The Psuedoscience Thread

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ded srs
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by ded srs »

How the hell did I miss all of those? (I might have to post in that last one. hehehe)

Anyway, dump, argue, and debate all you like, dsheinem. :D No point making this thread a "believers only" one. Though, don't count on me to debate, I believe what I believe and that's that, no point arguing over it.
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J T
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

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Gooseberrysoda
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by Gooseberrysoda »

J T wrote:Image
Hahahaha! That's from the Luke Wilson episode? So glad someone made a gif of that
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WARvault
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by WARvault »

I am also firmly in the skeptic camp, but one weird thing that has piqued my interest in the last couple of months is Denver International Airport. I dunno how far down the rabbit hole I am willing to go, but those murals, plus the marble time capsule capstone? I need answers!

edit: Link that put me on to this... http://thechive.com/2012/03/08/somethin ... 25-photos/
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by Erik_Twice »

I believe in the undead.

How can you not after seeing the latest Simcity and Command and Conquer sequels?
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by J T »

Real science is so much cooler.
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

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I always roll my eyes at the know it alls who refuse to believe in anything science hasn't proven when throughout history things that people thought were ridiculous were eventually proven by science....like the fact that the world is round

It's appalling the amount of arrogance it takes for people to assume that humanity knows everything in our brief, little time on this planet when we are still learning new things every year. The mocking tone of many of the posts in this thread are very close minded and immature...not the first time I've seen that on this forum
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BoringSupreez
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by BoringSupreez »

Gamerforlife wrote:I always roll my eyes at the know it alls who refuse to believe in anything science hasn't proven when throughout history things that people thought were ridiculous were eventually proven by science....like the fact that the world is round

It's appalling the amount of arrogance it takes for people to assume that humanity knows everything in our brief, little time on this planet when we are still learning new things every year. The mocking tone of many of the posts in this thread are very close minded and immature...not the first time I've seen that on this forum
Well I can't speak for others, but when I hear the word "psuedoscience" what comes to mind is homeopathy, curing AIDS with apple cider vinegar, people afraid of vaccinations, that sort of thing. The people I've known who were into that were more often than not also part of the 9/11 conspiracy crowd, New World Order believers, Ron Paul supporters. All of which is very much worthy of an eye roll.
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by MrPopo »

Gamerforlife wrote:I always roll my eyes at the know it alls who refuse to believe in anything science hasn't proven when throughout history things that people thought were ridiculous were eventually proven by science....like the fact that the world is round
The Greeks figured out the world was round. This was not a fact that was in question in the world; the Columbus voyage was because he thought the world was much smaller in diameter than it actually is (and that was just silly, cause the Greeks again figured it out to an impressive precision).

The reason people scoff at pseudoscience is the lack of rigor. All the claims basically sound like "My buddy told me about this time that X happened".
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Re: The Psuedoscience Thread

Post by dsheinem »

Gamerforlife wrote:I always roll my eyes at the know it alls who refuse to believe in anything science hasn't proven when throughout history things that people thought were ridiculous were eventually proven by science....like the fact that the world is round

It's appalling the amount of arrogance it takes for people to assume that humanity knows everything in our brief, little time on this planet when we are still learning new things every year. The mocking tone of many of the posts in this thread are very close minded and immature...not the first time I've seen that on this forum
Mocking pseudoscience doesn't at all portend a belief that humanity knows everything. I don't think anyone with an appreciation for ongoing scientific inquiry would think that was the case. I don't feel like rehashing it all here, but in that one link I posted earlier Limewater and I had a long running, very detailed and responsive debate about the subject in which I tired to explain the reasons for my own regular scoffing of this stuff and why it doesn't make good sense to believe any of it.

In a nutshell, strong skepticism and/or rejection of pseudoscience isn't about close-mindedness or arrogance (how nice of you to suggest that, though! :roll: ), but instead is about regularly finding serious fault with over-stated claims that aren't backed by sufficient rigor and objectivity (so they become easily disproven, their assumptions are demonstrably spurious, they are self-confirming, etc.). When belief in those claims have educational and political consequences (e.g. Holocaust denying, teaching creationism as science, etc.) certain examples of pseudoscience move beyond the realm of "irritating and laughable ignorance" into the realm of "harmful and potentially dangerous belief".
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