trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
N-rays

[[File:Blondlot N-rays.png|thumb|right|165px|Images "N-Rays" from a 1940 scientific publication]]
{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''N-rays''' are an early classic example of [[pathological science]], the "science of things that aren't so". The N-ray was a hypothesised form of ionizing [[radiation]] described by [[French]] [[physicist]] {{wpl|Prosper-René Blondlot}} in 1903, and initially confirmed by others, but subsequently found to be illusory, to the ruin of Blondlot's previously stellar reputation.

The interest for the modern scholar lies in the fact that people did successfully duplicate the experiments despite the fact that N-rays provably do not exist: it is a [[cautionary tale]] of [[confirmation bias]].

Blondlot was one of eight corresponding members of the French Academy of Science. He was conducting experiments on {{wpl|X-rays}} at his lab at the University of Nancy when he thought he saw changes in the brightness of an electric spark in a spark gap placed in an X-ray beam.  He photographed the sparks, and later attributed the changes in brightness to a novel form of radiation, which he dubbed N-rays (N for the University of Nancy, where he worked). (X-rays were a relatively new discovery at that time, being first described in 1895.)

Blondlot, Augustin Charpentier, Arsène d'Arsonval and over 100 scientists published a total of around 300 articles discussing the phenomenon, and there was even a dispute over priority.  Others, notably Lord Kelvin, William Crookes, Otto Lummer, and Heinrich Rubens failed to do so. American physicist Robert W. Wood, known as a [[debunk]]er of nonsense, was prevailed upon to visit Blondlot's laboratory, where he secretly removed an essential prism from the experimental apparatus. The experimental operators still insisted that they saw the N-rays. He also replaced a large file claimed to be an emitter with a piece of wood, with similar results. His report was published in ''Nature'' and N-rays were exposed as purely subjective, with the scientists involved having recorded data that matched their expectations. By 1905, no one outside of Nancy believed in N-rays, but Blondlot himself is reported to have still been convinced of their existence. [[Martin Gardner]] attributed a subsequent decline in mental health and eventual death of Blondlot to the resulting scandal. This may or may not be true, but it is certainly the case that Blondlot's reputation was ruined.

==Further reading==
* [[Robert L. Park|Park, Robert]] (2000). ''Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud''. Oxford University Press, {{isbn|0198604432}}.
* [[Martin Gardner|Gardner, Martin]] (1957). ''Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science''. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, {{isbn|0486203948}}.

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

Categories: Pseudoscience
NAACP

{{Law}}The '''NAACP''' ('''''N'''ational '''A'''ssociation for the '''A'''dvancement of '''C'''olored '''P'''eople'') is the oldest continuing [[civil rights]] organization that works on behalf of [[African American]]s. The NAACP was founded in 1909 in the [[United States]],<ref>[https://naacp.org/about/our-history Our History.] NAACP. Retrieved January 29, 2022.</ref> primarily to push for the [[Crime|criminalization]] of [[lynch mob|lynching]].  Since then, it has had many successes, particularly in the fight against [[segregation]], when the NAACP lawyer, and later [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justice, [[Thurgood Marshall]] argued that separate could never be equal.<ref>[https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/history/thurgood-marshall/ Who Was Thurgood Marshall?] LDF. ''NAACP''. Retrieved January 29, 2022.</ref>

Today, the NAACP does a lot of good at the local level, running scholarships and helping give [[nation]]al attention to local issues. For example, the NAACP published a study documenting [[white nationalism|white nationalist]] elements of the [[Tea Party movement#Racism|Tea Party movement]] (TeaPartyNationalism.com). Unfortunately, Tea Party leader Mark Williams did not address the report but rather [[ad hominem|decided to attack the messenger]] with racial undertones, ultimately making a fool of himself.<ref>[http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/tea-party-express-mark-williams-naacps-use-of-colored-makes-it-racist.php Tea Party Express' Mark Williams: NAACP's Use Of 'Colored' Makes It Racist]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Operation Black Vote]]

==External links==
*[http://www.naacp.org/home/index.htm Official website]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category: Civil rights]]

{{stub|politics}}

Categories:  Civil rights
NSFW

{{internet}}
'''NSFW''' is an [[internet]] warning to people, typically given after an awesome link that will reduce your boredom and make the day worthwhile.  It means "'''Not Safe For Work'''": i.e., the content may be entertaining in one way or another, but if you go there on your company computer, it will be on your permanent record.  And if anyone glances into your cubicle when you're there?  Odds are the harassment suit has already been filed.

The term has been popularized through the [[Fark|drunken antics of Drew Curtis]].

*Maybe you can get away with [[breast|boobies]] on your work computer screen (and permanently in your archived history).

*Maybe you can get away with [[Nazi]] imagery on your work computer screen (and permanently in your archived history).

*Maybe you can get away with some crap at [[RationalWiki]] (oops, too late!) on your work computer screen (and permanently in your archived history).

Most people can't.

IF IT SAYS '''NSFW''', DON'T GO THERE AT WORK! (Or school, for that matter, although chances are it has already been blocked anyways.)

==For even worse situations== 
{{anchor|NSFL}}
'''Not Safe For Life''' ('''NSFL''') is stuff that, as Urban Dictionary puts it, "doesn't matter ''where'' you view the material; you will be scarred."<ref>http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=NSFL</ref> Common on [[Reddit]] for stuff that isn't technically NSFW but is still horrible.

==See also==
*[[Trigger warning]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[category:internet]]
[[Category:NSFW| ]]
{{stub|internet}}

Categories: internet, NSFW
Nancy Appleton

[[File:Nancy Appleton.png|thumb|right|165px|Nancy Appleton]]
{{foodnav}}

'''Nancy Appleton''' {{lived|1935|2019}}<ref>https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/obituary.aspx?n=nancy-appleton&pid=195013736</ref> was an American nutritionist, [[low-carb]] promoter and anti-sugar campaigner. She was associated with the [[pseudoscientific]] [[Cancer Control Society]].<ref>https://www.cancercontrolsociety.org/bio2009/appleton.html</ref>

Appleton had a BS in clinical nutrition from UCLA and PhD in health services from Walden University.<ref name="Society">https://www.cancercontrolsociety.org/films/sweetsuicide.html</ref> She authored a series of books which claimed that refined [[sugar]] upsets body chemistry and devastates the endocrine and immune systems, and which results in a host of diseases. Appleton linked almost every disease to sugar consumption.<ref>See for example her book ''Suicide by Sugar'', 2009.</ref>

On her website (which is still online), Appleton posted "141 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health".<ref>https://nancyappleton.com/141-reasons-sugar-ruins-your-health/</ref><ref>Another website claims [https://www.hammernutrition.com/knowledge/endurance-library/146-reasons-sugar-ruins-your-health 146 reasons]</ref> In theory, Appleton's crusade against sugar was not irrational but she would sometimes make sensationalist claims and insert dubious information about sugar into her books. For example, she once asserted that drinking soda is like drinking battery acid.<ref>https://nancyappleton.com/2012/01/02/we-cant-make-this-stuff-up/</ref>

Appleton would only rarely cite recent [[Review article|systematic reviews]] as references which is the way [[evidence-based medicine]] works. Instead she would cite outdated sources or studies with small sample sizes.<ref>Check her references for "141 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health".</ref> Her publications were not [[peer-reviewed]] and were entirely ignored by the medical community but her book ''Lick the Sugar Habit'' became a bestseller. 

Various [[alternative medicine]] and low-carb groups have taken interest in Appleton's books. They were advertised by the Cancer Control Society and sold by the {{wpl|Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation||,}} which promotes the crackpot ideas of [[Weston Price]].<ref name="Society"/> 

Unlike other low-carbers (e.g. [[Gary Taubes]]), Appleton was not a [[cholesterol denialist]]. She was extremely thin and may have suffered from anorexia.<ref>Check this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XsvkjJjz48 video] and see for yourself.</ref>

Appleton claimed to have suffered from a weakened immune system, she died from metastasized skin cancer.<ref>[https://nancyappleton.com/2020/01/22/nancy-appleton-a-life/ Nancy Appleton, A Life]</ref>

==Notable works==

*''Lick the Sugar Habit'', 1985
*''Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our #1 National Addiction'', 2009
*''Killer Colas: The Hard Truth about Soft Drinks'', 2011

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Food woo promoters]]
[[Category:Low-carb fanatics]]

Categories: Food woo promoters, Low-carb fanatics
Nashi

[[File:Flag Nashi.svg|thumb|165px|Nashi Flag]]
[[File:Vladimir Putin 24 July 2007-1.jpg|thumb|left|165px|[[Vladimir Putin|Dear Leader]] instructing the commissars]]
{{politics}}'''Nashi''' (Russian for "Ours"; Молодежное демократическое aнтифашистское движение «Наши») is, in its own words, an anti-[[Fascism|fascist]], pro-[[democracy]] [sic] youth movement in [[Russia]]…run by the Russian Government. 

The most accurate part about their self-given description is "youth movement". It is believed that Nashi was originally created in response to the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] {{wpl|Orange Revolution||;}} the [[powers that be]] (i.e. the [[United Russia]] party) feared the power of the nation's youth and its ability to bring about change. Nashi was their way of 
coopting
 harnessing this and putting to work for themselves. Nashi has been accused of having two branches: one devoted to "respectable" activities like "exposing corruption"{{efn|Read: political dissidents}} and general good (getting expired foods out of stores, etc.) and a second branch tasked with carrying out illegal activities, like discrediting political dissidents.{{efn|Putin's Kiss.}}

This second task is surprisingly important, as [[Vladimir Putin]]'s government is built in no small part on the claim that there is no serious alternative to himself or his United Russia party. By doing outlandish stunts like flying [[penis]]-shaped helicopters at speeches given by opposition leaders or pooping on the cars of opposition leaders (yes, those both have happened) the opposition is effectively trivialized, which helps cement Putin's power. 

A slightly older — both in inception and in demographics — movement is RNU, which does the same things but in the name of… their own Russia National Unity party.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{stub|politics}}
[[Category:Political action groups]]
[[Category:Russia]]

Categories: Political action groups, Russia
Nation

{{politics}}{{cquote|It is remarkable how fast and how effectively you can construct a nationality with a flag, a few speeches, and a national anthem.|||Nicholas Nassim Taleb, ''The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable''}}
A '''nation''' (often interchanged with '''country''') is a group of people composed mostly of strangers who live under a common political structure; emphasizing certain shared characteristics, such as [[language]], [[religion]], [[ethnicity]], and [[history]] that give rise to a [[collective identity]].  As a [[sociological]] and [[political]] term, it is a fluid concept — what Benedict Anderson has termed an "imagined community."<ref group=note>Other scholars like Anthony D. Smith have similarly emphasized how persistent and fluid the notion of nation was even before the modern conception of the nation-state.</ref> It has been common in history for different nations to fuse together<ref group=note>For example, as the different Jurchen and other tribes in Northeast [[China]] became the [[Manchuria|Manchu]], or how the Cornish, etc., all became [[England|English]].</ref> or for a single nation to break apart.<ref group=note>A modern example of this seems to be the Chinese and the [[Taiwan]]ese, and possibly the [[North Korea|North]] and [[South Korea]]ns.</ref>  Sometimes, a single person may feel they [[Multiculturalism|belong to more than one "nationality"]], depending on circumstances.<ref group=note>This sums up the feelings of many [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslavs]] at the beginning of the 1990s.</ref>

Most of the [[state]]s of [[West]]ern [[Europe]] were built along national lines - Denmark, Malta, and Iceland, for example; but compare Austria, Ulster, Switzerland, Catalonia, San Marino, Belgium, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Vatican City, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, nation-building also came about due to European [[monarch]]s fostering a sense of nationhood amongst their peoples through [[nationalism]], adopting the "vulgar" [[language]]s and concentrated [[myth]]-making.<ref group=note>
Examples of such myth-making include [[King Arthur]], [[Charlemagne]], the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and El Cid.
</ref>
Since [[World War I]], nationality as the primary prerequisite for statehood has declined.  Today, most states are rather multi-national<ref group=note>Either because they have national minorities or were never nation-states, to begin with.</ref> though there was a brief resurgence of "[[ethnic group]] gets a country" in the 1990s with the break up of the [[Soviet Union|communist system in Eurasia]]. 

The population of the nation of [[Canada]] includes over 600 recognized {{wpl | First Nations}}.

==See also==
* [[Micronation]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

{{stub|politics}}
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Government]]

Categories: Countries, Political terms, Government
Nation-state

{{sources needed}}
{{politics}}{{cquote|"Sid Meier got it right!"}}
The '''nation-state''' is a relatively recent geopolitical occurrence, despite common belief. Nation-states are products of the modern age and did not exist before the advent of modernity; prior to this, agglomerates of polities, ethnic identities, and religious territories tended to make up what people in the Middle Ages might have considered analogous to the 21st-century nation-state.

Many people, following in the footsteps of Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803),<ref>{{wpa | Johann Gottfried Herder}}</ref> espouse the belief that nation-states are eternal. They often rely on [[Nationalist pseudohistory |myth]] to bolster their ignorance of historical development. They are called nationalists because they espouse various theories of positive [[nationalism]]. 

Belief in the eternal nature of nation-states is one of the more inexplicable psychological flaws that dot the citizenry. Because of this die-hard belief, appeals to the mythical nature of national foundings are often used for contemporary political maneuvers against social change, most especially on the [[Political spectrum | political right]]. Leftist politics tends to associate economic trends (the state) with social history, as opposed to trends in solidarity based on more phenotypical or rhetorical similarities (the nation).

Some people like to think that a nation-state consists in the perfect congruence of a [[nation]] and a [[state]]. [[Chechnya | This]] [[Kurdistan | seldom]] [[Hungary | occurs]].

==See also==
*[[Dialect continuum]]
*[[Ethnic cleansing]]
*[[Ethnocracy]]
*[[Nationalism in history textbooks]]
*[[Romanticism]]

[[Category:Nationalism]] 
[[Category:Countries]]

Categories: Nationalism, Countries
Nation (magazine)

{{media}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Nation'' (magazine)}}
[[Image:Nation.gif|thumb|left|This logo makes a mailbox smile.]]
'''''The Nation''''' is an [[United States|American]] weekly magazine of opinion and reviews, published continuously since July 6, 1865.<ref>http://www.thenation.com/archive</ref> It was a successor to {{wpl|William Lloyd Garrison||'s}} [[abolitionist]] newspaper ''{{wpl|The Liberator (magazine)|The Liberator|,}}'' which had been rendered obsolete due to the passage of the [[Thirteenth Amendment]]. It has historically been a bastion of [[liberal]] and [[socialist]] thought.

''The Nation'''s current editor and publisher is Katrina vanden Heuvel, succeeding the "publisher emeritus" Victor Navasky (whose name alone tells you he's a commie<ref group=note>Actually, no, he's a [[Ukrainian]] [[Jew]]. But what were you expecting from judging people by their surnames?</ref>).

''The Nation'' publishes 48 weeks a year, printing letters to the editor (including responses by article writers), editorials, columns by regular commentators, book reviews, and the wonderful ''Nation'' puzzle, which was created by cryptographer Frank W. Lewis just after the [[World War II|Second World War]].

==See also==
*''[[New York Times]]'' — the other evil commie paper
*''[[The Economist]]'' — centrist-liberal publication

==External links==
*[http://www.thenation.com/ ''The Nation'' website]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
__NOTOC__
[[Category:American media]]
[[Category:Magazines]]
[[Category:United States politics]]
{{Stub|media}}

Categories: American media, Magazines, United States politics
National Bible Bee

{{biblenav}}{{title-italics}}{{Sources needed}}
The '''''National Bible Bee''''' was "founded with the mission to engage young people in the memorization and study of God's Word and provide opportunities to proclaim it through local, national and broadcast competitions."<ref> https://biblebee.org/ The National Bible Bee Website, accessed on September 03, 2019</ref>  It is a favorite [[Bible]] memory competition - and, obviously, the preferred pastime - of [[children]] and young adults alike.{{nofact}}

The ''NBB'' is very similar to a typical spelling bee, except contestants must recite Bible passages and facts rather than spell words. 

The purpose of the ''NBB'' is to promote the Christian [[God]] in children and youth by motivating them to memorize passages and facts found in the [[Bible]].<ref> https://www.facebook.com/pg/nationalbiblebee/about/?ref=page_internal From "About" of the NBB page on Facebook, accessed on March 19, 2020</ref>

The ultimate goal of this game - aside from having guaranteed wacky family fun for all ages - is to arm the next generation with enough scripture and biblical facts<ref> https://biblebee.org/ The National Bible Bee Website, accessed on 03 September 2019</ref> as to engineer bold ambassadors for [[Jesus Christ]] and his rather nasty old dad, Jehova.

Contestants are allowed to use the [[King James Version]] (eew), the New King James Version (about equally eew in quality, but marginally more readable), the [[Bible translation#American Standard Version and related|English Standard Version]] (approaching tolerable), or the [[Bible translation#New American Standard Bible|New American Standard Bible]] (all the pitfalls of over-literal translation, and then some). 

If you missed the pattern in this litter of prospect Bible versions, they seem to have chosen some of the most distinctly conservative English translations available, accuracy be damned. They have also excluded the preferred Bibles of 
those heathen
 [[Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christians.

==External links==
*[http://www.biblebee.org/ The ''National Bible Bee'' official website]
==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|Bible}}
[[Category:Bible]]

Categories: Bible
National Cancer Institute

The '''National Cancer Institute''' (NCI) is either one of the most respected and comprehensive sources of information on [[cancer]] treatments, or the control nexus of the [[cancer industry]], depending on who you believe.

It's part of the [[National Institutes for Health]] (NIH), a US Government agency, and is tasked with coordinating the US National Cancer Program, an umbrella program that draws research, training and health information around the subject of cancer.

It was established in 1937 and made an operating division of NIH in 1944. A survey in 1995 suggested that the NCI's sponsorship of investigational new drugs research was responsible for two thirds of all new cancer treatments approved by the FDA.

==External links==
* [http://www.cancer.gov/ Official website]
[[Category:Disease]]
[[Category:United States government]]

Categories: Disease, United States government
National Council Against Health Fraud

{{Altmed}}
'''The National Council Against Health Fraud''' is a nonprofit, American-based voluntary health agency that is "focused upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems."<ref>http://www.ncahf.org/</ref> It emerged from three separate organizations in the 70's, notably [[Quackwatch]]. It is heavily criticized by alternative medicine [[Quack|quacks]], for using science to expose quacks, which causes quacks' blood pressure to boil over.

==Mission Statement and Positions==
===Mission Statement===
The mission of the NCAHF is based on customer protection and the [[scientific method]]. The first part of the mission statement details that everybody is a consumer, and therefore everyone deserves high quality and functional healthcare. This includes health officials and professionals, who must do their duty to help consumers protect themselves from quacks and [[alternative medicine]] promoters. They investigate fake or useless products in the pharmaceutical and medicine industry, and evaluate them. They also state that the scientific method is the best and only way to validate and improve health services. It is their belief that health products and services should be safe and effective, accurately and fully labeled, and [[Pseudoscience in Advertising|advertised truthfully]]. They hold the Consumer Bill of Rights in high regard, adhering to its principles, supporting consumer health laws, and opposing any legislation that could undermine it.<ref>http://www.ncahf.org/about/mission.html</ref>

===Selected positions===
====Acupuncture====
{{main|Acupuncture}}
The organization's official position on acupuncture is that it is an unproven form of treatment. From there, they state that it is based on primitive medicinal practices and beliefs, and that it has no basis in real scientific medicine. They cite that research has not demonstrated its efficacy, and that effects that are felt by the patients are probably due mostly to the [[placebo effect]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Skeptical organizations]]

Categories: Skeptical organizations