Voodoo Science
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Voodoo Science, another term for pseudoscience, was popularized in a book of the same title (ISBN 0195147103) written in 2001 by Robert L. Park.
Park, a physics professor and outspoken scientific skeptic, outlines his seven warning signs that a claim may be pseudoscientific and analyzes beliefs in popular culture and the media with a skeptical eye.
The term has been used by other authors, but it is most closely associated with Robert L. Park.
Park's seven warning signs are:
- The discoverer makes his claim directly to the popular media, rather than to fellow scientists.
- The discoverer claims that a conspiracy is trying to suppress the discovery.
- The claimed effect is so weak that it can hardly be distinguished from noise.
- Anecdotal evidence is used to back up the claim.
- Ancient beliefs are cited in support of the new claim.
- The discoverer or discoverers work in isolation from the mainstream scientific community.
- The discovery requires a change in the understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.