Science vs. Pseudoscience

Science What science does: The scientific approach Discovers and documents natural phenomena Constructs and evaluates explanations of the phenomena (theories) The scientific approach Objective- (not affected by personal bias and must be well-defined and specific) Testable- (must be falsifiable ,thus, the ability to be proven wrong) Public- (articles, journals, etc.)

Pseudoscience The word “pseudo” means false. Pseudoscience directly translated means “false science” Study or claim that is not backed with any hard data or facts. Also called: Fringe science Junk science Hoax science Bad science

Characteristics of Pseudoscience Fail to conduct objective tests of a theory Suppresses or distorts unfavorable data (looks for only supportive information) Many ideas are not open to scientific evaluation (cannot be tested) Lack of evidence is taken to support that a claim could be true Based on dogma and uncritical belief May be hostile in face of disagreement Field is resistant to change

Examples of Pseudoscience Astrology Crop circles 2012 Apocalypse Astral Travel ESP Creationism Alien encounters Hypnosis And many, many more!