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Voodoo Science

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gave the book a positive review stating "Park does more than analyze and expose various kinds of bad ("voodoo") science. He demonstrates how valid science is distorted or ignored by the media and by those (including scientists) seeking to influence public policy." The physicist Kenneth R. Foster also
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wrote "the book is entertaining and provocative reading... Whether or not you agree with Park's take on voodoo science, a message of the book is that if scientists do not take a more significant role in the way that science is disseminated to the public and especially to politicians, voodoo science
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ractitioners may believe it to be science, just as witches and faith healers may truly believe they can call forth supernatural powers. What may begin as an honest error, however, has a way of evolving through almost imperceptible steps from self-delusion to fraud. The line between foolishness and
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wrote that the book, while giving "the official story regarding a number of 'mistaken beliefs' ", did not provide "the additional information that might lead one to conclude that the official view does not tell the whole story."
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to cover them all: pathological science, junk science, pseudoscience and fraudulent science. This book is meant to help the reader to recognize voodoo science and to understand the forces that seem to conspire to keep it
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I came to realize that many people choose scientific beliefs the same way they choose to be Methodists, or Democrats, or Chicago Cubs fans. They judge science by how well it agrees with the way they want the world to
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Few scientists or inventors set out to commit fraud. In the beginning, most believe they have made a great discovery. But what happens when they finally realize that things are not behaving as they believed?
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America's astronauts have been left stranded in low-Earth orbit, like passengers waiting beside an abandoned stretch of track for a train that will never come, bypassed by the advance of science.
811:, junk science, pseudoscience and fraud all together as voodoo science but this is problematic as "each category alone is fraught with definitional, historical, and analytical difficulties." 804:
but the book is not easily accessible to students. However, S. Elizabeth Bird an anthropology professor recommended it for "students who need to establish a grasp of the scientific method."
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Park criticizes junk science as the creature of "scientists, many of whom have impressive credentials, who craft arguments deliberately intended to deceive or confuse."
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wrote "Robert Park has brought us a book that has a freshness and originality—and an importance and potential for influence—perhaps not seen since Gardner’s first."
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The integrity of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to test their ideas and results in direct confrontation with their scientific peers.
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a "worthy successor" and praising it for explaining why various purportedly scientific claims were in fact impossible. Science writer
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The Professional Debunker (review of the book Voodoo Science: the Road from Foolishness to Fraud, by Robert L. Park)
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positively reviewed the book concluding "Park is an articulate and skeptical voice of reason about science."
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he uniquely American myth of the self-educated genius fighting against a pompous, close-minded establishment.
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proper, work falsely claiming to have a scientific basis, which may be dependent on supernatural explanations
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described it as "an admirable analysis: wittily written, vivid and put together without a hint of malice."
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The discovery, if true, would require a change in the understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.
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in particular, had given the public a seriously distorted view of the scientific facts." (Page 158)
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fraud is thin. Because it is not always easy to tell when that line is crossed, I use the term
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Discoverers make their claims directly to the popular media, rather than to fellow scientists.
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to describe the four categories detailed below. The book is critical of, among other things,
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Rachel Hay in a review wrote that Park had "debunked expertly" pseudoscience topics such as
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Book Review: Voodoo Science. The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. Edited by Robert L. Park
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They are betting against the laws of thermodynamics. No one has ever won that wager.
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The claimed effect appears so weak that observers can hardly distinguish it from
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Bruce Lewenstein wrote a critical review claiming Park had lumped together
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Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert L. Park
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Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert L. Park
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The discoverer or discoverers work in isolation from the mainstream
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Oversight Hearing on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
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National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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cite ancient traditions in support of the new claim.
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New Series, Vol. 288, No. 5471. p. 1595. 921: 919: 38: 29: 769:Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science 742:The mathematician Malcolm Sherman in the 556:reporting voodoo science uncritically as 286:, formerly HydroCatalysis (Randell Mills) 915: 1134:"Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science" 1113:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( 1106: 992: 982: 280:Better World Technologies (Dennis Lee) 7: 666:has tried to suppress the discovery. 524:Electromagnetic radiation and health 1155:. Csicop.org. Retrieved 2014-07-12. 723:described Park as an equivalent to 717:Bob Goldstein in a book review for 276:The Energy Machine of Joseph Newman 33:The Road from Foolishness to Fraud 1342:Josephson, Brian (December 2000). 149:The Road from Foolishness to Fraud 25: 1349:Times Higher Education Supplement 1139:The Chronicle of Higher Education 652:The Chronicle of Higher Education 1421:Scientific skepticism mass media 414:Superstitions and pseudoscience 1080:Michael Maiello (6 June 2005). 935:, Oxford, U.K. & New York: 564:Office of Technology Assessment 231:fraudulent science, exploiting 1313:. Vol. 74, No. 4. pp. 621-623. 1215:. Vol. 88, No. 5. pp. 461-462. 1071:Robert L. Park. (2000). p. 171 971:. United States Congress. 1984 1: 1374:"The rock that fell to Earth" 1344:"Grey areas on the blacklist" 1322:Bruce V. Lewenstein. (2004). 1196:. Vol. 41, Issue 14. p. 2436. 679:is used to back up the claim. 1291:The American Biology Teacher 1256:. Vol 53, No. 10. pp. 78-80. 1205:Malcolm J. Sherman. (2000). 645:Drawing on examples used in 402:Strategic Defense Initiative 369:Voodoo science protected by 1303:S. Elizabeth Bird. (2002). 1224:Kenneth R. Foster. (2000). 739:will continue to survive." 714:has been mostly favorable. 710:noted that the reaction to 528:power lines and cancer risk 332:International Space Station 187:International Space Station 27:2000 book by Robert L. Park 1437: 512:(who makes claims linking 506:is specifically mentioned) 504:1993 Washington D.C. study 44:Cover of the first edition 1332:. Vol. 95, No. 2. p. 341, 842:Politicization of science 802:perpetual motion machines 662:Discoverers claim that a 500:Transcendental Meditation 271:Garabed T. K. Giragossian 37: 1294:. Vol. 63, No. 2. p. 140 1132:Robert L. Park. (2003). 1034:The Skeptic's Dictionary 862:List of cognitive biases 577:Park also discusses the 498:Maharishi Effect (using 1267:"Paperback of the Week" 1207:"Exposing Fools Gladly" 1164:Bob Goldstein. (2000). 1009:William Booth. (1988). 937:Oxford University Press 752:Reviewing the book for 526:(especially related to 420:(astrology) claimed by 386:, as well as the later 382:resulting in a loss of 310:Gravitational shielding 256:free energy suppression 93:Oxford University Press 1396:2000 non-fiction books 408:Great Oil Sniffer Hoax 1416:Scientific skepticism 1411:Scientific misconduct 1406:Popular science books 1284:Rachel Hays. (2001). 1265:Robin McKie. (2002). 1151:Matt Nisbet. (2001). 852:Scientific skepticism 847:Scientific misconduct 568:Establishment of the 550:Contributing factors 363:human mission to Mars 809:pathological science 690:scientific community 495:Other health claims 447:alternative medicine 380:Roswell UFO incident 304:Patterson Power Cell 235:for the purposes of 214:pathological science 1171:Nature Cell Biology 720:Nature Cell Biology 704:Matt Nisbet in the 197:Park uses the term 34: 1212:American Scientist 1059:The New York Times 832:Cargo cult science 755:The New York Times 745:American Scientist 707:Skeptical Inquirer 677:Anecdotal evidence 466:Jacques Benveniste 371:government secrecy 346:space colonization 326:robotic spacecraft 298:Martin Fleischmann 1193:Angewandte Chemie 734:American chemist 729:Stephen Jay Gould 562:Abolition of the 518:quantum mechanics 484:Therapeutic touch 338:Gerard K. O'Neill 322:Human spaceflight 314:Eugene Podkletnov 306:(James Patterson) 169:scientific method 156: 155: 98:Publication place 16:(Redirected from 1428: 1361: 1360: 1358: 1356: 1339: 1333: 1320: 1314: 1301: 1295: 1282: 1276: 1263: 1257: 1244:Kendrick Frazier 1241: 1235: 1222: 1216: 1203: 1197: 1181: 1175: 1174:. Vol 2. p. 212. 1162: 1156: 1149: 1143: 1130: 1124: 1118: 1112: 1104: 1102: 1100: 1091:. 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Jahn 427:Parapsychology 424: 412: 411: 410: 405: 391: 367: 366: 365: 348: 335: 319: 318: 317: 307: 301: 287: 281: 278: 273: 268: 260:fringe physics 247: 246:Examples cited 244: 240: 239: 229: 223: 217: 199:voodoo science 194: 191: 165:Robert L. Park 154: 153: 143: 139: 138: 133: 127: 126: 123: 119: 118: 107: 103: 102: 99: 95: 94: 91: 87: 86: 83: 79: 78: 69: 65: 64: 61: 57: 56: 54:Robert L. 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(2000). 995:ignored ( 985:cite book 884:Debunking 837:Denialism 700:Reception 618:(Page 91) 612:(Page 16) 606:(Page 10) 452:Vitamin O 115:Paperback 111:Hardcover 90:Publisher 82:Published 1109:cite web 1050:Ed Regis 929:(2000), 877:Quackery 820:See also 760:Ed Regis 514:Ayurveda 443:Placebos 378:and the 185:and the 68:Subjects 60:Language 1231:Science 1016:Science 262:claims 109:Print ( 72:Science 63:English 50:Authors 1121:Forbes 1088:Forbes 943:  604:alive. 585:Quotes 429:(e.g. 361:and a 174:voodoo 152:online 671:noise 237:fraud 207:fraud 122:Pages 1357:2014 1329:Isis 1115:link 1101:2011 997:help 977:2011 954:2010 941:ISBN 800:and 727:and 537:and 445:and 433:and 396:and 344:and 296:and 258:and 142:Text 131:ISBN 113:and 85:2000 592:be. 205:to 125:230 1392:: 1376:. 1346:. 1326:. 1307:. 1288:. 1269:. 1250:. 1228:. 1209:. 1190:. 1168:. 1136:. 1119:. 1111:}} 1107:{{ 1085:. 1056:. 1042:^ 1031:. 1013:. 989:: 987:}} 983:{{ 939:, 918:^ 796:, 766:, 758:, 655:: 530:) 357:, 353:, 340:, 328:) 254:, 209:: 189:. 181:, 74:, 1382:. 1359:. 1275:. 1142:. 1123:. 1117:) 1103:. 1062:. 1037:. 999:) 979:. 692:. 533:" 520:) 468:) 437:) 316:) 312:( 300:) 292:( 117:) 20:)

Index

Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud

Robert L. Park
Science
Pseudoscience
Hardcover
Paperback
ISBN
0-19-860443-2
Voodoo Science:
The Road from Foolishness to Fraud

Robert L. Park
scientific method
voodoo
homeopathy
cold fusion
International Space Station
self-delusion
fraud
pathological science
junk science
pseudoscience
bad science
fraud
Perpetual motion
free energy suppression
fringe physics
Robert Fludd
Garabed T. K. Giragossian
The Energy Machine of Joseph Newman
Blacklight Power

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