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The Greatest Examples Of Modern Pseudoscience

A man looking concerned reads from his laptop
Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash

It is shocking some of things people accept as truth.

All those stories of loved ones dying because medicine is "fake."

Science is science y'all.


Redditor singularlegion wanted everyone to discuss all of the fake facts being masked as science. So they asked everyone:

"What is an example of modern day pseudoscience?"

I always say prayer. Prayer does NOT heal all. Just my opinion.

No Cures

I Love You Aloha GIF by HuMandalasGiphy

"Homeopathy."

StrammerKerlElf

"If their 'science' worked the way they say it does, it would mean seawater would be the most powerful anti-every-disease medicine to exist."

untakenu

Heinous

"A lot of bestselling popular psychology. Dr Phil comes to mind."

Ghargamel

"When he sits those people on stage and accuses them of heinous crimes thanks to a lie detector test are the worst. They taught us in my intro to psychology course that those were 100% fake so a man with a phd should know better."

Reddit

"Dr Oz is 2nd on the list."

reverendgrebo

Bullocks

"The Church of Scientology's practice of Dianetics."

AWulfrunian

"I have been reading Dianetics recently Man, Hubbard was good at waffle. Mixing genuine science with utter bollocks to baffle a layman like myself. It is fascinating."

"I remember when I was a teenager my stoner mate told me about this book called Dianetics. I asked is it a good read? He said you can live your life by it, which terrified me."

"Reading it now i see how dangerous it truly is."

"The allure of being able to cure all ailments - such as arthritis, poor eyesight, poor hearing and cancer etc by this method of ridding the body of these engrams (memory fragments) via auditing for increasingly extortionate amounts of money while ignoring genuine medicines that could really help you."

"I have to say it is not an easy read but it has been funny and interesting."

RodMunch85

Evil

"Those abhorrent quacks who target cancer patients, robbing thousands of dollars from these vulnerable people, many of whom end up dying. I know of one case, where a mother of two young children got hooked by one such charlatan, who convinced her to ditch chemotherapy in favour of expensive woo crap."

"Her cancer was caught early enough to be quite treatable with chemotherapy, but she believed that didn’t need it. Her husband begged her many times to stop listening to that a**hole, to no avail. She ended up dying, leaving behind a devastated husband and two little ones."

BlackCaaaaat

Proof Of?

sci-fi test GIFGiphy

"Polygraphs."

CriticalSherbet235

"Never ever take a polygraph, even if you are innocent. And don’t assume that because someone refuses a polygraph that they are guilty."

xandrenia

Can we ever really tell if someone is lying? Scientifically I mean.

Oh Gwen...

Wes Anderson Indie GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphy

"Anything on goop."

graeuk

I don't know, the goop hand soap is pretty good. It is about the best thing I have found for roofing tar. Although it has been around a lot longer than the Gwyneth Paltrow brand so it's probably not what you are referring to."

that_guy_scott1

Full Harm

"The 'harmful' effects of 5G. My ex would not let me get 5G because it would 'cause cancer.'"

Agitated_Use_6710

"I had a substitute teacher in 2020 who ignored the class plan left by our regular teacher to complain about 5G causing cancer. She spent over an hour going on about it and would send kids out for questioning her. Thankfully we were old enough to know she was full of crap."

REDDIT

"My wife and her sisters (who are physicians with M.D.s from reputable universities) believe that cell phones increase the risk of brain cancer even though the incidence of brain cancer has remained flat over the past 30 years of the cell phone revolution."

"Proof that just because you have a fancy degree doesn't mean you deserve it."

KonkiDoc

Healing

"Crystal healing."

Soicolist

"I used to work with someone who constantly called out sick, like 4 times in 10 days once, and she was trying to talk to me about the 'healing power' of crystals. It took everything I had in me not to say you might want to get a refund on yours."

SailorVenus23

Certain Traits

"MBTI personality tests."

"As far as psychometrics goes, the inventory has been proven consistent and effective at predicting the personality traits it measures."

"However, the company that trademarks/administers/makes the test markets it as 'How to organize your employees for max profitability,' and 'Horoscopes for people who think they're smarter than Horoscope people.'"

"So it's real science, but most of the funny tiktoks or memes you see about it are about as indicative as your zodiac sign."

Xcelentei

The High

Area 51 Smoke GIF by JustinGiphy

"That 'cannabis cures everything' movement."

I-Killed-JR

"I’ll never forget making eye contact with my professor and sharing a silent 'wtf' with him as the girl at the end of my table started yelling about how pot cures cancer."

an_ineffable_plan

Well, these are definitely some things to stay wary about.

Remember, if you find a claim suspect, do the research. Ask a reputable expert. Use the scientific method. And at all costs, avoid crackpots.

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.

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