Twenty-four solar terms science and pseudoscience
It is difficult for us to give an accurate definition of "science", but it is easy and simple to give an accurate definition of "pseudoscience", that is, "pseudo" means false in Chinese. The so-called pseudoscience is pseudoscience and can't be really tested as science. Non-science that is said to be science. Not all non-science is pseudoscience. If they don't pretend to be science, then they are not pseudoscience. Common pseudoscience forms include: treating theology and philosophy as science, such as metaphysics; Take superstition as science, such as divination, fortune telling, geomantic omen, astrology, blood type (blood type can affect people's personality), human specific functions, telepathy, etc. And some surprising conclusions that violate the principles of physics and biology.
Supporters of pseudoscience will spit out "facts" as needed, instead of struggling to find literature or directly investigating. Pseudoscientists' articles will closely focus on their opinions and conclusions. Besides, pseudoscientists never correct their opinions. The first edition of pseudoscience books is usually the last edition, although these books may have been printed for decades or even centuries. Even if there are obvious mistakes in the book, the mistakes on each page will even remain the same when reprinted. Real science books will not be published for several years because of the rapid accumulation of new knowledge and new perspectives. Pseudoscience "research" is full of water.
Pseudoscientists like newspaper clippings, collecting hearsay, quoting other pseudoscience books, and studying religion and fairy tales. They rarely or never do any independent research to test these things. Pseudoscience usually starts with a shocking hypothesis and then looks for something to support it, but the evidence that it doesn't support pseudoscience is usually ignored by them. Generally speaking, the purpose of pseudoscience is to rationalize the theory they adhere to, not to test or try other possibilities. Pseudoscience is good at drawing vague conclusions directly, appealing to ideology and spreading wrong ideas. Pseudoscience ignores the evaluation criteria of evidence. They are not concerned with reasonable, controllable and repeatable scientific experiments. They are unverifiable witnesses, absurd stories, hearsay, gossip and so-called anecdotes. Real scientific literature is either ignored or taken out of context.
Pseudoscience relies heavily on subjective judgment. Pseudoscience often makes amazing remarks and strange theories, which go against the known laws of nature. Not only do they have no evidence to support their statements, but they also ignore all the conclusions that do not support their statements. The flying saucer must have come from somewhere. If the earth is empty, it comes from the inside of the earth. " The spark I created with these electronic instruments is not a real spark, but a manifestation of supernatural soul energy. ""Everyone is surrounded by an invisible electromagnetic ring, such as the golden halo of the ancient Indian prophet, which can illuminate everyone's mood and situation. " )
Pseudoscientists invented their own vocabulary, many of which were not precisely defined, and some were not defined at all. Listeners are often forced to interpret according to their own understanding. For example, what is "biological cosmic energy"? Or "spiritual echo amplification system"? Pseudoscientists will try to imitate speeches in the field of science and technology by endlessly pouring scientific terms, making them sound very scientific. For example, quacks will say that there is no "energy" if the treatment is ineffective, but their so-called "energy" is not the same as that of physicists anyway.
Pseudoscience may need a scientific method based on truth, but at the same time it denies its effectiveness. Therefore, an experiment whose steps are full of holes but the results show that astrology is effective will be taken as evidence, while thousands of well-designed experiments that show that astrology is ineffective will be ignored. Therefore, if a person uses simple magic skills to disappear in a laboratory, he will be immediately "confirmed" to have super powers, but he deliberately ignores the fact that he was caught cheating in many other laboratories.
Pseudoscience has serious anachronism. The older the point of view, the more it attracts pseudoscience, because it is the wisdom of the ancients! Especially those views that are obviously wrong and have long been denied by science. This is difficult for many people to understand. The average reporter thinks that it is enough to interview six astrologers and one astronomer to write a report on astrology. Astronomers will say it's all nonsense, while six astrologers will say it's all right. If they are willing to pay 50 dollars, they will be happy to locate the stars for everyone (there is no doubt about it! )。 For most journalists, editors and their readers, astrology is 6 1 for astronomy.
Many pseudosciences base their theories on incomplete information in nature, rather than fully understood parts. However, these theories are untenable due to lack of evidence. Humans can't recognize things in the sky, which only means that they can't recognize them. This fact cannot be used as evidence that UFOs come from outer space. In pseudoscience articles, "science can't explain" often appears. In most cases, scientists are not interested in hypothetical phenomena because there is no evidence; In other cases, the scientific explanation is perfect, but pseudo-scientists don't know or deliberately ignore it, creating mystery.
The arguments of pseudoscience come from exceptions, mistakes, anomalies, strange phenomena and suspicious statements, rather than the laws of nature that have been clarified. In the past 400 years, scientists have investigated intentional deception, accidental mistakes, miscalculations, misunderstandings, forgeries and stupid mistakes, and the number of reports on strange and incredible object movements has gradually decreased. It is unwise to accept the superficial value of these reports without in-depth study. Pseudoscience has always believed these reports instead of doing independent tests.
The final result of scientific exploration and students' activities in other disciplines is manifested in two aspects: one is to produce scientific achievements that can stand the test. As long as there are the same conditions, this achievement will be repeated; As long as it is within the effective range, the relevant scientific achievements will be used 100%. The second is to produce good social effects. In modern civilized society, what is not the crystallization of science and the benefit of science? Although science has made great progress in today's era, there are still many unsolved mysteries. This is not the incompetence or limitation of science, but only shows that the development of science is not enough. The blank of science can only be developed and filled by science itself, and it will not be the reason for the existence of pseudoscience. The result of pseudoscience must be very sad and hateful. Sadly, pseudoscience will eventually go bankrupt, because they are false, no matter how disguised or hidden, they will eventually be exposed to the broad daylight by science and will eventually go bankrupt; What is hateful is that pseudoscience will do great harm to society, fool people, confuse people's thoughts, cause losses to the state and personal property, damage individuals' body and mind, and even brew a murder case. It can be seen how harmful pseudoscience is.