There is plenty of non-evidence-based approaches applied in medical remedies and therapies. From the outset these solutions may be largely harmless but the assumptions are wrong. This includes all herbal medicine, acupuncture, homoeopathy, energy healing, anti-vaccination and other beliefs.

This is just one of the many examples of practices with no scientific underpinning and clinical evidence still used by millions of people around the world. This is a practice which cures by using small amounts of a substance that invokes symptoms of the disease that it is to be treated. With application from common cold and allergies to serious conditions like heart disease and cancer. Its low cost, generic, non-patented attributes make it an ideal for those who want a ready treatment. Homoeopathic treatment can ease symptoms and offer therapeutic effects however they do not justify top-quality medicine with proven scientific validity and effectiveness for patients. 

This is a sentiment strongly associated with conspiracy thinking and denials of individual liberties and freedoms. The dogma behind an anti-vaccine ideology is that vaccines cause autism and other bad health impacts. Government and the pharmaceutical industry knowingly hide this information from the public. Social media acts as an important conduit helping claims, anxieties and thoughts to manifest across. It is your choice on whether you are for or against vaccines but there should be no denial of the proven facts. It is wise to remember that immunisation can help stop the spread of diseases in communities. 

You can spot pseudoscience everywhere - from your shampoo bottle to the ads which pop up in your Twitter feed. Bold statements with scientific jargon help spread misleading information which claims to be supported by laboratory-research and hard facts. It can be difficult to challenge these beliefs with cognitive biases like the sunk cost fallacy - something which has already been incurred and cannot be recovered, confirmation and selection bias - finding evidence to support a theory, and ignoring the contrary evidence. 

The global wellness industry is worth trillions of dollars, topping the global pharmaceutical industry by over four times. It can be noticed that a large number of consumers and patients favour alternative moreover traditional medicines despite the lack of empirical evidence and medical backing. This is perpetuated by figureheads like celebrities, influencers flaunting themselves as wellness gurus. A single celebrity endorsement can very much change the fortune of a business therefore many businesses adopt this as part of their marketing strategy. The wellness industry frequently targets people who are vulnerable and likely to have been failed by traditional medicine. These individuals might also have strong ideological opinions against big pharma. 

“Pseudoscience” was previously an ad targeting category used by advertisers now removed by Facebook in bid to curb misinformation on Covid-19. According to Reuters, an estimate of over 78 million users showed interest in the “pseudoscience” category. The company has now incorporated several initiatives to stop the proliferation of false information which can cause imminent physical harm. It is suspicious why Facebook had such a category available in the first place where advertisers were profiting from ads which targeted people that the company believes are interested in pseudoscience. 

Throughout years, decades and even centuries, the world of science has slowly overcome pseudoscience allowing the triumph of sense over nonsense. From the 16th and 17th century, the writings of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton have helped overturn ancient cosmology. Astrology was scientifically defeated in the 18th and 19th century although it still manages to attract attention even today. Young-earth creationism was scientifically overturned in the early 20th century although there is much discourse around evolution theory today.    

Politicians and scientists making bold claims and throwing accusations at one another on how scientific or unscientific something is is enough to make our heads swim, especially to those who have had little to no exposure to science past highschool. This is very much true for most of our politicians who create and enforce our laws. Hot topics like the anti-GMO movement, the paleo movement, anti-vaccination movement, the global climate change movement are just a few of the areas which affect our individual lives. To prevent the abuse and exploitation of citizens, we should look for stronger, more rigorous scientific education and work to empower scientific research. 

There is a major issue with how pseudoscience is prescribed with relevant and irrelevant connotations. In the broadest strokes, pseudoscience has a hazy definition and many things get labelled pseudoscientific such as astrology, alchemy, divination and so on. This makes it tricky to differentiate between what is scientific nonsense versus something which remains debatable. Until we resolve the demarcation problem proposed by Karl Popper, we can expect pseudoscience to always show up in its complex forms. 

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu

— Trueblogposts (@trueblogposts) February 9, 2020