], may be based on accurate science but have an actual likelihood of occurring of close to nil.<ref>See the [http://www.livescience.com/technology/destroy_earth_mp.html Top 10 Ways To Destroy The Earth]. Implausible; maybe. Fun; definitely. Which sort of proves the point, really.</ref>
  
 
==Examples==
 
==Examples==

Revision as of 22:42, 21 August 2010

Style over substance

Pseudoscience

Icon pseudoscience.svg
Popular pseudosciences
Random examples

Science woo is woo that confuses science with magic, often in the heads of the people espousing it. The science is often accurate and current, but the "woo" comes from poor understanding of the scientific background, the scientific method or the burden of proof - thus people are blinded by the science and may be mislead as to what it actually means.

In some cases, like "chaos theory", "vacuum energy", "zero point energy" and "quantum computing", only the name of the scientific principle or discovery has actually made it into the popular culture and minor details like what they actually mean are left up to the imagination.[1] New Age is particularly enamoured of quantum woo, where the unique behavior of subatomic particles, which is difficult for humans to understand, is claimed to work in the macroscopic world, which is contrary to knowledge about quantum mechanics.

The popular press may be partially to blame for this, by simplifying science reporting so far that they almost completely leave out any real science; one particularly striking example being a picture of an X chromosome and a pair of scissors to "cut one leg off" to convert it to a Y chromosome. Popular science media, especially the bad kind, also bears some of the blame by playing to public tastes for sensationalism over skepticism and drama over fact. Aticles on speculative topics such as how the universe will end, may be based on accurate science but have an actual likelihood of occurring of close to nil.[2]

Contents

Examples

Prominent examples of science woo tend to cluster around very abstract hypotheses in physics that have strange predictions (whether "valid" and useful yet or not). These include the venerable quantum theories[3], chaos theory, string (and superstring) theory, fractals, the work of Nikola Tesla, and anything interesting one ever reads about black holes. Two common features of most of these occurrences of science woo are one, lack of genuine familiarity with the field in question, and two, an utter lack of familiarity with the mathematics required to understand them. Biological examples tend to leap far beyond minor test results to almost magical "cures" for cancer, obesity, and stupidity.

Terraforming

For an example of science woo, take someone who may have read an article in Omni magazine (or an Arthur C. Clarke novel) about terraforming Mars, or at least creating sustainable human colonies there. While every speculation about how this would work may be grounded in valid scientific principles, the reader may make the leap to thinking the only real obstacle is getting enough ships to Mars to get it started. Then (and this is where the woo kicks in), when presented with an issue about environmental damage here on Earth, their reply might simply be "Well, then, we'll terraform Mars!" The very complex concept of terraforming Mars may indeed have some validity - but if we can't keep Earth "terraformed" first, how could we possibly succeed on Mars?

Anti-gravity

Anti-gravity prototypes vibrating on scales give a false weight-change reading. Gyroscopes are another anti-gravity favorite but they don't get lighter. They would only work to squeeze energy out of the rotating Earth. A gyro points in one direction while the planet turns under it. It would be a great power source but the gearing ratio would be 4,320,000 to one.

Perpetual motion

Skeptics often ask, "If your perpetual motion machine is so good why isn't it widely available?" And the reply is invariably, "The oil/coal/nuclear industry/government is conspiring to suppress my invention." But utility companies are required by law, in the U.S. & E.U., to buy back excess juice. So if their machine works, all they have to do is phase match their machine to the AC line with an inverter, sit back, and collect their payments. Also, the US government has such a strong interest in reducing the use of fossil fuels that it would jump at this, even as it violates the laws of thermodynamics, despite John Hutchison's claims to the contrary.

Space woo

Wow, a face on Mars
Never mind!

"Space woo" is the kind of woo peddled by Richard Hoagland on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell/George Noory. Since all woo depends on the inaccessibility of counterevidence to third parties, nothing is more ripe than space woo. The images of Mars returned from the Viking orbiter in the 1970s, with its primitive camera providing resolution only down to 150-300 meters per pixel provided an instance of pareidolia when a mountain was imaged that resembled a human face. Hoagland asserted that it was a monument, something like Mt Rushmore on Mars. When the Mars Observer probe was sent much later, with resolution down to two meters per pixel, they took a picture of the "face" and Hoagland got really quiet.

Cryonics, transhumanism, the singularity

We can't freeze humans and bring them back. But more than that, we have no current prospects of doing so, despite what science fiction may suggest to you. Cryonics advocates confuse science-fictional speculation with anything we have any idea how to do. They are entirely sincere in this. Cryonics demonstrates how people much smarter than you can also be very stupid.

Others

This phenomenon extends beyond the intentional woo, to a person who buys and consumes many various dietary supplements, herbs, and vitamins, and even normal food items, and "knows" for what each are supposed to be curative or preventative. Each of these factoids may rest on nothing more than reading of a preliminary study in the Science section of their local newspaper or television news show. Often these stories lead with a dramatic claim, to make a headline, and then barely make it clear that the test groups were very specifically chosen and that the results were barely statistically significant. The woo-ee simply memorizes the magic list of potions and takes them in order to live forever. Such overconsumption of one single item can actually have adverse consequences.

Also, many purveyors of intentional woo like to throw as much woo on the wall to see what sticks. For instance, Danie Krugel likes to mix space woo, quantum woo, and bio woo all together to convince everybody.

Technology dangers woo

A subset, or perhaps flip side of science woo, is the "ack, technology is dangerous woo". Cell phones are killing our honey bees is one example. Other examples include: power lines cause cancer, mercury amalgam fillings cause just about everything, microwave ovens create "toxins" in your food, and aspartame is hazardous to your health[4].

Science as a religion

A special section of science woo has been optimized by the advertising world who turn "science" into a virtual "religion" with scientists acting as something like "priests" to the unsuspecting, under-informed, too-trusting public. Generally, ads using such woo put bespectacled men or women in crisp white lab coats in front of a myriad of glass flasks, bottles, and beakers filled with liquids of pretty colors, who then look directly into the camera with that look of authority and toss out Woo Words(TM) like "laboratory analysis", "scientifically proven", "research has shown", and "experts agree". Then then move on to sell anything from the latest diet aid, to the best carpet cleaner in the world. The woo-ed sit back and, unable to decipher "carbon tetra anything" from "oxidization reactions" accept the woo and buy buy buy buy buy.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Pretty much all the major sci-fi TV shows are guilty as sin of this. If you want your TV scientifically accurate, you're best off with The Big Bang Theory.
  2. See the Top 10 Ways To Destroy The Earth. Implausible; maybe. Fun; definitely. Which sort of proves the point, really.
  3. With even neopagans getting into the act
  4. Well, all the other artificial sweeteners were, so why not the blue packets, too?
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Tools
support