Talk:List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Why has my edit been reverted? What did I do wrong?

A1: Check the edit history for the article. Hopefully, the editor who reverted you left a useful edit summary explaining why they feel the previous version of the article to be better; occasionally, links to various policies and guidelines are included. The most common reasons for reversion are that the article should not contain editorial bias and every statement should be cited to sources reliable to the topic at hand. If you disagree with the reasoning provided or otherwise wish a fuller discussion, please check the archives of this discussion page for a similar proposal or open a new section below.

Q2: One entry to this list is better described as an emerging or untested area of research, not pseudoscience.

A2: A few topics have several facets, only some of which are described by reliable sources as pseudoscience; multiple notable descriptions or points of view may be appropriately included as described in Wikipedia:Fringe theories. On the other hand, proponents of a particular topic characterized as pseudoscience almost always self-report as engaging in science. The several points of view should be weighted according to the reliability of the sources making each claim. Advocacy sources are reliable only for their own opinions - it is okay to state that Dr. X claims to have built a creature under the usual caveats for self-published sources, but the creature's exploits should be described as reported in independent sources. If the majority of scientists would be surprised by a claim, it is probably not mainstream science.

Q3: Real scientists are investigating this topic, how can it be pseudoscience?

A3: Respected researchers, even Nobel Prize laureates, sometimes have or propound ideas that are described by sources reliable to make the distinction as pseudoscience, especially when they are working outside of their core expertise.

Q4: Why is the description so negative? Why not just describe the views covered and let the reader decide?

A4: The Wikipedia policy Neutral point of view requires that the prominence of various views be reflected in the articles. We strive to summarize the tone and content of all available sources, weighted by their reliability. Reliable in this context means particulary that sources should be generally trusted to report honestly on and make the distinction between science and pseudoscience.

Q5: Why does this article rely on such biased sources?

A5 Scientists generally ignore pseudoscience, and only occasionally bother to rebut ideas before they have received a great deal of attention. Non-promotional descriptions of pseudoscience can only be had from second- and third-party sources. The following sources are almost always reliable sources for descriptions of pseudoscience:

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
Encyclopedia of pseudoscience
An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
Skeptic's Dictionary
Skeptical Inquirer
talk.origins archive
Bad Astronomy
Quackwatch
Sense About Science
Skeptical scientists speaking extemporaneously (whether it be in person, letters, personal websites, blogs, etc.)
Statements from scientific societies

Q6: Isn't pseudoscience a philosophically meaningless term?

A6 The term describes a notable concept in common use.

Q7: Why is a particular topic omitted?

A7 Some ideas are not notable enough to be included in an encyclopedia article; other topics have been explicitly rejected by the consensus of editors here at the talkpage. Please search the archives for relevant discussions before beginning a new one. Still, this list is far from complete, so feel free to suggest a topic or be bold and add it yourself.

Q8: What relation does content here have to the four groupings (below) from the Arbitration Committee Decisions on Pseudoscience?

A8 Many fail to understand the nature of this list. It is not exclusively about "Obvious pseudoscience", but, as the list's title indicates, about "topics characterized as pseudoscience" (emphasis added). That wording parallels the Arbcom description from group three: "but which some critics allege to be pseudoscience" (emphasis added). Therefore we include items covered in the first three groups below, but not the fourth. In this list, we refuse to decide whether an item is or is not an "obvious" pseudoscience (although most of them are

).

Four groups

1. Obvious pseudoscience: Theories which, while purporting to be scientific, are obviously bogus may be so labeled and categorized as such without more justification.
2. Generally considered pseudoscience: Theories which have a following, such as astrology, but which are generally considered pseudoscience by the scientific community, may properly contain that information and may be categorized as pseudoscience.
3. Questionable science: Theories which have a substantial following, such as psychoanalysis, but which some critics allege to be pseudoscience, may contain information to that effect, but generally should not be so characterized.
4. Alternative theoretical formulations: Alternative theoretical formulations which have a following within the scientific community are not pseudoscience, but part of the scientific process.

This article was nominated for deletion. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination:

Keep, April 14 2009, see discussion.
Speedy keep, February 1 2007, see discussion.
Speedy keep, January 31 2007, see discussion.

Science Mid‑importance

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Paranormal High‑importance

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Alternative medicine

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Arbitration Ruling on the Treatment of Pseudoscience

In December of 2006 the Arbitration Committee ruled on guidelines for the presentation of topics as pseudoscience in Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience. The final decision was as follows:

Neutral point of view as applied to science: Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, a fundamental policy, requires fair representation of significant alternatives to scientific orthodoxy. Significant alternatives, in this case, refers to legitimate scientific disagreement, as opposed to pseudoscience.
Serious encyclopedias: Serious and respected encyclopedias and reference works are generally expected to provide overviews of scientific topics that are in line with respected scientific thought. Wikipedia aspires to be such a respected work.
Obvious pseudoscience: Theories which, while purporting to be scientific, are obviously bogus, such as Time Cube, may be so labeled and categorized as such without more justification.
Generally considered pseudoscience: Theories which have a following, such as astrology, but which are generally considered pseudoscience by the scientific community may properly contain that information and may be categorized as pseudoscience.
Questionable science: Theories which have a substantial following, such as psychoanalysis, but which some critics allege to be pseudoscience, may contain information to that effect, but generally should not be so characterized.
Alternative theoretical formulations: Alternative theoretical formulations which have a following within the scientific community are not pseudoscience, but part of the scientific process.

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Deleted Section on EMDR as pseudoscience.[edit]

I deleted the section on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. The section was written with very old sources. EMDR now has good empirical support and an impressive research base from the APA and Cleveland Clinic and is a notable treatment for PTSD.

https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/eye-movement-reprocessing

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy#:~:text=Eye%20movement%20desensitization%20and%20reprocessing%20(EMDR)%20therapy%20is%20a%20mental,or%20other%20distressing%20life%20experiences. Malfesto (talk) 19:40, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Reverted this since its better to bring this up in talk first. This entry literally has a section called "Pseudoscience", so it meets the criteria for this list. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 19:49, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Falsifiability in lead[edit]

We need a statement about this in the lead. Let's try to formulate something. Here are a few thoughts to work with (and correct if necessary):

If a claim is not falsifiable, it is not a pseudoscientific claim. All scientific claims are falsifiable, and if a belief makes no falsifiable claims, in other words no claim to be scientific, it is not pseudoscientific, but may be classed as a religious belief. The moment a religion makes falsifiable claims, those claims are subject to examination and, if they are falsified, they are then classed as pseudoscientific claims, and many pseudoscientific claims have been falsified.

Valjean (talk) (PING me) 16:23, 17 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The lead word "pseudoscience" takes the reader to the definition. Do we need to duplicate part of another article here? Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 20:42, 17 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

You have a point. This isn't the main article. I just thought a mention would be appropriate here, but maybe not. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 16:12, 18 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

History[edit]

The impact of pseudoscientific ideas 41.115.108.76 (talk) 16:27, 4 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that's a legitimate topic. Have you checked the History of pseudoscience article? That's where we cover that topic. This is just a list article. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 17:12, 4 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Popper's views on historical materialism[edit]

I wonder if the mention of Popper's views having been criticized is unwarranted. Almost all of these things being classified as pseudoscience are criticized by their proponents, and it'd be one thing if scientific publications were publishing these complaints, but it's entirely philosophy outlets or an "in-universe" so to speak communist journal. I'm going to remove them because as detailed in WP:FRINGE those aren't really the sources Wikipedia should be using on if something is considered pseudoscientific or not. XeCyranium (talk) 03:37, 30 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]