Imagine…

Imagine a world where science was replaced with pseudoscience and pathological science (yes there is a subtle difference). Imagine that instead of the scientific method and all its rigorous standards that we adopted unsubstantiated claims, cherry picked data and anecdotes. Imagine a world were our “experts” either did not have to hold a relevant degree and/or experience, or held an inappropriate qualification for what they were an expert in (though this frequently is the case in this world for political ministers). Finally, imagine a world where utilizing logic, appropriate and relevant statistics, and being informed through skeptical thought was held in great contempt. How many valid and credible discoveries do you think we would be able to muster? How much advancement and development of society do you think could occur?

I present this thought and ask these questions because it appears that is what many purveyors of woo seem to want. I do not believe this is a straw man either, as I am talking about the conglomeration of ideas from the crank crowd and tin hat army. Whilst it may be true that an individual woo-meister may not want all the ideals proposed above, they align themselves with a thought process that paves the way for and represents this paradigm (crank magnetism also helps this along). Additionally, while individual scientists may not embody all the ideal tenets of rational, logical thought at all times, the system that is science does (it is also guaranteed to be self-correcting over time, whilst magical thinking is not) and that is why it remains our best way of understanding the world we find ourselves in.