Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience is a system of claims or practices presented as scientific but lacking reliable evidence or adherence to scientific methods. It often borrows scientific language while resisting rigorous testing or correction.

Falsifiability: Falsifiability is the property of a claim that could be contradicted by possible observations. Pseudoscientific claims often avoid specifying observations that would count against them.
Science: Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and revises knowledge through evidence, testing, and public scrutiny. Pseudoscience claims scientific standing without reliably meeting science's evidential standards.
Astrology: Astrology is a group of traditions that interpret celestial positions as meaningful for human affairs and personality. Its predictive claims have not gained reliable support under controlled testing.
Medical misinformation: Medical misinformation is false or misleading information about health, disease, or treatment. Pseudoscientific therapies can circulate as medical advice and displace effective care.
Science denial: Science denial is the rejection of well-supported scientific conclusions despite convergent evidence. It overlaps with pseudoscience but can reject science without proposing an alternative scientific system.
Ad hoc hypothesis: An ad hoc hypothesis is an auxiliary explanation introduced to protect a claim from conflicting evidence. Repeated patches can shield pseudoscientific claims from failed predictions.
Protoscience: Protoscience is an early or developing inquiry that has not yet established the methods and evidence of a mature science. Unlike pseudoscience, a protoscience may progress toward testable, self-correcting research.
Homeopathy: Homeopathy is a system of treatment based on extreme dilution and the principle that like cures like. Its proposed mechanisms conflict with established chemistry, and clinical evidence does not support its efficacy beyond placebo.
Vaccine hesitancy: Vaccine hesitancy is delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite the availability of vaccination services. Pseudoscientific claims about vaccines can contribute to distrust and reduced uptake.
Boundary-work: Boundary-work is the practice of drawing and defending distinctions between science and other forms of knowledge. Classifying a claim as pseudoscience can shape authority, funding, and public trust.

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