They say that in medieval times, people didn’t believe in weather forecasts – according to legend, one of the dukes in a fit of anger ordered his court weather forecaster to be hanged right from the spire of his castle, saying that maybe now the guy would at least correctly indicate the wind direction. Today, we believe in weather forecasts as something completely usual, right?
Why am I telling you all this? Well, here’s the point: in our world, there are actually many things that by all indications are nothing more than pseudoscience, but people all over the world still fervently believe in them. Today’s list by We is made up of exactly these ideas, theories, and things.
More info: Reddit
#1
Cleanses to reduce the “toxins” in your body. We have organs for that: your liver and kidneys. If those aren’t working you have problems way bigger than any juice can handle.
#2
Flat earth. I know a lot of it is trolling, but there are some sincere crazies out there.
#3
“Manifestation.” Babe, that’s not the universe aligning. That’s just you ignoring red flags while journaling in cursive.
It all started a couple of days ago, when the user u/miaangelaa decided to ask readers in the AskReddit community the question: “What’s a pseudoscience that people still commonly believe is real?” In just a couple of hours, a thread has formed that we are pretty sure will soon be a contender for viral status, with nearly 5K upvotes, and 4.3K different comments and counting.
From strange theories to “full-fledged” scientists with licensed degrees and their own colleges, and from talismans and amulets to an obvious disregard for the achievements of modern science in favor of “mystical” considerations – now meet this selection of netizens’ opinions, collected for you by We!
#4
Scientology…………………….
F**k them so bad there a******s reach all the way to their front flappas.
#5
That a wolf pack has an alpha male.
#6
Vaccines cause autism.
A special place in this selection is occupied by the so-called “flat Earth theory,” which, despite the fact that its peak of popularity passed about a thousand years ago, continues to be believed by millions. At least, according to a survey conducted back in 2021 by the University of New Hampshire, about 10% of respondents admitted that they believed in various conspiracy theories – and in flat Earth, too.
To be honest, I still don’t understand why the authorities of hundreds of countries around the world, from democracies to totalitarian regimes, regularly hide from people the “fact” that the planet supposedly has the shape of a flat disk (and how does that even work?), but people believe, and it can be very, very difficult to convince rabid adherents of the opposite.
#7
Homeopathy. That really needs to go away.
#8
Chiropractor.
#9
The idea that the brain stops developing after a certain age, or that we only use 10% of it.
However, public consciousness doesn’t stand still, and those theories that were previously considered frankly vulgar and “pseudoscientific” may well become the cornerstone of modern science in the future. For example, Einstein faced a lot of ridicule for his theory of relativity, and in the middle of the 20th century, genetics was considered a completely false and incorrect theory in many countries.
Does this mean that in a couple of decades, for example, astrology will become an absolute scientific standard throughout the world? More likely no than yes. In the end, science does have a certain flexibility, and the absence of dogmatism is what has always driven scientific progress. To what extent can progress be driven by faith in, for example, ancient astronauts? Honestly, I don’t know.
#10
Trickle-down economics.
#11
Crystals. Girl told me she put one under her bed to attract love and ended up hooking up with her ex who gave her chlamydia. The universe *did* send someone, just not with good intentions.
#12
Personality tests. Specifically Myers Briggs. The amount of smart people i encounter who think its real never ceases to amaze me.
Cue folks chiming in here that’s its actually scientific in 3…2….
What has always distinguished pseudosciences and false theories is an attempt to match incomprehensible facts to their own level of understanding. For example, people found dinosaur bones thousands of years ago – but of course, there was no scientific understanding of what they actually dug up. Hence the numerous legends and tales about dragons.
We do the same thing today, only on a different level, when we claim, for example, that the pyramids of Egypt or Mesoamerica were built by aliens. At the same time, the adherents of such theories, of course, cannot explain why those aliens actually needed this – so they launch into lengthy conspiracy theories… This, in fact, accompanies almost all of the “theories” described on this list.
#13
All those supplements bros on podcasts are selling you.
#14
Ghost hunters/ paranormal investigators/cyrptid investigators.
#15
Copper bracelets etc to help with pain.
It is interesting that the “Five Whys?” technique developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Japanese company Toyota, works great to debunk such “theories.” This technique is usually used in production to identify cause-and-effect relationships between work processes, but it is in fact quite universal.
To use this technique, you just need to ask the question, “Why?” of each problem, and apply it to the answer to the previous question. Usually, five repetitions are quite enough to identify the root cause of the problem – or to make sure whether we are dealing with absolute nonsense. Just try it – perhaps this technique will come in handy to you.
#16
Healing crystals and essential oils.
#17
Amber bracelets and necklaces on toddlers to prevent teething pain.
#18
Anti-trans “Basic Biology” that denies all scientific understanding of transgender people or how biological sex works.
In the meantime, we also strongly recommend that you simply read this collection of opinions and stories to the very end. By the way, we don’t guarantee that you will agree with all the points of view given here. Sometimes, you will laugh heartily, and sometimes you’ll just become indignant and start arguing right in the comments. Well, don’t hold back and let the discussion begin! Ultimately, truth is born from debate.
#19
Lie detectors and most other forms of “forensic science” outside of DNA.
#20
From a reddit interaction a few hours ago, astrology apparently.
#21
Getting a cold after being outside in the cold.
#22
“Ancient Astronaut Theory”.
#23
BMI. The standards behind it are garbage, to put it mildly. It’s Victorian era pseudo-science, akin to Phrenology.
#24
My coworker just tried telling me yesterday that the s*x position you use will determine the gender of the baby. Boy s***m are heavier, apparently.
#25
That not [touching yourself] gives you special powers/self-mastery.
#26
I know a lot of people praise eastern medicine, but I think it’s BS. I remember that story of that influencer who thought she could beat cancer with juices and coffee enemas. Well guess what, she died of cancer.
Edit- lots of comments about the validity of Eastern medicine. Let me fix my original comment by saying “alternative medicine”.
#27
The concept of race. Our modern concept of race is pseudoscience on the level of flat earther type s**t.
#28
“Transvestigation” the batshit crazy idea that someone can be identified as transgender by wild assumptions about anatomy, angles and features of the body. Example: “feminine skulls” transposed onto male highly masculine people as “proof” of transition.
#29
Alkaline Diets.
#30
As a teacher, I will chime in with **learning styles**. The idea that learners can be categorized as either those who learn by seeing, hearing or doing. No basis is peer reviewed research whatsoever.
Turns out that the student’s interest in the subject is far more important – as well as the quality of the teacher.
#31
I’ve been told by alcoholics that drinking liquor stops you from getting diseases like COVID.
#32
Cupping, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, etc, etc, etc.
#33
Body language experts.
Also I don’t know if that counts since actual psychology is of course a real science, but there’s a lot of pop psychology going around that is based on approximately nothing.