Steorn
| Style over substance |
| Popular pseudosciences |
| Random examples |
Steorn are an Irish private limited company who in 2006 announced to great fanfare with a very expensive full page advert in the Economist newspaper that they had developed an over unity device capable of generating unlimited free energy. Some vague details were released about the device they were later to dub "Orbo" which, like many such crank devices before it, was alleged to work using a system of magnets and rotors. The advertisement claimed that they were seeking a panel of experts to evaluate their claims.
A flurry of media speculation followed. Many noted that the Steorn company had previously been a design consultancy and that this may have been a highly successful exercise in guerrilla marketing for something entirely other and different. However, as time wore on and Steorn broke promises about releasing information and cancelled demos, speculation grew that the company was attempting to run some kind of investment scam.
However, in June 2009, the panel of experts that Steorn were alleged to have recruited turned out to actually exist. They delivered their verdict, that the Steorn "Orbo" technology did not in fact produce energy and the claims of the company were unjustified. The conclusion that must be drawn from this is that Steorn themselves must honestly believe their own claims, and that this an impressive example of self-delusion. Steorn issued a press release in the wake of the evaluation panel's report, essentially stating that "well, it works now!" Keep reaching for that rainbow, guys.