2018/09/20 · 1 citation
Medicine · Social Sciences · Neuroscience · #Empathy and Medical Education #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations
paper · doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262037426.001.0001
openalex publication_date 2018/09/20 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
In a post-truth, fake news world, we are particularly susceptible to the claims of pseudoscience. When emotions and opinions are more widely disseminated than scientific findings, and self-proclaimed experts get their expertise from Google, how can the average person distinguish real science from fake? This book examines pseudoscience from a variety of perspectives, through case studies, analysis, and personal accounts that show how to recognize pseudoscience, why it is so widely accepted, and how to advocate for real science. Contributors examine the basics of pseudoscience, including issues of cognitive bias; the costs of pseudoscience, with accounts of naturopathy and logical fallacies in the anti-vaccination movement; perceptions of scientific soundness; the mainstream presence of “integrative medicine,” hypnosis, and parapsychology; and the use of case studies and new media in science advocacy.