List of pseudosciences

{{silver}}{{pseudosciencenav}}This is a '''list of fields of endeavors and concepts that have been regarded as pseudoscientific''' by (1) organizations that are representative of the international scientific community and/or (2) mainstream [[Skepticism|skeptical]] organizations. They may have explicitly called a field or concept "[[pseudoscience]]" or used words to that effect. Also included are important concepts associated with the main entries, and concepts that, while notable, have not elicited commentary from mainstream scientific bodies.  Notable parodies of pseudoscientific concepts are also included.

==Main topics==
The following have broad consensus concerning their [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] status. Indicative of this are assertions by mainstream, specialized scientific bodies.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151026213740/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind00/access/c8/c8s5.htm Chapter 8: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding. Belief in the Paranormal or Pseudoscience] (2000) ''Science and Engineering Indicators, National Science Foundation'' (archived from October 25, 2015)></ref><ref>[http://blogs.jpl.nasa.gov/2009/11/2012-%e2%80%93-a-scientific-realty-check/ 2012 - A Scientific Reality Check] by Donald Yeomans (2011) ''NASA'' (archived from March 13, 2013).</ref><ref>[http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bermudatri.html What is the Bermuda Triangle? The Bermuda Triangle is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which ships, planes, and people are alleged to have mysteriously vanished.] (January 4, 2010) ''National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration''.</ref><ref>http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mermaids.html Are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.] (Last updated: 06/25/18) ''National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160402200041/http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/buyingusingmedicinesafely/medicationhealthfraud/ucm207747.htm Alternative Medicine Fraud] (Last Updated: 10/25/2010) ''U.S. Food and Drug Administration'' (archived from April 2, 2016).</ref>

*'''[[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.
**Planetary alignments are events where two or more planets and the [[Sun]] and [[Moon]] line up from the perspective of [[Earth]]. Much of astrology has been developed around such alignments.
**[[Sun sign]]s are astrological signs that are determined by the location of the Sun at a particular moment in time such as an individual's birth.
*'''[[Climate change denial]]''' has been described as a form of pseudoscience by various groups including the {{wpl|National Center for Science Education||.}}<ref>[https://ncse.ngo/ncse-tackles-climate-change-denial-0 NCSE Tackles Climate Change Denial: A new initiative in the struggle for quality science education. Science education is under attack—again.] (January 13, 2012) ''National Center for Science Education''.</ref>
*'''[[Creation science]]''' is the belief that the origin of everything in the [[universe]] is the result of a [[first cause]], brought about by a [[God|creator deity]], and that this thesis is supported by geological, biological, and other scientific evidence. This "evidence" is either Biblical in nature, or it attacks a tenet of evolution, incorrectly [[false dichotomy|assuming]] that if any part of evolution is wrong, the whole thing is wrong and creationism is right.
**[[Baraminology]] is an attempt to create a bible-friendly version of biological species without invoking [[Theory of evolution|evolution]].
**[[Biblical scientific foreknowledge]] asserts that [[the Bible]] makes accurate statements about the world that science verifies thousands of years later. A favorite of kdbuffalo/Conservative. Suffers from the problem that [[prophesy]] should predict the future, not the past. Kinda the whole point.
**[[Catastrophic plate tectonics]]
**Creationist cosmologies are ones which, among other things, allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old. 
**[[Flood geology]], the creationist form of geology, advocates a [[global flood]] can account for most of the geologic features on Earth.
***[[Hydroplate theory]] is an attempt to explain how an earth-wide flood could occur.
***[[Soft-sediment deformation]] is the idea that rocks can only be deformed if wet and soft. 
**[[Intelligent Design]] is a version of creation science stated in secular terms, ''viz.'' that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not [by] an undirected process such as [[natural selection]]."
***The [[banana fallacy]] is an argument about how things are designed to suit humans, while ignoring other explanations such as artificial selection.
***[[Irreducible complexity]] is the claim that some systems are so complex that they cannot have evolved from simpler systems. Proponents of intelligent design use irreducible complexity to argue that evolution by natural selection alone is incomplete or flawed, and that some additional mechanism (an "Intelligent Designer") is required to explain the origins of [[life]].
***Specified complexity is the claim that when something is simultaneously complex and specified, one can infer that it was produced by an intelligent cause (i.e., that it was designed) rather than being the result of natural processes.
**[[Modern geocentrism]] cites uniform gamma-ray burst distribution as evidence that we are at the center of the universe, and other ideas of this type. 
*'''[[Crop circles]]''' are geometric designs of crushed or knocked-over crops 
created
 occurring in a field. Aside from skilled farmers or pranksters working through the night, explanations for their formation include UFOs and anomalous, tornado-like air currents.  The study of crop circles is termed "cerealogy" by proponents. 
*'''[[Dogon people|Dogon people and Sirius B]]''' is a series of claims that the Dogon tribe knew about the white-dwarf companion of Sirius despite it being invisible to the naked eye.
*'''[[Erich von Däniken]]''''s proposal of [[ancient astronauts]].
*'''[[Flat Earth]]''' is the claim that [[Earth]] is flat despite over 2,000 years of evidence showing otherwise.
*'''[[Lunar effect|Full moon lunacy]]''' is the belief that the full moon is correlated with the manifestation of lunacy.
*'''[[Non-materialist neuroscience]]''' is the attempt to scientifically prove the existence of a "[[mind]]" (separate from the material [[brain]]), and is closely related to [[dualism]].
*'''[[Paranormal]] subjects''' 
**[[Channelling|Channeling]] is the communication of information to or through a person — allegedly from a [[spirit]] or from some other paranormal entity
**[[Dowsing]] refers to practices said to enable one to detect hidden [[water]], metals, gemstones, or other objects.
**[[Electronic voice phenomenon]] is the alleged communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic devices.
**[[Extra-sensory perception]] is the paranormal ability (independent of the five main senses or deduction from previous experience) to acquire information by means such as [[telepathy]], [[clairvoyance]], [[precognition]], [[psychic|psychic abilities]], and [[remote viewing]].
**[[Levitation]], in this sense, is the act of rising up from the ground without any physical aids, usually by the power of thought.
**Materialization is the supposed creation or appearance of matter from unknown sources.
**[[Numerology]]
**[[Psychokinesis]] is the paranormal ability of the mind to influence matter or energy at a distance.
**[[Spiritualism]] is a religious movement which holds the belief that communication with the dead can occur through the powers of individuals called [[medium]]s.
***[[Séance]]s are ritualized attempts to communicate with the dead.
*'''[[Perpetual motion]]''' is a class of proposed machines that violate the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]]. Perpetual motion has been recognized as extrascientific since the late 18<sup>th</sup> century, but inventors continue to make proposals and [[patent]]s for such devices to the present day. 
**[[Free energy (pseudoscience)|Free energy]] is a particular class of perpetual motion which violates the [[first law of thermodynamics]] and the law of conservation of energy. Of particular note are proposals involving the extraction of [[zero-point energy]], a real energy found in [[quantum mechanics]] that cannot be used to do work. 
*'''[[Racialism]]''' is the theory that humans can be separated into distinct races and that race is an indicator of IQ.
**[[Hereditarianism]], aka Jensenism, is the idea that mean differences in IQ between different human populations are primarily the result of [[genetics]].
**[[Blood quantum]] is a legal principle measuring ancestry among indigenous peoples, particularly in regards to determining tribal enrollment among Native Americans.
**The [[One-drop rule]] is a racial policy determining the identity of African-Americans.
*'''[[Torsion field]] physics''' is a theory about some new kind of fields that travel much faster than light. Torsion fields are often used to "mathematically describe" other pseudoscientific topics.
*'''Hyperdimensional physics''' is a concept that has been very vaguely described by Tom Bearden. [[Mike Bara]] once summed it up as "a rotating body pulls energy from its higher state". None of the examples he gives are actually valid.
*'''[[Ufology]]''' is the study of [[unidentified flying object]]s (UFOs) and frequently includes the belief that UFOs are evidence for [[exobiology|extraterrestrial]] visitors. 
**The '''[[Face on Mars]]''' (in [[Cydonia Mensae]]) is a rock formation on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet. Higher-resolution images show it to appear less face-like. It features prominently in the pseudoscientific theories of [[Richard C. Hoagland]].
**[[Alien abduction]]s are events where people claim to have been taken into a spaceship for [[medical]] experiments by aliens before being returned to Earth.
**{{wpl|Close encounter||s}} are events where persons witness UFOs, or purportedly meet and/or communicate with alien beings.
*'''[[Alternate historical chronology#Immanuel Velikovsky|Immanuel Velikovsky's]]''' proposals that ancient texts refer to the collision of astronomical bodies as in ''Worlds in Collision''.

==Medical==
*'''[[Anti-vaccination movement]]''' is the idea that vaccines cause [[autism]] or other ailments.
*'''[[Aromatherapy]]''' is the attempt to use oils for therapeutic purposes.
*'''[[Applied kinesiology]]''' is pushing on muscles to find out what's wrong with someone.
*'''[[Aura|Aura analysis]]''' is the theory of diagnosis through visualization of human aura. This is closely connected to [[paranormal]] subjects.
*'''[[Chelation therapy]]''' is therapy that is used to flush heavy metals from the body, by encasing them in soluble molecules. While it does have valid uses, like treating lead-poisoning, [[Rashid Buttar|some]] [[Geier family|idiots]] claim that it will cure [[autism]], likely from the idea that autism is caused by [[mercury]] poisoning.
* A '''[[cleanse]]''' purports to take substances claimed to remove "toxins" from the colon, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, or other organs.
*'''[[Colonic|Colonic hydrotherapy]]''': "What's in your colon makes you sick". Really, what's in your colon makes ''me'' sick. They never quite got that right.
*'''[[Color therapy]]''' involves looking at colored lights to cure whatever.
*'''[[Ear candling]]''' is the burning of a hollow candle placed over the ear canal, supposedly to remove wax.
*'''[[Faith healing]]''' is the act of curing [[disease]] by such means as [[prayer]] and [[laying on of hands]].
*'''[[Folk remedy|Folk remedies]]''' are unproven medical practices deriving from [[Protoscience|pre-scientific]] sources or word of mouth.
*'''[[Hair Analysis]]''' is the theory of diagnosis through the levels of minerals in hair.
*'''[[Med beds]]''' are a favorite of [[Qanon|Qanon believers]].
*'''[[Herbal supplement|Herbalism]]''' is healing by the ingestion of various plant preparations — teas, tinctures, poultices and the like. A few herbalist remedies have been shown through controlled clinical trials to have a physiological effect, but the majority are simply folk remedies. Some (e.g. ''[[Aristolochia]]'') are quite dangerous.
*'''[[Homeopathy]]''' is a medical practice that claims to work by diluting various things in a solute. While modern pharmacology works similarly, and indeed likely owes much of its history to homeopathy, there is a patent denial of the dose-response relationships that chemicals have with the body. Homeopathy is the exact opposite of modern pharmacology — homeopathy claims that things get ''more'' potent as they become more dilute. By current laws in most countries, in order for something to be labeled as "homeopathic", it must not contain anything but the solution that the treatment has been "distilled into" (usually purified [[water]]). Homeopathy is entirely "natural", but not always harmless (because of impurities, insufficient dilution, or avoiding actual medicine).
*'''[[Ivermectin]]''' is a totally fine medicine, except for the fact that it's for deworming horses and not for curing [[COVID-19]].
*'''[[Laetrile]]''' is a [[quack]] [[cancer]] treatment, outlawed in the U.S. because it breaks down into cyanide in the body.
*'''[[Magnetic therapy]]''' is the practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence one's health.
*'''[[Ryke Geerd Hamer|New German Medicine]]''' is a dubious and illegal cancer treatment, which applies a form of psychotherapy in treating a physical disease.
*'''[[Q-Ray]]''' is a ray of miraculous ability that offers healing in direct proportion to the user's gullibility.
*'''[[Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria]]''' is the claim that there is an epidemic of children suddenly identifying as being [[transgender]] due to being "impressionable and naïve". The term came from one study that was widely criticized for its methodology.
*'''[[Reflexology]]''' deals with foot [[massage]]s.
*'''[[Reiki]]''' is a no-touch healing technique where the therapist channels energy to the patient.
*'''[[Reparative therapy]]''' is any treatment that attempts to change someone's [[sexuality]] or [[gender identity]].
*'''[[Rolfing]]''' is the massage of the body's connective tissue, claimed to bring the posture back into correct alignment.
*'''[[Therapeutic touch]]''' is a form of [[vitalism]] where one passes one's hands over and around the body of a sick person so as to treat his/her illness.
*'''[[Pseudovitamin]]s''' are substances not necessary in human nutrition but promoted as "vitamins" by those trying to market them.
*'''Wave genetics''' is cure of the disease by transferring the "image" of the [[DNA]] by means of sound, RF signals or lasers, often used in connection with other techniques.
*'''Halqeh Mysticism''' is a spiritual treatment which claims all illnesses are curable by connecting to the universe consciousness that is practiced by well-trained masters.

==Other significant topics==
The following are subjects regarded as pseudoscientific by notable [[skepticism|skeptical]] bodies such as the [[CSICOP|Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (formerly CSICOP). Unless otherwise noted, the entries are referenced from [[The Skeptics Society]]'s ''The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience''. Finally, some of these items are not considered pseudoscientific in and of themselves: only certain aspects, explanations, and/or applications of them. See an item's description text for more information on this.

*'''[[2012 apocalypse]]''': We're all gonna die, and it's gonna happen in 2012, because the Mayans said so, and they would know.<ref group=note>Forgetting that the Mayans have simply just added a new digit before… the idea that the end of the Mayan calendar is the end of the world has the same merit as "The world is going to end at the end of year 9/99/999/9999 AD because there are no more digits left".</ref>
*'''[[Anthroposophy]]''' is a philosophy which holds that that spirit world can be scientifically investigated.
**Anthroposophical medicine is the practice within the Anthroposophy belief system of various remedies intented for illnesses of a person's non-physical "[[soul]]."
*'''[[Attachment therapy]]''' is a psychotherapeutic treatment for aggressive, disobedient, and/or unaffectionate [[children]] (so-called attachment disorder). A minor version (relative to most other attachment therapies) involves the child being physically restrained by adults who then attempt to maintain prolonged eye contact. Perhaps the most extreme is "[[rebirthing]]," in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.
*'''[[Bermuda Triangle|The Bermuda Triangle]]''' is a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and (in its most popular version) [[Florida]]. Frequent disappearances and ship and aircraft disasters in this area have led to claims of paranormal phenomena and extraterrestrial attacks and abductions.
*'''[[Biorhythms]]''' are alleged periodic cycles of human physiology and behavior that govern physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being.
*[[Cyclical theory]]
**'''[[William Strauss and Neil Howe]]''' have a weird "theory" of historical repetition.
*'''[[Dianetics]]''' is [[L. Ron Hubbard]]'s pseudoscience that purports to treat a theoretical "reactive mind" by means of an "[[E-Meter]]", a device which Hubbard was later legally forced to admit "does nothing". 
*'''Dietary supplements''' are products marketed as health-promoting, but which have little or no evidence to support the claim. They are usually derived from exotic(-sounding) plant life and are often sold over the Internet.
**[[Herbal supplements]]
**[[Vitamin supplement]]s 
**[[Orthomolecular medicine]]
*'''[[Earth changes]]''' is belief in a period of coming cataclysmic events on the earth based in New Age mysticism rather than scientific evidence.
*'''[[Earthquake prediction]]''' is the purported ability to accurately forecast the time, place, and size of earthquakes.
*'''[[supernatural|Elves, fairies, gnomes, and pixies]]''' are creatures of mythical character which are sometimes alleged to be real. The [[testimonials]], which are sometimes even accompanied by photographic evidence, have often been outed as [[hoax]]es.
*'''[[Faster-than-light travel]]''', sometimes referred to as superluminal travel, is the feat of breaking the [[Speed of light|light speed]] barrier of 299,792,458 meters per second. While there are a couple of theoretical models for how this may work, there's nothing that's really testable yet.
*'''[[Feng shui]]''' is the practice of aligning gravesites, buildings, and furniture a certain way with the aim to positively affect one's health and fortune.
*'''[[Food woo]]''' is the consumption or avoidance of certain foods for reasons not supportable by scientific evidence.
*'''[[Graphology|Handwriting analysis/graphology]]''' is the practice of gleaning information about a person's personality through examination of his or her handwriting. 
*'''[[Laundry ball]]s''' are spherical or toroidal objects marketed as soap substitutes for washing machines.
*'''[[Meditation]]''' is the practice of quieting and calming the mind, often as a [[religious]] practice, to produce transcendental experiences. While most traditional explanations of the associated experiences and benefits are of a pre-scientific nature, scientific explanations have recently been advanced for the purported medical benefits of the practice.
**[[Transcendental Meditation]]
*'''Metagenetics''' claims that each person's natural [[religion]] derives from their distant ancestry and a tendency to favor the religious beliefs and practices of one's ancient ancestors has been genetically passed down to them, regardless of what religion their more recent ancestors may have converted to.
*'''[[Microwave#Mobile Phone Radiation|Mobile phone radiation and health]]''' concerns have occasionally been raised as possible causes of immune system dysfunction and cancers of the nervous system, brain, and blood.
*'''[[Near-death experience]]s''' are experiences reported by persons who nearly died or who experienced clinical death and then revived.
*'''[[Neoshamanism]]''' is a combination of [[shaman]]istic, [[New Age|new-age]] spiritual, and other philosophies which include belief in [[spirits]], [[meditation]] and sometimes the use of entheogens. 
*'''[[Out-of-body experience]]s''' are experiences where a person seems to see the world from a location outside of the physical body. Qua ''experience'', OBEs are real and theory-neutral, but some explanations invoke the paranormal.
*'''[[Parapsychology]]''' is the study of certain types of paranormal phenomenon.
*'''[[Phrenology]]''' is a theory which claims to be able to determine character and personality traits on the basis of the shape of the head (reading "bumps").
*'''[[Polygraph]]/[[Lie detection]]''' are methods used to detect lying and truthfulness in a subject. Its use in [[police]] departments and other [[government]] agencies persists despite its questionable reliability.
*'''[[Prophecy]]''' deals with making predictions for the future.
*'''[[Pseudoarcheology]]''' is the investigation of the ancient past using alleged paranormal or otherwise scientifically dubious means.
**[[Ancient astronauts]] are extraterrestrials said to have initiated the rise of human civilization.
**[[Ancient super-civilizations]] are commonly used to link ancient megalithic constructions, e.g. [[Atlantis]].
*'''[[Reincarnation]]''' is the belief that souls inhabit a succession of physical bodies over the course of their existence. It is not usually believed that memories survive reincarnation, but some people have claimed to have remembered past lives, which can be scientifically studied.
*'''[[Shroud of Turin]]''' is a length of linen cloth alleged by some members of the [[Christian]] community to have been [[Jesus]]' death shroud. 
*'''[[Subliminal messages|Subliminal perception]]''' is visual or auditory information that is allegedly discerned below the threshold of awareness and has the power to influence human behavior.
*'''Synchronicity''' is a phenomenon described by psychologist [[Carl Jung]] as "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events." The inability to test for it has marginalized its scientific importance.
*'''[[Technical analysis]]''' is a "scientific" way of interpreting the stock market.
*'''[[Theosophy]]''' is Helena Blavatsky's pseudoscientific religion.
*'''[[Therian]]thropy''' is belief that some humans are born with the traits or personalities of other animals, or have a spiritual connection to same.
**'''[[Otherkin]]''' extends this idea to supernatural creatures such as elves and [[dragon]]s, and even to science fiction creatures.
*'''[[Tutankhamun's curse]]''' was allegedly placed on the discoverers of [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[pharaoh]] Tutankhamun, causing widespread deaths and other disastrous events (though it was discovered that it was actually a toxic fungus).

==Obscure and parody pseudoscience==
The following are subjects that are sufficiently notable to warrant mention yet still too obscure for any mainstream group (of the sort cited above) to comment on them. They are nonetheless uncontroversially regarded as pseudoscientific: the only people insisting on the topics' scientific status appear to be their lone, respective proponents and, perhaps, a single digit quantity of devotees. Also included here are notable parodies of other pseudosciences and pseudoscientific concepts.

*'''[[Flying Spaghetti Monster]]''' is the deity of a [[parody religion]] founded by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson. He created it in response to the 2005 evolution controversy sparked by Kansas's State Board of Education.
*'''[[Intelligent falling]]''' is a parody of [[intelligent design]] which attacks gravitation in the same way intelligent design attacks origin theories.
*'''[[Time Cube]]''' is a proposed [[theory of everything]] which holds that time is cubic. Its creator, [[Gene Ray]], finds those who are ignorant of his theory to be "STUPID AND EVIL."
*'''The [[Magic 8 Ball]] knows! or does it?
*'''The ''[[Weekly World News]]''''' was to pseudoscience what ''[[The Onion]]'' is to [[politics]].  Was it real or a spoof? You decide.

==Partial pseudoscience==
Those subjects that may be genuine science, but many people take them to extremes that surpass the ability of current science to justify, or verify, their claims.

*'''[[Alchemy]]''' is basically [[chemistry]] but without applying the [[scientific method]].
*'''[[Audio woo]]''' is making claims for the fidelity of sound reproduction that are unable to be objectively measured or substantiated.
*'''[[Chiropractic]]''' healing is healing by the cracking of one's back.  As long as your problem only lies with your back, then a chiropractor can be helpful (though neck cracking can be deadly).  However, a lot of chiropractors go way above "I can help with back-aches!" to "I can cure autism!"
*'''[[Cryptid|Cryptozoology]]''' is the study of animals whose existence is suspect. Famous examples include [[Bigfoot]], the [[Loch Ness Monster]], and the [[goat]]-killing "[[Chupacabra]]."
**'''[[Cattle mutilation]]s''' are cases of domestic livestock with seemingly unexplainable wounds. Sources of these wounds are said to be supernatural, malevolent forces or bizarre — but terrestrial — creatures.  Another claim ascribes them to the work of [[Satanic Panic|Satanic cults]].
*'''[[Exobiology]]''' is the study of non-terrestrial life forms. Currently this is a branch of science without a single thing to do except theorise.
*'''[[Forteanism]]''' is scepticism beyond the bounds of reason.
*'''[[Hypnosis]]''' is an extremely relaxed state in which a person is unusually responsive to suggestions made by the hypnotist. While hypnosis in some sense is almost universally regarded as real, explanations of the phenomenon invoking anything more than just an especially cooperative subject have far less scientific support. In addition, certain applications of hypnosis in psychotherapy, such as [[smoking]] cessation and self-esteem improvement, also lack empirical support.
*'''[[Psychoanalysis]]''' is a genuine area of study, but the field has historically been and continues to be dominated by ideas lacking empirical support.
**'''[[Sigmund Freud]]''' and his ideas are the most prominent within psychoanalysis. Many of his ideas have since been refuted and lack empirical evidence but are still popular in psychoanalysis.
**'''[[Transactional Analysis]]''' is a non-Freudian approach to psychoanalysis popular during the late 20<sup>th</sup> century, also lacking in empirical support and best viewed as an arbitrary system of categorizing human interactions.
**'''[[Myers-Briggs|Myers-Briggs Type Inventory]]''' claims to categorize human personality types.

==Denialism==
{{main|Denialism}}
While not entirely fields of pseudoscience, denialism is denying a robust [[scientific consensus]]. It often uses forms of pseudoscience such as highly flawed or misleading studies, huge [[Conflict of interest|conflicts of interest]], [[Cherry picking|cherry-picking]], [[Pseudostatistics|abusing statistics]], [[PIDOOMA|making up statistics]] and, well, denying large swaths of evidence that say otherwise. Denialism by those who have power also tends to have devastating consequences, with many of these denialist movements being responsible for deaths of millions of people.

*'''[[Anti-vaccination movement]]''' is mentioned already, but they do deny or grossly understate the benefits of pretty much all vaccines.
*'''[[Global warming|Climate change denialism]]''' is the delusion that humans aren't causing climate change despite mountains of evidence saying otherwise. The entire thing can be summed as dishonest cherry-picking on steroids and it is arguably as crazy as other pseudosciences. Also, the deniers in this one tend to be pretty nasty by [[Climategate|abusing FOIA requests]] and [[Tim Ball#More lawsuits|otherwise mud slinging them]]. They also tend to be funded by [[Fossil fuel|oil interests]] such as the [[Heartland Institute]] and [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]. See [[Denialgate]].
*'''[[HIV/AIDS denialism]]''' is purporting that [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] is not caused by HIV, but by something else such as recreational [[drugs]] and malnutrition.
*'''[[Tobacco smoking|Denialism about the negative effects of tobacco]]''' was rampant for decades, with paid tobacco shills downplaying or outright denying these effects, [[Coverup|despite the tobacco industry being fully aware of the dangers long before anyone else]].
*In general, whenever an industry is doing something dangerous, they will attempt to [[coverup|cover up]] studies that show the dangers, and try to fund pseudoscientific "studies" that try to downplay the dangers. The '''[[radium]], [[lead]], and [[asbestos]] industries''', among others, have been through this song and dance, and any attempt to cover up their negative effects is certainly pseudoscientifical.

==See also==
{{collist|2|
* [[Alternate historical chronology]]
* [[Crank]] (referencing a type of person)
* [[List of conspiracy theories]]
* [[List of protosciences]]
* [[Lycanthropy]]
* [[Occam's razor]]
* [[Paradigm shift]]
* [[List of protosciences|Protoscience]]
* [[Nationalist pseudohistory]]
* [[Pseudohistory]]
* [[Pseudolinguistics]]
* [[Pseudoskepticism]]
* [[Science]]
* [[Scientific arguments for a young Earth]]
* [[Scientific consensus]] (describes the majority views of scientists)
}}

==Further reading==
* Abell, George O. and Barry Singer, ''Science and the Paranormal: Probing the Existence of the Supernatural'', Charles Scribner's, 1981, ISBN 0-684-17820-6
* Collins, Paul S. (2002) ''Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World''. Picador. ISBN 0-312-30033-6 
* Gardner, Martin, ''Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
* Gardner, Martin, ''Science, Good, Bad, and Bogus''
* [[James Randi|Randi, James]], ''Flim-Flam: Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions'', Prometheus,  1982, ISBN 0-87975-198-3 
* [[Carl Sagan|Sagan, Carl]], ''The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark''. Ballantine Books, March 1997 ISBN 0-345-40946-9, 480 pgs. 1996 hardback edition: Random House, ISBN 0-394-53512-X, xv+457 pages plus addenda insert (some printings).
* Schick, Theodore and Lewis Vaughn. (1998) ''How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age''. Mayfield. ISBN 0-7674-0013-5 
* [[Michael Shermer|Shermer, Michael]]. (2002) ''Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time''. Owl Books. ISBN 0-8050-7089-3

==External links==
*[http://www.chem1.com/acad/sci/pseudosci.html A website covering a large list of pseudo-sciences and ways to determine fact from fiction]
*[https://webspace.utexas.edu/cokerwr/www/index.html/distinguish.htm Another helpful link from the University of Texas]

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{pseudonav}}

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[category:Lists]]

Categories: Pseudoscience, Lists