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Pseudoscience refers to a belief or practice that is presented as a scientific field of study but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method or which lacks supporting evidence or plausibility.

In looser terms, a pseudoscience is one that lacks status among the scientific community.

Commonly held beliefs in popular science may be termed pseudosciences when they do not meet the criteria of science or when they include aspects of science fiction.

Pseudosciences may exist within any scientific field, including the physical sciences, life sciences, applied sciences, social sciences, or in the paranormal or ufology fields.

For the purposes of categorization, junk science and fringe science are included in this category. Junk science is any scientific data, research, or analysis considered to be fraudulent or spurious, while fringe science refers to scientific inquiries that depart significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories.

In most cases, the line between science and pseudoscience is clear and obvious to most people, or at least to those who are paying attention. The demarcation line has itself been a matter of controversy.

Karl Popper was the most influential modern philosopher to attempt to set a clear demarcation line distinguishing science from pseudoscience. Today, his criteria are dismissed by most practitioners. The demarcation line is further blurred when what should be a scientific issue becomes a political one with governmental mandates that suppress the free exchange of ideas. When political ideas masquerade as science, the result is a distrust of science and an open door to pseudoscientific alternatives.

The term pseudoscience was first coined by the historian James Pettit Andrew in 1796 when he referred to alchemy as a "fantastical pseudo-science." Yet, alchemy was practiced for more than four thousand years and is described as the start of the system of modern science in many parts of the world.

Even before we had a word for pseudoscience, several scientific theories were long dismissed as nonsense, only to be later accepted as valid. It was a few decades after the discovery that neutrinos have mass before the majority of scientists believed in it. One of the things that purveyors of pseudosciences hang their hat on is that their particular theory will one day be accepted as valid.

Pseudoscience is differentiated from science because, although it is often presented as a science, pseudoscience does not adhere to scientific standards, such as the scientific method and the falsifiability of claims. However, a theory should not be dismissed as pseudoscience simply because most credentialed scientists have not accepted it. Many valid scientific theories are first dismissed before they are accepted, and when political agendas and government pressure are involved, the dismissals are not necessarily scientific.

Junk science is a step down from pseudoscience. Although pseudoscience is sometimes dismissed as "junk science," the latter refers to spurious or fraudulent scientific data, research, or analysis. The concept was popularized in the 1990s in relation to expert testimony given in civil litigation.

Junk science refers to bad science. It occurs when scientists make dramatic claims based on preliminary or fraudulent data. Junk science often lacks rigorous methodology and is likely to involve biased data because the researchers often have a vested interest. Pseudoscience is often proposed by well-meaning researchers who believe their claims, although they lack empirical evidence and may ignore the scientific method.

Fringe science refers to ideas whose attributes include being highly speculative or relying on premises that have already been refuted. The term is wider than pseudoscience or junk science, as it can cover everything from novel hypotheses, which can be tested utilizing the scientific method, to wild ad hoc hypotheses and nonsense.

Concepts that were once accepted by the mainstream scientific community may become fringe science due to a later evaluation of previous research. As an example, focal infection theory, which held that focal infections of the tonsils or teeth are a primary cause of systemic disease, was once considered to be a medical fact but has since been dismissed due to a lack of evidence.

As the boundaries between science and pseudoscience are often disputed, the concept of fringe science is that the enterprise is rational but is unlikely to produce good results for various reasons, including incomplete or contradictory evidence. Pseudoscience, on the other hand, is something that is not scientific but is incorrectly characterized as science. While most fringe science is rejected, the scientific community has come to accept portions of it. For example, plate tectonics had its origins in the fringe science of continental drift, and was rejected for decades.

 

 

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