Tuesday, April 04, 2006

"Seven warning signs of bogus science"


In an interesting article in the Chronicle, Robert L. Park (a physics professor at the University of Maryland) identifies 'seven warning signs' that should alert you to a possibility that the underying science might not hold up. The 'signs' include such jems as "The discoverer says that a powerful establishment is trying to suppress his or her work." Here's the concluding paragraph:

I began this list of warning signs to help federal judges detect scientific nonsense. But as I finished the list, I realized that in our increasingly technological society, spotting voodoo science is a skill that every citizen should develop.

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