List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

This list of alternative, speculative and disputed theories includes examples of fields of endeavor that are considered to be fringe or pseudoscientific by the mainstream scientific community. Included examples range from theories considered crackpot by all but their handful of followers and ending in respectable theories that are simply the minority view. Some of these practices are often quite popular outside the scientific community.

Inclusion in the list is possible because that theory is:

Asserting claims without supporting experimental evidence;
Asserting claims which contradict experimentally established results;
Failing to provide an experimental possibility of reproducible results; or
Violating Occam's Razor (the principle of choosing the simplest explanation when multiple viable explanations are possible).
Incompatible with the current mainstream paradigm

Many of these theories are considered pathological science: a psychological process in which believers in a theory, who may have originally conformed to the scientific method, unconsciously veer from that method and begin a pathological process of wishful data interpretation. The term ironic science was used by John Horgan in his book The End of Science to describe a "speculative, non-empirical mode" that mainstream science sometimes enters.

Note that historically, the scientific community was less open to new ideas than today. Some currently respected theories, such as e.g. plate tectonics or the idea that stones could fall from the sky (meteorites) were rejected just because they contradicted popular belief amongst scientists, not because they were in conflict with known experimentally established results of that time. Thus, some theories that are regarded as pseudoscientific today may be rehabilitated as respected theories in the future. However, the reverse process happens more often: it is far more likely that a mainstream theory or hypothesis will be discredited in the future. Historical examples of such cases are luminiferous aether and polywater.

Theories

Biology

See also Medicine below.

Creationism is the belief that the origin of everything in the universe is the result of a first cause, which was creation brought about by a creator God. 'Creationism' generally refers to the version of this concept of cosmology that is opposed to the theory of Evolution. See creation science.
- Creation biology is the subset of creation science that tries to explain biology without Evolution. Its cladistics are known as baraminology.
Erototoxin, a neurological chemical postulated by Judith Reisman, PhD, an anti-pornography activist. It is triggered in the brain by exposure to pornography, and "mimics the 'high' from a street drug". She considers erototoxins addictive substances which represent the alleged link between pornography and such things as serial murder, rape, child molestation, and erectile dysfunction.
Intelligent Design scenarios hold that life and living things show signs of having been designed. ID's primary argument is that life is too complex to have simply "happened" or evolved via millions of years. (Intelligent Design is sometimes considered to be a form of Creationism, though many who advocate ID suggest it may be the other way around.)
Irreducible complexity is a concept which considers that the generally accepted scientific theory that biological Evolution by natural selection alone is incomplete or flawed, and that some additional mechanism is required to explain the origins of life.
Specified complexity is a concept which considers that modern information science can only deal with the probabilities of genetic evolution if it considers the context of the information contained within a gene.
Biophotons, a postulated communication mechanism of c cells by the means of light, sometimes claimed to be the scientific substrate of Qi.
Vitalism, theories claiming that understanding of the living matter should be radically different from that of non-living matter, e.g. biodynamic agriculture.
Odic force a theory that all life is permeated and bound together by a vital property.
Morphogenetic fields supposedly cause living things to grow or behave in patterns laid down by similar previous living things.
Biological transmutation, see Corentin Louis Kervran, the hypothesis that organisms can convert chemical elements, e.g. copper to iron.
Quantum evolution, the hypothesis that genetic mutation is directed through quantum effects.

Divination

Astrology refers to any of several systems of understanding, interpreting and organizing knowledge about reality and human existence, based on the relative positions and movement of various real and construed celestial bodies.
Cartomancy is a form of fortune telling -- divination -- using a deck of cards.
Channeling supposed special ability of a person to receive information from an unknown sources.
Chiromancy evaluates a person's character or future life by "reading" the palm of that person's hand.
Dowsing divination method which dowsers say empowers them to find water, metals and hidden objects by carrying some form of stick and watching its motion.
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting the future, usually of an individual, through mystical or supernatural means.
Geomancy is a method of divination based on the interpretation of markings on the ground or the pattern of scattered dirt or pebbles. It also refers to a set of practices and theories based on the identification or manipulation of energies tied to the earth, including dowsing, feng shui, and ley lines / dragon lines.
Numerology is an arcane study of the purported mystical relationship between numbers and the character or action of physical objects and living things.
Pyramid power theory states that pyramids have healing power and spiritual energy.
Remote viewing is a form of clairvoyance by which a viewer is said to be able to perceive objects or events separated from the viewer in space or time
Scrying is the name given to the ancient technique of gazing into an object for the purpose of clairvoyance.
TRIZ is method of solving technical problems and predicting future technological changes based on "objective laws" ultimately governing technological evolution.

Geology

The Catastrophism theory is that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. Immanuel Velikovsky's theories fall under this category. (An exception, one specific type of catastrophism that is no longer significantly disputed, is the theory that the Earth has occasionally experienced collisions from astronomical objects such as asteroids and comets large enough to temporarily affect global climate and cause extinction events.)
The Hollow Earth theory claims that the Earth is hollow, and its inside is possibly populated by a race of superbeings, humans or aliens, and possibly dinosaurs.
Ley lines are alignments of a number of places of geographical interest, such as ancient megaliths.
The Flat Earth theory is the idea that Earth is flat, as opposed to the view of modern science that Earth is very nearly spherical.
Flood geology is the creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a global flood.

Medicine

Acupuncture, in the traditional sense, is the practice of inserting very thin needles in particular points on the body to redirect qi thereby improving health and well-being. While acupuncture has documented theraputic effects, mainstream medical science attributes the mechanism for these effects to sources other than qi. This is one component of traditional Chinese medicine.
AIDS reappraisal is the belief that the causal connection between HIV and AIDS should be reassessed, or in its more extreme form, that HIV does not exist.
Applied kinesiology is a method of diagnosing malfunctioning organs and what the effect of substances on the body is or would be by testing whether certain muscles are weakened or not.
The Bates Method of vision improvement, based on a theories of accommodation and myopia pathogenesis which are not accepted by mainstream ophthalmology or biology.
Biorhythm theory researches patterns of alterations in physiology, emotions, and intellect.
Some Chiropractic theories that ascribe ailments unrelated to the spine to spinal maladjustments.
Crystal healing theory states that crystals have alleged healing and mystical paranormal powers.
Demon possession is a theory for explaining mental illness which was once widely held and has Biblical support which is now rejected in the mental health community.
The Duesberg hypothesis claims that recreational and pharmaceutical drug use, rather than HIV, is the primary cause of AIDS. See also AIDS reappraisal.
Food faddism refer to the tendency for idiosyncratic diets and eating patterns.
Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine involving the use of highly diluted substances with similar (i. e. homeo-) characteristics to the condition being treated. In many cases not a single molecule of the substance remains in the diluted solution.
Iridology is the practice of examining the iris to evaluate systemic health. (See also eyology and sclerology.)
Magnet therapy is an alternative medicine based on the concept that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to magnetic fields.
Psychic surgery is a type of apparent surgery performed by the healer with bare hands or unorthodox instruments.
Reflexology claims that by massaging specific parts of the foot, one can improve the health of various other parts of the body.
Scientology opposition to psychiatry
Trepanation is the act of drilling a hole in one's head to release built-up pressure and move the person to a higher plane of consciousness.
Vaccine theory of autism suggests that the dramatic worldwide rise in the diagnosis of autism can be attributed to an immunologic response of the vaccine or to the toxic effects of thimerosal, a preservative until recently used to preserve vaccines. It has been discredited by a report from the Institue of Medicine^[1].
Vitamin C, according to some, perhaps most notably Nobel laureate chemist Linus Pauling, can prevent and cure various diseases (including heart disease and cancer) when taken in high doses. This may extend to the belief that the inability of humans to manufacture the vitamin is a "genetic disease" which harms our overall health.

Physics

Aetherometry, derived from Wilhelm Reich's theories, too many claims to list here.
Alchemy, the attempt to turn various metals, such as lead, into gold. Probably no current adherents.
Autodynamics is a theory proposed as a replacement for special relativity, which is claimed to have been based on erroneous assumptions.
Bogdanov Affair
Cold fusion (or cold nuclear fusion) is the claim that nuclear fusion can occur at temperatures and energies considerably lower than those usually considered necessary to bring nuclei together; one particular claim being that hydrogen can undergo nuclear fusion in palladium.
Creationist cosmologies offered by Young Earth Creationists as alternative ideas about cosmology to allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old.
Nikola Tesla's Dynamic theory of gravity that was never published.
Electric Universe, an idea that electricity plays a larger role in the universe than is commonly accepted.
Heim Theory (see also Burkhard Heim), a Theory of everything with small, mostly German and Austrian following.
Hydrino theory proposes the hydrino, or miniature hydrogen atom with the electron pushed closer than usual to the nucleus.
Kirlian photography is high-voltage contact print photography. Its existence is not disputed, but the paranormal interpretations of some images thus produced are.
Luminiferous aether was the classical medium for the propagation of light, but after the early 20th century was seen as discredited by the mainstream physics community.
Modern geocentrism, citing uniform gamma ray bursts distribution as evidence that we are at the center of the universe, and other ideas of this type.
Topological geometrodynamics, too new and developing to ultimately evaluate. One man theory of Matti Pitkänen. [2]
Wilhelm Reich's Orgone energy is an unproven form of energy.
Perpetual motion machines are a class of hypothetical machines in which the inputs of energy (including the energy equivalent of any fuel) are less than the outputs, a result that would violate the principle of conservation of energy. These should not be confused with energy processes that use various forms of latent energy (such as nuclear fission) and may to an untrained eye appear to be energy from "nowhere".
Plasma cosmology is a sub-set of plasma physics that attempts to explain large-scale structure in the universe.
Polywater is a supposed polymerized form of water.
Process physics by Reginald Cahill. "Process physics comes together with physics, automata theory, and cognitive science into a holistic area known as generative sciences, towards the unification of all systematic knowledge about the universe and the world."
Reciprocal System of Theory purports to be a new system of theory based on motion as opposed to matter. See: RST Wiki
Steady state theory holds that the universe has always existed, and will always exist, in the same macroscopic state. This theory was considered mainstream until experimental results began to support the (then-unpopular) Big Bang Theory in the mid-20th century.
Scalar field theory is a set of theories in a model which posits that there is a basic mechanism that produces the electric field and the magnetic field and which normal electromagnetic theory does not acknowledge or account for.
Scalar waves says there are electromagnetic longitudinal waves
Synchronicity refers to the alignment of forces in the universe to create an event or circumstance. A coincidence that seems imbued with deep meaning. Coined by Carl Jung. Jung and Wolfgang Pauli wrote a book together on the topic.
Red mercury, code name for a supposed energetic substance that could allow creation of hydrogen bomb without preceding fission explosion, promulgated by Samuel Cohen, sometimes claimed to be a ballotechnic substance such as hafnium-178m nuclear isomer.
Time Cube, the idea that we live four actual days for every one perceived day, a fact not apparent to us because of a vast academic conspiracy.

Psychology

Characterology method of character reading developed in the 1920's.
Couéism, or the Coué Method, method of healing and self-improvement through autosuggestion.
Engrams, a phenomenon claimed by Dianetics (see Scientology), are claimed to be mental patterns connected through activation at the same time.
Enneagram is a classification of personality characteristics claimed to give insight into intra- and interpersonal relationships.
Graphology is the study of handwriting and its connection to behavior, personal information and other human traits.
Parapsychology is the branch of science concerned with the study of mental phenomena, whether actual or purported, that are not currently explainable within the framework of mainstream, conventional science.
Pathognomy is the study of passions and emotions.
Phrenology claims to be able to determine personality traits and criminality on the basis of the shape of the head.
Photoreading is "mentally photographing" printed pages.
Physiognomy is based upon the belief that the study and judgement of a person's outer appearance, primarily the face, reflects the contents of their personality.
Recovered memory is the act of discovering repressed memories and therapy to achieve such ends.
Sentience Quotient is a concept invented by Robert A. Freitas Jr.. The theory defines sentience according to a relationship between information processing rate and brain mass, yet there is no evidence that such a relationship is in any way related to the measure of sentience.

Sociology

Eugenics is a theory that argues that, without proper intervention, genetically "less fit" members of society will "out breed" the "more fit" members of society, with fitness expressed variously in terms of latent intelligence, race, or moral qualities. Eugenics has also included a number of social techniques for the "genetic improvement" of the human species, ranging from the mild to the genocidal.
Memetics is what proponents argue a scientific approach to evolutionary models of information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
Social Darwinism is a set of theories which proponents argue govern the natural sociological relations of humanity; these theories are putatively an application of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection to society as a whole.

Xenology

Cryptozoology is the study of rumored or mythological animals that are presumed by many to exist, but for which proof does not yet exist.
Pseudoarchaeology refers to the ideologically-driven, usually sensational interpretation of the past outside of a critical, scientific framework. Pseudoarchaeology also includes forms of protosciences.
Ufology is the term describing the study of the UFO (unidentified flying object) phenomena, including claims that some UFOs are extraterrestrial vehicles manned by aliens.
Vril - A worldview involving Nazi mysticism, and an interpretation of Ufology relating to a Hollow earth and subterranean Nazi-friendly super beings, rather than "space" aliens.

Miscellaneous

Alpha Curio Bet claims each of the letters in the English language has its own mystical meaning which can be used to decypher words.
Bible codes research states that the future can be predicted by examining statistics of the Biblical text in various skips.
Biblical scientific foreknowledge, which asserts that the Bible makes predictions about science.
Facilitated communication is viewed alternative means of expression for people who cannot speak, or whose speech is highly limited (e.g. echoed, limited to one or a few word utterances), and who cannot point reliably. Critics charge that actual communication is only done by the facilitator.
Laws of Form, to the extent that it is claimed to be anything more than an unorthodox presentation of propositional logic
Materialization creation of matter from nowhere and out of nothing by somebody's will power or concentration.
New Chronology consists of various competing theories which claim that currently accepted chronology presents a history that lasts either much longer or much shorter than it should (e.g., that Jesus was born around 1000 years ago or that he was the pharaoh Akhenaten).
Novelty Theory An eschatology-like theory proposed by its creator, ethnobotanist Terence McKenna to have a firm mathematical basis (McKenna is not a mathematician), although its rationale and sources are primarily numerological, for example the Maya Calendar and a list of numbers from the I Ching. Its main feature is a plotted waveform McKenna calls "Timewave Zero," which he claims shows that "something" significant will happen in the year 2012, which corresponds to an abbreviated form of the date which marks the end of the Maya Calendar.
Technological singularity is the theory, largely a subset of Transhumanism, that smarter-than-human intelligences will be created, and improve themselves and the world in ways that present-day humans cannot predict.
Welteislehre is the theory developed by Hanns Hörbiger in the early 20th century. It states that the universe is based on a constant struggle between ice and fire.

External links

Baez, John, "The crackpot index : Method for rating potentially revolutionary contributions to physics.".
Kruger, Justin, and David Dunning "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments". Department of Psychology, Cornell University.

Theories

Miscellaneous

See also

Further reading

External links