Forensic (Pseudo) Science

"Under Obama, a commission called the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology researched and wrote a 2016 report called Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods which found many techniques, such as bite mark and shoe print analysis, so devoid of foundational validity they should be prohibited. But what was to be done with these findings would be left to the Trump administration. What that turned out to be was that the Obama commission's charter was allowed to immediately expire; the new Attorney General outright dismissed their report and said it would not be adopted; and Trump's own forensic science review was announced, which consisted of one former prosecutor hired to write one release stating the Obama report was in error and should be ignored. As of this writing, that's where we remain today."

Click on this link to understand just how bad so-called forensic science is, no thanks to the Trump administration, of course.

Science Organizations Need To Be Consistent

*Science organizations generally have a good track record of calling out pseudoscience. However, most of them have a big blind spot: failure to use the same criteria to challenge religion and its claims (link)(link). They are afraid to attack this most-widely-held pseudoscience because of expected political backlash. They try to use Stephen J. Gould's "Non-Overlapping Magisteria" bogus excuse to say that science and religion address different domains of teaching authority. How might religion have legitimate teaching authority? There is no objective evidence for any claims made. All religions are unsupported superstitions and dogmas. 

This link is a good example of how to act against science accommodating religion.

*Individual scientists may or may not challenge religious claims.

Another Respected Medical Organization Goes To The Dark Side

"I can no longer trust them or respect their judgment. It is distressing to learn that my former idols have feet of clay. I respect the right of patients to try anything they want to try, but I can hope they have access to accurate scientific information and can exercise true informed consent. I’m not going to waste any more time complaining to the AAFP, because I’m convinced they are not prepared to listen. But I can hope that by writing about the true state of the evidence on SBM I will be able to reach at least a few people who will be less likely to start down that slippery slope."

Click on the link below for an expose of the American Academy of Family Physicians:

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS SUPPORTS “INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE”

Will This Be The Autopsy Of The USA?

Click on the link below for a frightening expose of the serious sickness that probably will condemn the USA to death in the near future. Frankly, I don't see enough people in the country who are science-based thinkers to change its demise. I wish I was wrong, but I do fear for my children, grandchildren, and all of humanity:

Will America's disregard for science be the end of its reign?

What Has The USA Lost And How?

Throughout its history, the USA has been more of an idea of what humanity could be rather than what the USA actually is. It has been a "City on the Hill" since its land was first colonized. However, because of religious factionalism inherent within the colonies, the US Constitution wisely established not only the recognition of basic human rights but also included the separation of religion and government.

Since that time, there has been a slow, gradual and painful advancement towards achieving its ideals. Until recently, the ideals of the USA were held by the vast majority of the public as almost quasi-religious. Yes, there have always been ideological outliers. However, they were effectively marginalized or attenuated by the wisdom of the voters. 

I have spent a significant time in Washington, DC in my 76+ years on this planet. I enjoyed touring the Smithsonian buildings, the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Monuments without having to go through any significant security gauntlets. I could feel their special purposes historically, politically, and practically. I felt that truly I was living in freedom being a resident of the USA. In a secular way, I felt that I was on sacred grounds. With today's security measures in the area, it feels that the USA is under siege. IT IS!!

The religious dogmatists, conspiracy theorists, supporters of alternatives to medicine, and all other anti-science purveyors are winning. How? *The Republican Party has allowed itself to be hijacked by this magical thinking evil. Unless our society adopts science-based thinking, and soon, will the last person leaving turn the light out?

* Of course, I'm not even addressing their discredited economics here. If you support their economics, just peruse this blog to see what I am talking about there.

Joe Mercola: The Worst Of The Worst

"Joe Mercola is a physician whose nearly a quarter-century of promoting quackery and antivaccine misinformation has garnered him a net worth north of $100 million. It is therefore not surprising that in the age of the pandemic, he has pivoted to fatten his bottom line promoting misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccines."

Click on the link below for details:

A Superspreader of Medical Misinformation

Osteopathic Physicians Are Real Medical Doctors, But - - -

Osteopathic physicians are real medical doctors but traditionally have additional training in manual manipulative techniques not unlike the quackery upon which chiropractic is centered. In spite of all the knowledge gained since the founding of osteopathy, this additional training is mandatory in osteopathy medical schools. Beware: sometimes if one has a hammer, everything looks like a nail. (link)

Non-Science Based Weight Loss Attempts

A Study:

"Dietary supplements and alternative therapies are commercialized as a panacea for obesity/weight gain as a result of the minimum regulatory requirements in demonstrating efficacy. These products may indirectly undermine the value of guideline-driven obesity treatments. Included in this study is a systematic review of the literature of purported dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss." (link)

Intermittent Fasting: The Evidence

 Like popcorn, there is a kernel of truth surrounding the use of intermittent fasting for weight loss. But, much of it may be just hot air. Click on the link below for what the science says about it presently: 

Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss isn't a miracle

Is Dentistry A Science?

"Many standard dental treatments—to say nothing of all the recent innovations and cosmetic extravagances—are likewise not well substantiated by research. Many have never been tested in meticulous clinical trials. And the data that are available are not always reassuring."

Click on the link before for a troubling article regarding dentistry:

The Truth About Dentistry

Oprah Winfrey: The Queen Of Pseudoscience Promotion

Ponder that early on in the 2020 Presidential Election process, Oprah Winfrey was mentioned as a possible candidate. A case can be made that she is a major reason why magical thinking is so prevalent in the USA. Click on the link below for details:

Did Oprah Winfrey Promote Pseudoscience?

The Evil Began Long Ago

There is no doubt in my mind that the USA is at a critical point in its history. The best way to understand the present is to be educated in the history of how we got here. The following are links to some information putting today in context:

How America Got Divorced From Reality

Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America

Neoliberalism - the ideology at the root of all of our problems

Why is America Crazy Now?

Will America's disregard for science be the end of its reign?

Are We Living In A Computer Simulation?

"Is it possible that you, I, and everything we experience is a computer simulation? Why do people like Elon Musk and Neil DeGrasse Tyson think this is possible? In this video, I will explain how Nick Bostrom's argument for the simulation hypothesis goes, and what the problems with it are." 

Click on the link below for the skeptical opinion on the matter:

The Simulation Hypothesis is Pseudoscience

The Essence Of Science In Less Than 5 Minutes

 "Are UFOs actually alien spacecraft visiting Earth? They might be, says Neil deGrasse Tyson, but if you want to make that claim you better bring the evidence to support it. Eyewitness testimony is the lowest form of evidence. To measure what is true or not true in the world, we require data -- and when it comes to alien appearances, it's as astronomer Carl Sagan said: 'Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.' So what can you do to prove your alien abduction story? Take selfies, live-stream video to the internet, and if you happen to find yourself in a spacecraft getting your 'gonads poked', then grab an item from the alien lab as evidence before they release you back on Earth."

This applies no matter if the claim involves religion, alternatives to medicine, conspiracy theories, or any other pseudoscience. Click on the link below for the conciseness and wisdom of Neil deGrasse Tyson:

Want to prove aliens exist? Do this

Admitting You Are Wrong Is Healthy

"Rethinking your opinions—and changing your views when your facts are proved wrong or someone makes a better argument—can make your life better. It can make you more successful, less anxious, and happier."

Click on the link below for an article that gives reasons and methods to overcome normal human resistance to admitting you are wrong.

How to Get Better at Admitting You Are Wrong

Chiropractic And Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, and is typically experienced as psychological stress when they participate in an action that goes against one or more of them. The research article below shows the internal conflict that many chiropractic students experience when reality conflicts with their indoctrination into pseudoscience. Please note that chiropractic for spinal pain is treated in a positive light in the article when such is either a placebo or is effective treatment that can be provided by legitimate medical professionals called physical therapists without the risks inherent with quackery.

Chiropractic student research

A Look At False Beliefs

"Since the dawn of our species, an unquenchable curiosity has driven us to ask and re-ask the same questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Are we alone? Myths offered the first answers: myths of creation and of spirit worlds. From here, one trail led to religion and to answers grounded in faith. But another trail led to philosophy–to reasoning. Pure reasoning at first, then reasoning aided by observation and experiment–what we now call science."

Every once in a while I run across a focused web page supporting science-based thinking in all areas of reality. Click on the link below to see an example that I recently found.

Ramblings on religion, superstition, and pseudoscience

Research Into Chiropractic Come Up Short

There is no scientific support for chiropractic. Any studies showing improvement are either poorly designed or show treatment effects that are no better than traditional physical therapy or placebo. Thus, I ask the question, "Why continue to research it?"

"In the cases of asthma, infant colic, autism spectrum disorder, gastrointestinal problems, fibromyalgia, back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome, there was no conclusive scientific evidence." (link)

"Although the major reason for pediatric patients to attend a chiropractor is spinal pain, no adequate studies have been performed in this area. It is time for the chiropractic profession to take responsibility and systematically investigate the efficiency of joint manipulation of problems relating to the developing musculoskeletal system." (link)

"All randomized controlled trials with high or acceptable quality found that SMT was not superior to sham interventions for the treatment of these non-musculoskeletal disorders." (link)

WHY DO THESE QUACKS GET HEALTH CARE INSURANCE AND GOVERNMENT FUNDS?

Magical Thinking And Fraud

Magical thinking (belief without objective evidence) is pervasive. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be so gullible in accepting so much fraud around us. None of us is totally immune from this harm. Click on the link below for a collection of the more obvious frauds:

Obvious FRAUDS People Actually FELL FOR

The Status Of Psychology

"Psychology is more popular than ever, but it has been criticized for scandals involving fraud, failed replications, and assisting torture. Many people believe psychology is in crisis. Some even question whether it can legitimately be called a science. Before he became Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed concern that psychology posed a threat to religion, was responsible for empty monasteries and had superseded theology. Tomasz Witkowski’s new book Shaping Psychology: Perspectives on Legacy, Controversy and the Future of the Field provides an intriguing look at the current state of psychology, its problems and possible solutions, and hopes for the future."

Click on the link below for the book review.

Meet the Psychologists