101 Ways to Determine if Something is Bogus Science

mythusmage · 11th March 2003, 01:03 AM

1. It involves a secret ingredient that will only be revealed to serious investors.

2.It's a lost secret of the ancients passed down by hidden masters and available only to a select few.

3. He has to ask questions to get any information. ("You're the psychic, you tell me what the cat is thinking.")

4. The "costume" is behaving unlike any costume you've ever seen before.

5. He has a new definition of 'fly by wire'.

6. He keeps mistaking toes for bear claws.

7. Miracles are valid research tools.

8. It only works when nobody is watching.

9. Only those with the proper credentials can have anything of value to add to the field.

Only 92 more to go.

BillyJoe · 11th March 2003, 01:52 AM

You're a sick man myth

BillyJoe · 11th March 2003, 01:59 AM

.....but I'll play anyway.

10. It involves undetectable forces.

11. It only works if you believe in it.

12. It only sounds right if you don't have a clue.

okay, someone else can have 13. I'm not touching it.

11th March 2003, 04:30 AM

13. It presumes that anything ancient is better than anything modern, or that anything natural is better than anything synthetic.

14. They say that "more research is needed" to asses its effectiveness...but they've been saying that for 20 years, and all the research they've done in that time has been negative.

I'm assuming we're not to quote the 7 from that article that that judge wrote? If so, I'll add those later.

Filippo Lippi · 11th March 2003, 04:51 AM

15. Non-believers in the vicinity can affect results

Denise · 11th March 2003, 04:54 AM

16. They use the argument that people once thought the world was flat, so to not be as ignorant as ancient people you should believe their claim.

MRC_Hans · 11th March 2003, 05:49 AM

17. It is a new invention that will revolutionize the World, yet it can be your's for 5000 $.

18. The inventor has already sold it to unnamed governments all over the world, yet he still drives a Nissan.

Hans

garys_2k · 11th March 2003, 05:50 AM

19. It relies on vacuum energy for non-QM scale effects.

glee · 11th March 2003, 06:00 AM

20. It was believed by an expert in another field.

21. There is anecdotal evidence available to read.

22. A patent has been applied for.

pgwenthold · 11th March 2003, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by glee
20. It was believed by an expert in another field.

21. There is anecdotal evidence available to read.

22. A patent has been applied for.

23. The discoverer compares him/herself with Galileo

Ladewig · 11th March 2003, 07:07 AM

24. Einstein was working on this theory all his life (but never wrote any of it down).

25. The conventional science bureaucracy is conspiring to suppress this theory.

jasonmccoy · 11th March 2003, 07:14 AM

26. The phenomenon only occurs when you are "naked" and "alone"

27. Researchers for the Catholic Church suspect Kool-Aid may be involved.

28. George W. Bush is called on as an expert witness.

Filippo Lippi · 11th March 2003, 07:15 AM

26. Low-rent celebrities were sceptical, but are now utterly convinced

No! You can't look at their bank statements!

MRC_Hans · 11th March 2003, 07:15 AM

Ahh yes, and (colloquial to #25):

30: Big oil/automotive/aicraft/armament/mining/whatever companies are trying to suppress this invention.

Hans

Edited to add: Hey you guys are posting to fast! I have to keep changing the number, heheh.

Agammamon · 11th March 2003, 07:26 AM

27: Aliens were involved in any way.

boooeee · 11th March 2003, 08:26 AM

31. Liberal use of the word "quantum".

I like Fillipo's the best (the second 26.)

boooeee · 11th March 2003, 08:34 AM

32. Announces creation of ground breaking, world changing, free energy device not through the process of peer review, but through an Amway-style seminar at $200 a head, where attendees are encouraged to buy "memberships".

Keneke · 11th March 2003, 08:59 AM

33. At any point, the person says, "I am not crazy. I believe in this."

11th March 2003, 10:39 AM

35) No new equations are presented, just old ones are cited and said to be wrong

scotth · 11th March 2003, 10:48 AM

36) They have to point out that it is NOT a perpetual motion machine. (Usually right after the description meets the definition perfectly)
37) The word "free" is anywhere in the statement.

DrMatt · 11th March 2003, 10:58 AM

37) Halfway through the presentation, 3 shills offer their life savings for it.

38) It is pushed under one of the headings "complementary", "alternative", "holistic", "ayurvedic", or any combination thereof.

39) As soon as you ask the presenter a question which indicates that you haven't fully bought into the presentation, the presenter assaults your character rather than answering the question or demonstrating the alleged phenomena.

40) The primary proof of the effect is that it appears in a work of fantasy fiction.

41) After the allegation has been soundly disproved by protocols which were agreed upon in advance, the claimaint cries foul and threatens to sue. Bonus point if the crier/threatener is the claimant's mother.

Solitaire · 11th March 2003, 11:17 AM

A Case Study

Sanamas · 11th March 2003, 12:08 PM

42) Tesla is frequently mentioned in their spiel.

Blue Monk · 11th March 2003, 12:31 PM

43) All relevant documentation has been notarized.

11th March 2003, 12:50 PM

44. It has NOT appeared in the Fox News website's "Junk Science" section.

11th March 2003, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rwald
13. It presumes that anything ancient is better than anything modern, or that anything natural is better than anything synthetic.

I always preferred LSD over mushrooms, myself...much more cost-effective!

45. The "astonishing new breakthrough" is announced in "The Weekly World News" and NOT "Scientific American".

11th March 2003, 02:45 PM

46. They claim a 100% or very close to 100% success rate for response/correctness/cure and claim 'it' works for everybody, in every case, all the time.

11th March 2003, 04:35 PM

Stolen from someone who knew what they were talking about...

47. They keep mentioning quantum mechanics, but don't describe the mathematics behind their theory.

Denise · 11th March 2003, 05:00 PM

48. They have their own room on Paltalk, and bounce skeptics left and right. Ouch!

11th March 2003, 06:05 PM

49. "as anyone knows....."

50. They fail to worship Denise

51. They think putting more chemicals into your bodt is always a good idea.

52. They assume because it is done in a laboratory, by people in lab coats, it is science.

Thumbo · 11th March 2003, 08:28 PM

53. The theory is described in a single paragraph. With 50,000 words in it.

11th March 2003, 08:40 PM

54. If their webpage makes you hearken back to the cogency of the Time Cube.

BillyJoe · 12th March 2003, 01:15 AM

55. It must be right because myth says so.

(He has a major depressive disorder but this counts as a plus because it means he has all day to sit around and think about solutions to puzzles thereby justifying social security benefits generously donated through tax payments by the rest of us who can count ourselves lucky enough to be able to work for a living.)

regards,
BillyJoe

Ladewig · 12th March 2003, 06:03 AM

56. The practioner is caught cheating on film and the "scientists" examining the practioner say, "sure, he cheated in this particular case, but that doesn't mean all the other demonstrations were faked." The practioner says, "I cheated here because I felt so much pressure to perform, but all the other cases were genuine."

12th March 2003, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by John Lockard
A Case Study

EXCELLENT link, which inspired this more general observation:

57. The explanation involves societal and/or emotional obstacles, rather than technical obstacles.

Of course, we know that all truly useful ideas are stolen, not suppressed, by large corporations.

DrMatt · 12th March 2003, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckieR
57. The explanation involves societal and/or emotional obstacles, rather than technical obstacles.

corollary:

58????) You have to adopt a new paradigm.

People laughed at Galileo. People laughed at Bozo the Clown.

Denise · 12th March 2003, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DrMatt

corollary:

58????) You have to adopt a new paradigm.

People laughed at Galileo. People laughed at Bozo the Clown.

Your avatar reminds me of the negative of the shroud of Turin.

12th March 2003, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DrMatt
People laughed at Galileo. People laughed at Bozo the Clown.

Yah, but Bozo knew what the hell he was doing

Here are 7 more from none other than Bob Park:

Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science

Keneke · 12th March 2003, 08:20 AM

59. Their entire webpage is center-justified.

(This may be considered a corollary of the "cogency of Time Cube" entry.)

12th March 2003, 08:32 AM

60) The foundation of the theory starts by accepting another scientifically bogus theory as fact. A layering, or compounding, effect. My chief pet peeve.

61) Whether it is a free energy device, or a new medical breakthrough, or whatever, it is somehow connected to spiritual consciousness and the brotherhood of all mankind.

62) Any discussions of what the future holds are always gloomy, dire, and/or Armageddon-ish.

(edited to correct numbering since Keneke snuck one in there while I was typing mine.)

11th March 2003, 01:03 AM	#1
mythusmage Scholar Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 60	101 Ways to Determine if Something is Bogus Science 1. It involves a secret ingredient that will only be revealed to serious investors. 2.It's a lost secret of the ancients passed down by hidden masters and available only to a select few. 3. He has to ask questions to get any information. ("You're the psychic, you tell me what the cat is thinking.") 4. The "costume" is behaving unlike any costume you've ever seen before. 5. He has a new definition of 'fly by wire'. 6. He keeps mistaking toes for bear claws. 7. Miracles are valid research tools. 8. It only works when nobody is watching. 9. Only those with the proper credentials can have anything of value to add to the field. Only 92 more to go.
mythusmage Scholar Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 60	__________________ Alan The fact a zoologist says an animal doesn't exist is no proof that it does. The fact a cryptozoologist says an animal exists is no proof that it doesn't. Mythusmage Opines

11th March 2003, 01:59 AM	#3
BillyJoe Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: MOOROOLBARK Posts: 12,539	.....but I'll play anyway. 10. It involves undetectable forces. 11. It only works if you believe in it. 12. It only sounds right if you don't have a clue. okay, someone else can have 13. I'm not touching it.
	__________________ A secular society is one in which no one loses any liberty as a consequence of someone else's religious beliefs. NB Allowing yourself to get led around the nose by a person like Craig is a losing strategy. SH Morality is a social coating around a Darwinian core. JC My joke about freewill: There is no basis for it.

11th March 2003, 04:30 AM	#4
rwald Guest Posts: n/a	13. It presumes that anything ancient is better than anything modern, or that anything natural is better than anything synthetic. 14. They say that "more research is needed" to asses its effectiveness...but they've been saying that for 20 years, and all the research they've done in that time has been negative. I'm assuming we're not to quote the 7 from that article that that judge wrote? If so, I'll add those later.
rwald Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 04:51 AM	#5
Filippo Lippi Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Nottingham Posts: 1,575	15. Non-believers in the vicinity can affect results
	__________________ "There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot." - Richard Dawkins

11th March 2003, 04:54 AM	#6
Denise Succubus Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,869	16. They use the argument that people once thought the world was flat, so to not be as ignorant as ancient people you should believe their claim.
Denise Succubus Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,869	__________________ Sundog- Do the words Biosphere 2 convey anything to anyone?

11th March 2003, 01:52 AM	#2
BillyJoe Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: MOOROOLBARK Posts: 12,539	You're a sick man myth
	__________________ A secular society is one in which no one loses any liberty as a consequence of someone else's religious beliefs. NB Allowing yourself to get led around the nose by a person like Craig is a losing strategy. SH Morality is a social coating around a Darwinian core. JC My joke about freewill: There is no basis for it.

11th March 2003, 05:49 AM	#7
MRC_Hans Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whithin earshot of the North Sea Posts: 16,600	17. It is a new invention that will revolutionize the World, yet it can be your's for 5000 $. 18. The inventor has already sold it to unnamed governments all over the world, yet he still drives a Nissan. Hans
	__________________ Don't. Just don't.

11th March 2003, 05:50 AM	#8
garys_2k Muse Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 756	19. It relies on vacuum energy for non-QM scale effects.
garys_2k Muse Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 756	__________________ - Gary

11th March 2003, 06:00 AM	#9
glee Chess Guru Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 574	20. It was believed by an expert in another field. 21. There is anecdotal evidence available to read. 22. A patent has been applied for.
glee Chess Guru Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 574

11th March 2003, 06:27 AM	#10
pgwenthold Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 12,066	Quote: Originally posted by glee 20. It was believed by an expert in another field. 21. There is anecdotal evidence available to read. 22. A patent has been applied for. 23. The discoverer compares him/herself with Galileo
	__________________ "Baseball is a philosophy. The primordial ooze that once ruled our world has been captured in perpetual motion. Baseball is the moment. Its ever changing patterns are hypnotizing yet invigorating. Baseball is an art form. Classic and at the same time...progressive. Baseball is pre-historic and post-modern. Baseball is here to stay." (Stolen from the side of a lava lamp box, and modified slightly)

11th March 2003, 07:07 AM	#11
Ladewig Hipster alien Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: not measurable Posts: 16,786	24. Einstein was working on this theory all his life (but never wrote any of it down). 25. The conventional science bureaucracy is conspiring to suppress this theory.

11th March 2003, 07:14 AM	#12
jasonmccoy Scholar Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 81	26. The phenomenon only occurs when you are "naked" and "alone" 27. Researchers for the Catholic Church suspect Kool-Aid may be involved. 28. George W. Bush is called on as an expert witness.
jasonmccoy Scholar Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 81	__________________ You'll bite off more than you can chew, if you get too cute and witty...you'd better close your face and stay out of my way if you don't want to go to Fist City. - bigfig, 7/27

11th March 2003, 07:15 AM	#13
Filippo Lippi Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Nottingham Posts: 1,575	26. Low-rent celebrities were sceptical, but are now utterly convinced No! You can't look at their bank statements!
	__________________ "There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot." - Richard Dawkins

11th March 2003, 07:26 AM	#15
Agammamon Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,385	27: Aliens were involved in any way.
	__________________ It will be a great day when the US Air Force has all the bombs it needs and the NEA has to hold a bake sale in order to pay its lobbyists.

11th March 2003, 08:26 AM	#16
boooeee Dart Fener Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: The Lando System Posts: 2,394	31. Liberal use of the word "quantum". I like Fillipo's the best (the second 26.)
	__________________ my nerdy sports blog: betting market analytics

11th March 2003, 08:34 AM	#17
boooeee Dart Fener Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: The Lando System Posts: 2,394	32. Announces creation of ground breaking, world changing, free energy device not through the process of peer review, but through an Amway-style seminar at $200 a head, where attendees are encouraged to buy "memberships".
	__________________ my nerdy sports blog: betting market analytics

11th March 2003, 08:59 AM	#18
Keneke Muse Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 980	33. At any point, the person says, "I am not crazy. I believe in this."
Keneke Muse Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 980

11th March 2003, 10:39 AM	#19
digitoxin Guest Posts: n/a	35) No new equations are presented, just old ones are cited and said to be wrong
digitoxin Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 10:48 AM	#20
scotth Atheist Political Candidate Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: DFW, TX area Posts: 1,801	36) They have to point out that it is NOT a perpetual motion machine. (Usually right after the description meets the definition perfectly) 37) The word "free" is anywhere in the statement.

11th March 2003, 10:58 AM	#21
DrMatt Graduate Poster Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 1,422	37) Halfway through the presentation, 3 shills offer their life savings for it. 38) It is pushed under one of the headings "complementary", "alternative", "holistic", "ayurvedic", or any combination thereof. 39) As soon as you ask the presenter a question which indicates that you haven't fully bought into the presentation, the presenter assaults your character rather than answering the question or demonstrating the alleged phenomena. 40) The primary proof of the effect is that it appears in a work of fantasy fiction. 41) After the allegation has been soundly disproved by protocols which were agreed upon in advance, the claimaint cries foul and threatens to sue. Bonus point if the crier/threatener is the claimant's mother.
	__________________ Music: Splendor in Sound CD No.3 is out!

11th March 2003, 11:17 AM	#22
Solitaire Neoclinus blanchardi Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Johnson City, Tennessee Posts: 1,735	A Case Study
	__________________ GENERATION ∞: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.

11th March 2003, 12:08 PM	#23
Sanamas Thinker Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 173	42) Tesla is frequently mentioned in their spiel.
Sanamas Thinker Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 173

11th March 2003, 12:31 PM	#24
Blue Monk Graduate Poster Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,772	43) All relevant documentation has been notarized.

11th March 2003, 12:50 PM	#25
Guest Posts: n/a	44. It has NOT appeared in the Fox News website's "Junk Science" section.
Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 02:05 PM	#26
Kiri Guest Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally posted by rwald 13. It presumes that anything ancient is better than anything modern, or that anything natural is better than anything synthetic. I always preferred LSD over mushrooms, myself...much more cost-effective! 45. The "astonishing new breakthrough" is announced in "The Weekly World News" and NOT "Scientific American".
Kiri Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 02:45 PM	#27
spoonhandler Guest Posts: n/a	46. They claim a 100% or very close to 100% success rate for response/correctness/cure and claim 'it' works for everybody, in every case, all the time.
spoonhandler Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 04:35 PM	#28
rwald Guest Posts: n/a	Stolen from someone who knew what they were talking about... 47. They keep mentioning quantum mechanics, but don't describe the mathematics behind their theory.
rwald Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 05:00 PM	#29
Denise Succubus Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,869	48. They have their own room on Paltalk, and bounce skeptics left and right. Ouch!
Denise Succubus Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,869	__________________ Sundog- Do the words Biosphere 2 convey anything to anyone?

11th March 2003, 06:05 PM	#30
OdderMensch Guest Posts: n/a	49. "as anyone knows....." 50. They fail to worship Denise 51. They think putting more chemicals into your bodt is always a good idea. 52. They assume because it is done in a laboratory, by people in lab coats, it is science.
OdderMensch Guest Posts: n/a

11th March 2003, 08:28 PM	#31
Thumbo Critical Thinker Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 381	53. The theory is described in a single paragraph. With 50,000 words in it.
Thumbo Critical Thinker Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 381

11th March 2003, 08:40 PM	#32
rwald Guest Posts: n/a	54. If their webpage makes you hearken back to the cogency of the Time Cube.
rwald Guest Posts: n/a

12th March 2003, 01:15 AM	#33
BillyJoe Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: MOOROOLBARK Posts: 12,539	55. It must be right because myth says so. (He has a major depressive disorder but this counts as a plus because it means he has all day to sit around and think about solutions to puzzles thereby justifying social security benefits generously donated through tax payments by the rest of us who can count ourselves lucky enough to be able to work for a living.) regards, BillyJoe
	__________________ A secular society is one in which no one loses any liberty as a consequence of someone else's religious beliefs. NB Allowing yourself to get led around the nose by a person like Craig is a losing strategy. SH Morality is a social coating around a Darwinian core. JC My joke about freewill: There is no basis for it.

12th March 2003, 06:03 AM	#34
Ladewig Hipster alien Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: not measurable Posts: 16,786	56. The practioner is caught cheating on film and the "scientists" examining the practioner say, "sure, he cheated in this particular case, but that doesn't mean all the other demonstrations were faked." The practioner says, "I cheated here because I felt so much pressure to perform, but all the other cases were genuine."

12th March 2003, 07:39 AM	#35
ChuckieR Guest Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally posted by John Lockard A Case Study EXCELLENT link, which inspired this more general observation: 57. The explanation involves societal and/or emotional obstacles, rather than technical obstacles. Of course, we know that all truly useful ideas are stolen, not suppressed, by large corporations.
ChuckieR Guest Posts: n/a

12th March 2003, 07:53 AM	#36
DrMatt Graduate Poster Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 1,422	Quote: Originally posted by ChuckieR 57. The explanation involves societal and/or emotional obstacles, rather than technical obstacles. corollary: 58????) You have to adopt a new paradigm. People laughed at Galileo. People laughed at Bozo the Clown.
	__________________ Music: Splendor in Sound CD No.3 is out!