The jury’s still out on science, with Wikipedia’s look at pseudoscience

Thing we were happiest to learn: Pseudoscience has gotten a shot in the arm recently—perversely, through advanced technology. Your Facebook feed has no doubt been flooded by grainy photos from the Mars rover, supposedly showing humanoid statues carved into rock that “prove” the one-time existence of intelligent life on the planet. This isn’t a new phenomenon, as the 1976 Viking 1 orbiter returned photos of a supposed “face on Mars” which later, higher-quality photos showed was just a rock with two depressions in it.

Thing we were unhappiest to learn: Belief in pseudoscience is probably as widespread as it is because of scientific illiteracy. Without understanding concepts like scientific rigor, or testing hypotheses, people are far less likely to examine their beliefs, and far more likely to only accept conclusions that reinforce what they already think is true. There’s often a gratification in statements that confirm our suspicions (“This washed-up actress agrees with me about vaccines!”), and negative feelings in ones that contradict them (“If climate change is real, than my habit of leaving both my SUVs running overnight to scare away raccoons might make me partly responsible!”). Those emotional responses can very easily override any concern for the facts.

Also noteworthy: Lysenkoism—named for Trofim Lysenko, who first proposed it—was alternate theory of genetics, which stated (roughly) that traits created by external stimuli could be passed down. For example, he believed plants exposed to low temperatures would produce seeds that would grow more easily in the cold. His theories had a big supporter in Joseph Stalin, who actually banned Mendelian genetics and attempted to use Lysenko’s theories when establishing collective farms, although they were quickly abandoned when crop yields failed to materialize.

Best link to elsewhere on Wikipedia: The list of topics characterized as pseudoscience has no end of crazy theories, including perpetual motion, flat Earth, hollow Earth, antigravity, brainwashing, hypnosis, feng shui, colon cleansing, ear candling, faith healing, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness Monster, and the theory of Atlantis.

Further down the wormhole: Pseudoscience is often characterized by what scientists call “the Woozle effect.” A Woozle involves publications offering proof by simply citing other publications, who in turn cited other publications, with none of the citations actually leading back to hard facts. (This often happens in journalism as well. Negativland once canceled a tour because a Minnesota teen who murdered his family was inspired by one of Negativland’s songs. The connection was breathlessly reported by the media, until it was discovered the killer in all likelihood had never heard of the band, and the only source on the story was a press release by Negativland itself.) It’s named for a chapter in A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh, in which Pooh and Piglet follow the tracks of a Woozle, which turn out to be their own footprints. Pooh and Piglet are part of a long tradition of literature featuring anthropomorphic characters, and among the best-loved of that genre. Among the least-loved are the oft-misspelled Berenstain Bears, who we’ll visit next week.