PSEUDOSCIENCE


categoryPseudoscience - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FROM:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_topics_characterized_as_pseudoscience


Health and medicine[edit]

  • Alternative medicine has been described as pseudoscientific. The National Science Foundation has conducted surveys of the "Public Attitudes and Public Understanding" of "Science Fiction and Pseudoscience", which includes studying the popularity of alternative medicine. It considers belief in alternative medicine a matter of concern, defining it as "all treatments that have not been proven effective using scientific methods." After quoting the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's listing of alternative medicine as one of many pseudoscientific subjects, as well as mentioning the concerns of individual scientists, organizations, and members of the science policymaking community, it comments that "nevertheless, the popularity of alternative medicine [with the public] appears to be increasing."[125] "At least 60 percent of U.S. medical schools devote classroom time to the teaching of alternative therapies, generating controversy within the scientific community."[125] In contrast, it has been reported that universities are "increasingly turning their backs on homoeopathy and complementary medicine amid opposition from the scientific community to "pseudo-science" degrees."[126] Degrees in alternative medicine have been described as "'pseudo-science' degrees",[125][126][127] "anti-scientific", and "harmful".[128]
  • Anthroposophic medicine, or anthroposophically extended medicine – school of complementary medicine[129] founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Ita Wegman based on the spiritual philosophy of anthroposophy. It is an individualized holistic and salutogenic approach to health, deemphasizing randomized controlled trials.[130][131] Medications are formulated to stimulate healing by matching "key dynamic forces" with symptoms,[132] and are prepared for external, oral, or parenteral introduction in various dilutions ranging from whole to homeopathic.[133] The use of vaccinations, antibiotics, and antipyretics is generally restricted or delayed.[134][135][136] Skeptic Robert Carroll likens to sympathetic magic the principle that curative plants may be identified by distortions or abnormalities in their morphology or physiology.[137] Carroll and others state that the system is not based in science.[137][138][139] Edzard Ernst suggests that no thorough scientific analysis of the efficacy of anthroposophical medicine as a system independent of its philosophical underpinnings has been undertaken; and that no evidence-based conclusion can be drawn as to the overall efficacy of the system.[140]
  • Applied kinesiology (AK) – a diagnostic method using manual muscle-strength testing for medical diagnosis and a subsequent determination of prescribed therapy, which proponents believe can identify health problems or nutritional deficiencies through practitioner assessment of external physical qualities such as muscle response, posture, or motion analysis. A variety of therapies are prescribed based on tested weakness or smoothness of muscle action and a conjectured viscerosomatic association between particular muscles and organs. For example, a practitioner will give the patient a jar containing a substance to hold in one hand, then test for muscle strength in the other hand; if there is little resistance, the practitioner may conclude that the patient is allergic to that substance. The sole use of Applied Kinesiology to diagnose or treat any allergy[141] or illness[142][143] is not scientifically supported, and the International College of Applied Kinesiology requires concurrent use of standard diagnostic techniques.[144] Applied kinesiologists are often chiropractors, but may also be naturopaths, physicians, dentists, nutritionists, physical therapists, massage therapists, and nurses.[142][145] Applied Kinesiology should not be confused with kinesiology, the scientific study of human movement.
  • Maharishi Ayurveda – traditional Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old alternative medical practice with roots in ancient India based on a mind-body set of beliefs.[161][162] Imbalance or stress in an individual’s consciousness is believed to be the reason of diseases.[161] Patients are classified by body types (three doshas, which are considered to control mind-body harmony, determine an individual’s "body type"); and treatment is aimed at restoring balance to the mind-body system.[161][162] It has long been the main traditional system of health care in India,[162] and it has become institutionalized in India's colleges and schools, although unlicensed practitioners are common.[163] As with other traditional knowledge, much of it was lost; in the West, current practice is in part based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1980s,[164] who mixed it with Transcendental Meditation; other forms of Ayurveda exist as well. The most notable advocate of Ayurveda in America is Deepak Chopra, who claims that Maharishi's Ayurveda is based on quantum mysticism.[164]
  • Bates method for better eyesight – an educational method developed by ophthalmologist William Bates intended to improve vision "naturally" to the point at which it can allegedly eliminate the need for glasses by undoing a habitual strain to see.[165] In 1929 Bates was cited by the FTC for false or misleading advertising in connection with his book describing the method, Perfect Sight Without Glasses,[166] though the complaint was later dismissed.[167] Although some people claim to have improved their eyesight by following his principles, Bates' ideas about vision and accommodation have been rejected by mainstream ophthalmology and optometry.[168][169][170][171][172]
  • Biorhythms – hypothesis holding that human physiology and behavior are governed by physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles lasting 23, 28, and 33 days, respectively. The system posits that, for instance, errors in judgment are more probable on days when an individual's intellectual cycle, as determined by days since birth, is near a minimum. No biophysical mechanism of action has been discovered, and the predictive power of biorhythms charts is no better than chance.[11][173][174][175] For the scientific study of biological cycles such as circadian rhythms, see chronobiology.
  • Body memory – hypothesis that the body itself is capable of storing memories, as opposed to only the brain. This is used to explain having memories for events where the brain was not in a position to store memories and is sometimes a catalyst for repressed memories recovery.[176] These memories are often characterised with phantom pain in a part or parts of the body – the body appearing to remember the past trauma. The idea of body memory is a belief frequently associated with the idea of repressed memories, in which memories of incest or sexual abuse can be retained and recovered through physical sensations.[176][177]
  • Brain Gym – commercial training program that claims that any learning challenges can be overcome by finding the right movements, to subsequently create new pathways in the brain. They claim that the repetition of the 26 Brain Gym movements "activates the brain for optimal storage and retrieval of information",[178] and are designed to "integrate body and mind" in order to improve "concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more."[179] Its theoretical foundation has been discredited by the scientific community, which describe it as pseudoscience.[180][181][182][183] Peer reviewed scientific studies into Brain Gym have found no significant improvement in general academic skills. Its claimed results have been put down to the placebo effect and the benefits of breaks and exercise. Its founder, Paul Dennison, has admitted that many of Brain Gym's claims are not based on good science, but on his "hunches".[184]
  • Chiropractic is an alternative medicine practice focusing on spinal manipulation. Many modern chiropractors target solely mechanical dysfunction, and offer health and lifestyle counseling.[185][186] Many others, however, base their practice on the vitalism of D.D. Palmer and B. J. Palmer, maintaining that all or many organic diseases are the result of hypothetical spinal dysfunctions known as vertebral subluxations and the impaired flow of Innate intelligence, a form of putative energy.[187][188] These ideas are not based in science, and along with the lack of a strong research base are in part responsible for the historical conflict between chiropractic and mainstream medicine.[189][190][191][192] Recent systematic reviews indicate the possibility of moderate effectiveness for spinal manipulation in the management of nonspecific low back pain.[193][194][195] The effectiveness of chiropractic spinal manipulation has not been demonstrated according to the principles of evidence-based medicine for any other condition.[196] Adverse events with possible neurologic involvement following spinal manipulation, particularly upper spinal manipulation, occur with a frequency of between 33% and 61%. Most events are minor, such as mild soreness, fainting, dizziness, light headedness, headache, or numbness or tingling in the upper limbs; serious complications such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, vertebral artery dissection, or myelopathy are observed infrequently.[197][198][199][200][201]
  • Innate intelligence – form of putative energy, the flow of which is considered by some chiropractors to be responsible for patient health. Chiropractic historian Joseph C. Keating, Jr., PhD. stated: "So long as we propound the 'One cause, one cure' rhetoric of Innate, we should expect to be met by ridicule from the wider health science community. Chiropractors can’t have it both ways. Our theories cannot be both dogmatically held vitalistic constructs and be scientific at the same time. The purposiveness, consciousness and rigidity of the Palmers’ Innate should be rejected."[202]
  • Vertebral subluxation – a Chiropractic term that describes variously a site of impaired flow of innate or a spinal lesion that is postulated to cause neuromusculoskeletal or visceral dysfunction. Scientific consensus does not support the existence of chiropractic's vertebral subluxation.[203]
  • Colon cleansing (colonics, colon hydrotherapy) – encompasses several alternative medical therapies intended to remove fecal waste and unidentified toxins from the colon and intestinal tract. Practitioners believe that accumulations of putrefied feces line the walls of the large intestine and that they harbor parasites or pathogenic gut flora, causing nonspecific symptoms and general ill-health. This "auto-intoxication" hypothesis is based on medical beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, and was discredited in the early 20th century.[204][205]
  • Craniosacral therapy – involves the therapist placing their hands on the patient, which allows them to "tune into the craniosacral rhythm".[206] Craniosacral therapists claim to treat mental stress, neck and back pain, migraines, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and for chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.[207][208][209] A systematic review conducted in 1999 "did not find valid scientific evidence that craniosacral therapy provides a benefit to patients", noting that "[t]he available health outcome research consists of low grade of evidence derived from weak study designs" and "[a]dverse events have been reported in head-injured patients following craniosacral therapy."[210] Craniosacral therapy has been variously characterized as pseudoscientific or discredited.[211][212][213][214][215][216]
  • Crystal healing – belief that crystals have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s with the New Age movement.[217][218]
  • Earthing Therapy or Grounding - a therapy that is claimed to ease pain, provide a better nights sleep, and assist in diseases with symptoms of inflammation by being in direct physical contact with the ground or a device connected to electrical ground.[219] Purportedly, the earth has an excess of electrons which people are missing due to insulating shoes and ground cover. Being in electrical contact with the earth provides the body with those excess electrons which then act as antioxidants.[220]
  • Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) – reported sensitivity to electric and magnetic fields or electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies at exposure levels well below established safety standards. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and similar non-specific indications.[221] Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation,[222][223] and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to [electromagnetic fields]."[224]
  • Faith healing – act of curing disease by such means as prayer and laying on of hands. No material benefit in excess of that expected by placebo is observed.[11][225][226]
  • Health Bracelets and various healing jewelry that are purported to improve the health, heal, or improve the chi of the wearer, such as ionized bracelets, hologram bracelets, and magnetic jewelry. No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources.[227][228]
  • Homeopathy – the belief that giving a patient with symptoms of an illness extremely dilute remedies that are thought to produce those same symptoms in healthy people. These preparations are often diluted beyond the point where any treatment molecule is likely to remain.[229] Studies of homeopathic practice have been largely negative or inconclusive.[230][231][232][233] No scientific basis for homeopathic principles has been substantiated.[234][235][236][237][238][239][240]
  • Iridology – means of medical diagnosis which proponents believe can identify and diagnose health problems through close examination of the markings and patterns of the iris. Practitioners divide the iris into 80–90 zones, each of which is connected to a particular body region or organ. This connection has not been scientifically validated, and disorder detection is neither selective nor specific.[241][242][243] Because iris texture is a phenotypical feature which develops during gestation and remains unchanged after birth (which makes the iris useful for Biometrics), Iridology is all but impossible.
  • Leaky gut syndrome – in alternative medicine, a proposed condition caused by the passage of harmful substances outward through the gut wall. It has been proposed as the cause of many conditions including multiple sclerosis and autism, a claim which has been called pseudoscientific.[244] According to the UK National Health Service, the theory is vague and unproven.[245] Some skeptics and scientists say that the marketing of treatments for leaky gut syndrome is either misguided or an instance of deliberate health fraud.[245]
  • Lightning Process – a system claimed to be derived from osteopathy, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and life coaching.[246] Proponents claim that the Process can have a positive effect on a long list of diseases and conditions, including myalgic encephalomyelitis, despite no scientific evidence of efficacy.[247] The designer of the Lightning Process, Phill Parker, suggests certain illnesses such as ME/CFS arise from a dysregulation of the Central Nervous System and Autonomic Nervous System, which the Lightning Process aims to address, helping to break the "adrenaline loop" that keep the systems' stress responses high.[247]
  • Magnet therapy – practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence health. While there are legitimate medical uses for magnets and magnetic fields, the field strength used in magnetic therapy is too low to effect any biological change, and the methods used have no scientific validity.[11][248][249]
  • Naturopathy, or Naturopathic Medicine, is a type of alternative medicine based on a belief in vitalism, which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth, and adaptation.[250] Naturopathy has been characterized as pseudoscience.[251][252] It has particularly been criticized for its unproven, disproven, or dangerous treatments.[253][254][255][256] Natural methods and chemicals are not necessarily safer or more effective than artificial or synthetic ones; any treatment capable of eliciting an effect may also have deleterious side effects.[205][252][257][258]
  • Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) or osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) – the core technique of osteopathic medicine. OMM is based on a philosophy devised by Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917) who held that the body had self-regulating mechanisms that could be harnessed through manipulating the bones, tendons and muscles. It has been proposed as a treatment for a number of human ailments including Parkinson's disease, pancreatitis, and pneumonia but has only been found to be effective for lower back pain by virtue of the spinal manipulation used.[259][260][261] It has long been regarded as rooted in "pseudoscientific dogma".[262] In 2010 Steven Salzberg referred to the OMT-specific training given by osteopathic colleges as "training in pseudoscientific practices".[263]
  • Radionics – means of medical diagnosis and therapy which proponents believe can diagnose and remedy health problems using various frequencies in a putative energy field coupled to the practitioner's electronic device. The first such "black box" devices were designed and promoted by Albert Abrams, and were definitively proven useless by an independent investigation commissioned by Scientific American in 1924.[264] The internal circuitry of radionics devices is often obfuscated and irrelevant, leading proponents to conjecture dowsing and ESP as operating principles.[265][266][267] Similar devices continue to be marketed under various names, though none is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration; there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy or underlying premise of radionics devices.[268][269] The radionics of Albert Abrams and his intellectual descendants should not be confused with similarly named reputable and legitimate companies, products, or medical treatments such as radiotherapy or radiofrequency ablation.
  • Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion. It is based on what reflexologists claim to be a system of zones and reflex areas that they say reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands, with the premise that such work effects a physical change to the body.[270] A 2009 systematic review of randomised controlled trials concludes that the best evidence available to date does not demonstrate convincingly that reflexology is an effective treatment for any medical condition.[271] There is no consensus among reflexologists on how reflexology is supposed to work; a unifying theme is the idea that areas on the foot correspond to areas of the body, and that by manipulating these one can improve health through one's qi.[272] Reflexologists divide the body into ten equal vertical zones, five on the right and five on the left.[273] Concerns have been raised by medical professionals that treating potentially serious illnesses with reflexology, which has no proven efficacy, could delay the seeking of appropriate medical treatment.[274]
  • Therapeutic touch – form of vitalism where a practitioner, who may be also a nurse,[53][275] passes his or her hands over and around a patient to "realign" or "rebalance" a putative energy field.[51] A recent Cochrane Review concluded that "[t]here is no evidence that [Therapeutic Touch] promotes healing of acute wounds."[276] No biophysical basis for such an energy field has been found.[277][278]
  • Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) – traditional medical system originating in China and practiced as an alternative medicine throughout much of the world. It contains elements based in the cosmology of Taoism,[279] and considers the human body more in functional and vitalistic than anatomical terms.[280][281] Health and illness in TCM follow the principle of yin and yang, and are ascribed to balance or imbalance in the flow of a vital force, qi.[282][283] Diagnostic methods are solely external, including pulse examination at six points, examination of a patient's tongue, and a patient interview; interpractitioner diagnostic agreement is poor.[280][284][285][286] The TCM description of the function and structure of the human body is fundamentally different from modern medicine, though some of the procedures and remedies have shown promise under scientific investigation.[282][287]
  • Acupuncture – use of fine needles to stimulate acupuncture points and balance the flow of qi. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.[284][288] Some acupuncturists regard them as functional rather than structural entities, useful in guiding evaluation and care of patients.[282][289][290] Dry needling is the therapeutic insertion of fine needles without regard to TCM knowledge. Acupuncture has been the subject of active scientific research since the late 20th century,[291] and its effects and application remain controversial among medical researchers and clinicians.[291] Because it is a procedure rather than a pill, the design of controlled studies is challenging, as with surgical and other procedures.[282][291][292][293][294] Some scholarly reviews conclude that acupuncture's effects are mainly placebo,[295][296] and others find likelihood of efficacy for particular conditions.[291][297][298][299]
  • Acupressure – manual non-invasive stimulation of acupuncture points.[300]
  • Acupuncture points or acupoints – collection of several hundred points on the body lying along meridians. According to TCM, each corresponds to a particular organ or function.[300]
  • Cupping therapy – an ancient Chinese form of alternative medicine in which a local suction is created on the skin; practitioners believe this mobilizes blood flow in order to promote healing.[301] Suction is created using heat (fire) or mechanical devices (hand or electrical pumps). Only one controlled trial of cupping has been conducted, and it did not demonstrate any effectiveness for pain relief. A book by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst claims that no evidence exists of any beneficial effects of cupping for any medical condition.[302]
  • Meridians – are the channels through which qi flows, connecting the several zang-fu organ pairs.[280][303] There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.[284][288]
  • Moxibustion – application on or above the skin of smoldering mugwort, or moxa, to stimulate acupuncture points.
  • Qi – vital energy whose flow must be balanced for health. Qi has never been directly observed, and is unrelated to the concept of energy used in science.[304][305][306]
  • TCM materia medica – a collection of crude medicines used in Traditional Chinese medicine. These include many plants in part or whole, such as ginseng and wolfberry, as well as more exotic ingredients such as seahorses. Preparations generally include several ingredients in combination, with selection based on physical characteristics such as taste or shape, or relationship to the organs of TCM.[307] Most preparations have not been rigorously evaluated or give no indication of efficacy.[287][308][309] Pharmacognosy research for potential active ingredients present in these preparations is active, though the applications do not always correspond to those of TCM.[310]
  • Zang-fu – concept of organs as functional yin and yang entities for the storage and manipulation of qi.[280] These organs are not based in anatomy.
  • Urine therapy – drinking either one's own undiluted urine or homeopathic potions of urine for treatment of a wide variety of diseases is based on pseudoscience.[311]
  • Promotion of a link between autism and vaccines, in which the vaccines are accused of causing autism-spectrum conditions, triggering them, or aggravating them, has been characterized as pseudoscience.[312] Many epidemiological studies have found a lack of association between either the MMR vaccine and autism, or thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.[313] Consequently, the Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no causal link between either of these varieties of vaccines and autism.[314]
  • Vitalism – doctrine that the processes of life are not explicable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is in some part self-determining. The book Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience stated "today, vitalism is one of the ideas that form the basis for many pseudoscientific health systems that claim that illnesses are caused by a disturbance or imbalance of the body's vital force." "Vitalists claim to be scientific, but in fact they reject the scientific method with its basic postulates of cause and effect and of provability. They often regard subjective experience to be more valid than objective material reality."[315]

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