RebelScience.org
Title
Rebel Science
Description
Rebelling Against Voodoo Science
This site is an alternative to voodoo science, the sort of science that coats itself with a veneer of legitimacy while being not much more valid than the crackpot science that its practitioners love to disparage. Truth is, voodoo science is much more detrimental to our understanding of nature than crackpot science because society is easily fooled by its authoritative mask and may, as a result, spend huge sums of money and decades (if not centuries) chasing after fantasies. Voodoo science regularly gets sold as legitimate science because its champions are adept at making a name for themselves through careful propaganda. They are very skilled at convincing the public (who ultimately pays for it all) that it is too stupid to know the difference between good science and bad science.
There is a foolproof way to spot a voodoo scientist. If a scientist claims to have a theory about a natural phenomenon but is unable to explain the theory in a simple language that the average layman can understand, one can be absolutely certain that he is as clueless about the nature of the phenomenon in question as anybody else. Voodoo science is not about understanding nature but about working at being so incomprehensible or so arcane to one's fellow human beings as to be regarded as brilliant. The weapon of choice of a voodoo scientist is mathematics. The truth is that a scientist's understanding of a phenomenon is inversely proportional to the number of math equations he uses to describe it. Neither Newton's gravity equation nor the equations of General Relativity explain why things fall. But what better way is there to hide one's cluelessness while presenting a façade of erudition than to use obscure equations to erect an impregnable mountain of obfuscation? Voodoo science is guru science.
A voodoo scientist can always count on other voodoo scientists to jump on his bandwagon and act as if they do understand his theory even though they are equally clueless. Vanity is not to be underrated. This creates a sort of tacit collusion among a group of voodoo scientists who may decide to specialize in the theory and build their careers around it. The idea seems to be to spend a great deal of time to learn the complex and carefully constructed rules of the game and hang in there long enough until one can be safely retired. I must say that many do sincerely believe in the importance and correctness of the theories they espouse but sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between a true believer and a hanger-on who merely decides to go along for the ride.
Languages
English
Contact
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- northport NY
- United States 11768
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- +1.516967628
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