View source for List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

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This is a list of topics that have been characterized as [[pseudoscience]] by academics or researchers. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the context of educating the public about questionable or potentially fraudulent or dangerous claims and practices, efforts to define the nature of [[science]], or humorous parodies of poor scientific reasoning.

Criticism of pseudoscience, generally by the [[scientific community]] or [[Scientific skepticism|skeptical]] organizations, involves critiques of the [[logic]]al, [[Scientific method|methodological]], or [[rhetoric]]al bases of the topic in question.<ref name="Pollak2002">{{cite book |first=Melissa |last=Pollak |date=13 January 2000 |publisher=National Science Foundation |title=Science and Engineering Indicators |location=Arlington, VA |chapter=Chapter 8: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding |chapter-url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind00/access/c8/c8s5.htm |editor1-first=Norman M. |editor1-last=Bradburn |editor2-first=Rolf |editor2-last=Lehming |editor3-first=Lynda |editor3-last=Carlson |editor4-first=Mary J. |editor4-last=Frase |display-editors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204041009/https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind00/access/c8/c8s5.htm |archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> Though some of the listed topics continue to be investigated scientifically, others were only subject to scientific research in the past and today are considered refuted, but resurrected in a pseudoscientific fashion. Other ideas presented here are entirely non-scientific, but have in one way or another impinged on scientific domains or practices.

Many adherents or practitioners of the topics listed here dispute their characterization as pseudoscience. Each section here summarizes the alleged pseudoscientific aspects of that topic.

== Physical sciences ==
=== Astronomy and space sciences ===
* '''[[2012 phenomenon]]''' – a range of [[Eschatology|eschatological]] [[belief]]s that cataclysmic or otherwise transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar]] and as such, festivities to commemorate the date took place on 21 December 2012 in  countries where the [[Maya civilization]] had formerly flourished (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), with main events at [[Chichén Itzá]] in Mexico and [[Tikal]] in Guatemala. Professional [[Mayanist]] scholars stated that no extant [[Maya codices|classic Maya accounts]] forecast impending doom and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresented [[Maya civilization#History|Maya history]] and culture,<ref>{{cite book | first=David | last=Stuart | title=The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth about 2012 | publisher=Harmony Books | year=2011 | isbn=978-0385527262}}</ref> while astronomers rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios easily refuted by elementary astronomical observations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html|date=22 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222054800/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html|archive-date=22 February 2011|title=2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?}}</ref>
* '''[[Ancient astronauts]]''' – a concept based on the belief that intelligent [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial beings]] visited Earth and made contact with humans in [[Ancient history|antiquity]] and [[prehistoric]] times. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies and religions. A common claim is that [[Deity|deities]] from most, if not all, religions are actually extraterrestrial in origin and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans. The idea that ancient astronauts existed is not taken seriously by academics and has received no credible attention in [[peer-review]]ed studies.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Harrold |title=Noah's Ark and Ancient Astronauts: Pseudoscientific Beliefs About the Past Among a Sample of College Students |magazine=The Skeptical Inquirer |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=1986 |page=61 |publisher=[[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] |access-date=10 January 2022 |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/1986/10/noahs-ark-and-ancient-astronauts/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110143917/https://skepticalinquirer.org/1986/10/noahs-ark-and-ancient-astronauts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
:*  '''[[Ancient astronauts#Zecharia Sitchin|Anunnaki from Nibiru (Sitchin)]]''' (''variant'') – proposed by [[Zecharia Sitchin]] in his series ''The Earth Chronicles'', beginning with ''The 12th Planet'' (1976), it revolves around Sitchin's unique interpretation of ancient [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and [[Middle East]]ern texts, megalithic sites, and artifacts from around the world. He hypothesizes that the gods of old [[Mesopotamia]] were actually astronauts from the planet "[[Nibiru (Sitchin)|Nibiru]]", which Sitchin claims the Sumerians believed was a remote "12th planet" (counting the Sun, Moon and Pluto as planets) associated with the god [[Marduk]].  According to Sitchin, Nibiru continues to orbit the Sun on a 3,600-year elongated orbit.<ref name="Skepdic">{{cite web| url=http://www.skepdic.com/sitchin.html| title=The Skeptic's Dictionary| last=Carroll| first=Robert T| date=1994–2009| work=Zecharia Sitchin and The Earth Chronicles| publisher=John Wiley & Sons| access-date=22 May 2019| archive-date=20 September 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920223457/http://www.skepdic.com/sitchin.html| url-status=live}}</ref>
:*  '''[[Ancient astronauts#Robert Temple|Ancient astronauts from the Sirius star-system (Temple)]]''' (''variant'') – [[Robert K. G. Temple]]'s proposal in his book ''[[The Sirius Mystery]]'' (1976) argues that the [[Dogon people]] of northwestern [[Mali]] preserved an account of extraterrestrial visitation from around 5,000 years ago. He quotes various lines of evidence, including supposed advanced astronomical knowledge inherited by the tribe, descriptions, and comparative belief systems with ancient civilizations such as [[ancient Egypt]] and [[Sumer]].<ref name="Temple 1999 p.">{{cite book | last=Temple | first=Robert | title=The Sirius mystery : new scientific evidence of alien contact 5, 000 years ago | publisher=Arrow | location=London | year=1999 | isbn=0099257440 | oclc=60154574 }}</ref>
* '''[[Astrology]]''' (see also [[Astrology and science]]) – consists of a number of belief systems that hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events or descriptions of personality in the human world. Several systems of divination are based on the [[Apparent retrograde motion#Apparent motion|relative positions and movement]] of various real and construed celestial bodies. [[Astrology#Scientific analysis and criticism|Scientific testing]] of astrology has been conducted and no evidence has been found to support the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.<ref name=Zarka /> Where astrology has made [[falsifiable]] predictions, it has been falsified.<ref name=Zarka />{{rp|424}}
* '''[[Creationist cosmologies]]''' are explanations of the origins and form of the [[universe]] in terms of the [[Genesis creation narrative]] (Genesis 1), according to which the [[God]] of the Bible created the cosmos in eight creative acts over the six days of the "creation week".<ref name="Hendel 2013 p.">{{cite book | last=Hendel | first=Ronald | title=The book of Genesis : a biography | publisher=Princeton University Press | location=Princeton, NJ | year=2013 | isbn=978-0691140124 | oclc=788265521 | pages=35–37}}</ref><!-- {{sfn|Skeptic|2010}} -->
* '''Evidence for [[life on Mars]]'''
:* '''[[Cydonia (region of Mars)#"Face on Mars"|The Face on Mars]]''' is a rock formation in [[Cydonia (region of Mars)|Cydonia Mensae]] on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet. High-resolution images taken recently show it to appear less face-like.<ref name="NASA_face">{{cite web | title=The Face on Mars | website=NASA | date=2012-06-27 | url=https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_60.html | access-date=2019-05-22 | archive-date=5 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105211611/https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_60.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> It features prominently in the works of [[Richard C. Hoagland]] and [[Tom Van Flandern]].<ref name="Hoagland 2001 p.">{{cite book | last=Hoagland | first=Richard | title=The monuments of Mars : a city on the edge of forever | publisher=Frog Distributed by North Atlantic Books | location=Berkeley, Calif | year=2001 | isbn=978-1583940549 | oclc=48613681 }}</ref><ref name="Flandern 1998 p.">{{cite book | last=Flandern | first=Tom | title=Dark matter, missing planets, and new comets : paradoxes resolved, origins illuminated | publisher=North Atlantic Books | location=Berkeley, Calif | year=1998 | isbn=978-1556432682 | oclc=37992969 | chapter=24}}</ref> This effect can also be explained by the psychological phenomenon [[pareidolia]], whereby one assigns meaning (such as facial perception) to an otherwise ambiguous or meaningless stimulus.
* '''[[Lunar effect]]''' – the belief that the full Moon influences human and animal behavior.<ref name="skepdic_lunar">{{cite web  | last = Carroll  | first = Robert Todd  | author-link = Robert Todd Carroll  | title = Full Moon and Lunar Effects  | work = [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]  | date = 12 August 2011  | url = http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html  | access-date = 22 May 2019  | archive-date = 21 October 2019  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191021061423/http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html  | url-status = live  }}</ref><!--{{sfn|Laporte|2010}}-->
* '''[[Modern flat Earth beliefs]]''' propose that Earth is a flat, disc-shaped planet that accelerates upward, producing the illusion of [[gravity]]. Proposers of a flat Earth, such as the [[International Flat Earth Research Society|Flat Earth Research Society]], do not accept compelling evidence, such as photos of Earth from space.<ref name="Dure 2016">{{cite web | last=Dure | first=Beau | title=Flat-Earthers are back: 'It's almost like the beginning of a new religion' | website=The Guardian | date=2016-01-20 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/20/flat-earth-believers-youtube-videos-conspiracy-theorists | access-date=2019-05-22 | archive-date=23 April 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423012748/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/20/flat-earth-believers-youtube-videos-conspiracy-theorists | url-status=live }}</ref><!--{{sfn|Laporte|2010}}-->
* '''[[Modern geocentrism]]''' – In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism or the Ptolemaic system) is a [[Superseded scientific theories|superseded]] description of the universe with Earth at the center. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars and planets all circled Earth. The geocentric model served as the predominant description of the cosmos in many ancient civilizations, such as those of Aristotle and Ptolemy.<ref name="Numbers 1993 p.">{{cite book | last=Numbers | first=Ronald | title=The creationists | publisher=University of California Press | location=Berkeley | year=1993 | isbn=0520-083938 | oclc=28025595 | page=[https://archive.org/details/creationistsevol0000numb/page/237 237] | url=https://archive.org/details/creationistsevol0000numb/page/237 }}</ref>
* '''[[Moon landing conspiracy theories]]''' – claim that some or all elements of the [[Apollo program]] and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA with the aid of other organizations. The most notable claim is that the six crewed landings (1969–72) were faked and that 12 Apollo astronauts did not actually walk on the Moon. Various groups and individuals have made claims since the mid-1970s that NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened by manufacturing, tampering with or destroying evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes, radio and TV transmissions and Moon rock samples, and even killing some key witnesses.<ref name="Plait 2002 p.">{{cite book | last=Plait | first=Philip | title=Bad astronomy : misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing 'hoax | publisher=Wiley | location=New York | year=2002 | isbn=0471409766 | oclc=48885221 | pages=154–173}}</ref>
* '''[[Nibiru cataclysm]]''' – a prediction first made by [[contactee]] Nancy Lieder that a mythological planet [[Nibiru (Sitchin)|Nibiru]] would collide with Earth. After having adjusted her prediction many times, she later claimed the year of the occurrence to be 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nancy Lieder's biography|author=Nancy Lieder|publisher=ZetaTalk|url=http://zetatalk.com/nancybio.htm|access-date=2019-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022155359/http://www.zetatalk.com/nancybio.htm|archive-date=2014-10-22|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]] known as [[David Meade (author)|David Meade]] claimed 2017 was the year Nibiru would hit.
* '''[[Vaimānika Shāstra]]''' – claim that airplanes were invented in [[ancient India]] during the [[Vedic period]]. A 1974 study by researchers at the [[Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore]] found that the heavier-than-air aircraft that the ''Vaimānika Shāstra'' described were aerodynamically unfeasible. The authors remarked that the discussion of the principles of flight in the text were largely perfunctory and incorrect, in some cases violating [[Newton's laws of motion]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mukunda |first=H. S. |author2=Deshpande, S. M. |author3=Nagendra, H. R. |author4=Prabhu, A. |author5=Govindraju, S. P. |name-list-style=amp |year=1974 |title=A critical study of the work 'Vyamanika Shastra' |journal=Scientific Opinion |pages=5–12 |url=http://cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/site/Portals/0/Publications/ReferedJournal/ACriticalStudyOfTheWorkVaimanikaShastra.pdf |access-date=2019-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134751/http://cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/site/Portals/0/Publications/ReferedJournal/ACriticalStudyOfTheWorkVaimanikaShastra.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''''[[Worlds in Collision]]''''' – writer [[Immanuel Velikovsky]] proposed in his book ''Worlds in Collision'' that ancient texts and geographic evidence show mankind was witness to catastrophic interactions of other planets in our Solar System.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gordin|first=Michael D.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/774697267|title=The pseudoscience wars : Immanuel Velikovsky and the birth of the modern fringe|date=2012|isbn=978-0226304427|location=Chicago|oclc=774697267}}</ref>

=== Earth sciences ===
* '''[[Pseudoscientific metrology#"Megalithic geometry"|Megalithic geometry]]''' or '''366 geometry''' – posits the existence of an [[Earth]]-based [[geometry]] dating back to at least 3500 BCE and the possibility that such a system is still in use in modern [[Freemasonry]]. According to proponents, [[megalithic]] civilizations in Britain and Brittany had advanced knowledge of geometry and the size of Earth. The [[megalithic yard]] is correlated to the polar circumference of Earth using a circle divided into 366 degrees.<ref name="HistoryOfComputers">{{cite web|last1=Dalakov|first1=Georgi|title=Biography of Tito Livio Burattini (1617–1682)|url=http://history-computer.com/People/BurattiniBio.html |website=History of Computers|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320033002/http://history-computer.com/People/BurattiniBio.html |archive-date=20 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="NISTReport">{{cite web|last1=Page|first1=Chester H. |last2=Vigoureux|first2=Paul|title=The International Bureau of Weights and Measures 1875–1975 |url=http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nbsspecialpublication420.pdf|website=National Institute of Standards and Technology|publisher=US Department of Commerce|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513192304/http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nbsspecialpublication420.pdf|archive-date=13 May 2016 |date=20 May 1975}}</ref><!--{{sfn|Angell|1978|pp=253–58}}-->
* '''The [[Bermuda Triangle]]''' – a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and (in its most popular version) Florida. Ship and aircraft disasters and disappearances perceived as frequent in this area have led to the circulation of stories of unusual natural phenomena, paranormal encounters and interactions with [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrials]].<ref name="NOVA,1976">{{cite episode| series = [[Nova (American TV program)|NOVA]] / [[Horizon (UK TV series)|Horizon]]| title = The Case of the Bermuda Triangle| air-date = 1976-06-27| network = PBS| url=https://archive.org/details/caseofthebermudatrianglereel1}}</ref>
* '''[[Climate change denial]]''' –  involves denial, dismissal, unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which depart from the scientific consensus on [[climate change]], including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its impacts on nature and human society, or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate change is good science |date=4 June 2010 |url=http://ncse.com/climate/denial/climate-change-is-good-science |publisher=National Center for Science Education |access-date=21 June 2015 |url-status=live |archive-date=24 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424170135/http://ncse.com/climate/denial/climate-change-is-good-science}} "The first pillar of climate change denial—that climate change is bad science—attacks various aspects of the scientific consensus about climate change&nbsp;... there are climate change deniers:
* who deny that significant climate change is occurring
* who...deny that human activity is significantly responsible
* who...deny the scientific evidence about its significant effects on the world and our society...
* who...deny that humans can take significant actions to reduce or mitigate its impact.
Of these varieties of climate change denial, the most visible are the first and the second."</ref><ref name="NCSE-why-denial">{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/climate/denial/why-is-it-called-denial |title=Why Is It Called Denial? |publisher=[[National Center for Science Education]] |access-date=22 May 2019 |date=2016-01-15 |archive-date=26 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526180046/http://ncse.com/climate/denial/why-is-it-called-denial |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=James Lawrence |last=Powell |author-link=James L. Powell |title=The Inquisition of Climate Science |year=2012 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-15719-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SU7utP8PIMC&pg=PA172 |access-date=12 July 2015 |pages=170–173 |postscript=: |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173421/https://books.google.com/books?id=5SU7utP8PIMC&pg=PA172#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} 'Anatomy of Denial—Global warming deniers...throw up a succession of claims, and fall back from one line of defense to the next as scientists refute each one in turn. Then they start over:<br />'The earth is not warming.'<br />'All right, it is warming but the Sun is the cause.'<br />'Well then, humans are the cause, but it doesn't matter, because it warming will do no harm. More carbon dioxide will actually be beneficial. More crops will grow.'<br />'Admittedly, global warming could turn out to be harmful, but we can do nothing about it.'<br />'Sure, we could do something about global warming, but the cost would be too great. We have more pressing problems here and now, like AIDS and poverty.'<br />'We might be able to afford to do something to address global warming some-day, but we need to wait for sound science, new technologies, and geoengineering.'<br />'The earth is not warming. Global warming ended in 1998; it was never a crisis.'</ref>
* '''[[Flood geology]]''' – creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a [[Deluge (mythology)|global flood]].<ref name="NCSE 2016">{{cite web | title=Questioning 'Flood Geology' | website=NCSE | date=2016-03-16 | url=https://ncse.com/library-resource/questioning-flood-geology | access-date=2019-05-22 | archive-date=6 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706191149/https://ncse.com/library-resource/questioning-flood-geology | url-status=live }}</ref><!--{{sfn|Isaak|2007}}--->
* '''The [[Hollow Earth]]''' – a proposal that Earth is either entirely hollow or consists of hollow sections beneath the crust. Certain folklore and conspiracy theories hold this idea and suggest the existence of subterranean life.<ref name="Storr 2014">{{cite news | last=Storr | first=Will | title=Hollow Earth conspiracy theories: the hole truth | website=The Telegraph| date=2014-07-13 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10961412/Hollow-Earth-conspiracy-theories-the-hole-truth.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10961412/Hollow-Earth-conspiracy-theories-the-hole-truth.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | access-date=2019-05-22}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* '''[[Welteislehre]]''', a.k.a. the '''World Ice Theory''' or '''Glacial Cosmogony''' – ice is proposed to be the basic substance of all cosmic processes and ice moons, ice planets and the "global ether" (also made of ice) had determined the entire development of the universe.
*'''The [[Expanding Earth]]'''  or '''growing Earth''' was a [[hypothesis]] attempting to explain the position and relative movement of [[continents]] by increase in the volume of [[Earth]]. With the recognition of [[plate tectonics]] in 20th century, the idea has been abandoned<ref name="NASA">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20110816.html |title=NASA Research Confirms it's a Small World, After All |last1=Buis A. |last2=Clavin W. |date=16 August 2011 |access-date=2018-07-23 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103083053/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20110816.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Schmidt_&_Clark>{{cite journal | last1 = Schmidt | first1 = P. W. | last2 = Clark | first2 = D. A. | year = 1980 | title = The response of palaeomagnetic data to Earth expansion | journal = Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume = 61 | pages = 95–100 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1980.tb04306.x | bibcode = 1980GeoJ...61...95S | doi-access = free }}</ref> and considered a pseudoscience.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sudiro |first=P. |date=2014-06-01 |title=The Earth expansion theory and its transition from scientific hypothesis to pseudoscientific belief |journal=History of Geo- and Space Sciences |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=135–148 |doi=10.5194/hgss-5-135-2014 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014HGSS....5..135S |issn=2190-5029}}</ref>

=== Physics ===
* '''[[Autodynamics]]''' – a physics theory proposed in the 1940s that claims the equations of the Lorentz transformation are incorrectly formulated to describe relativistic effects, which would invalidate Einstein's theories of special relativity and general relativity, and Maxwell's equations. The theory is discounted by the mainstream physics community.<ref name='Wired'>{{cite news|first=Kristen |last=Philipkoski |title=Shedding Light in the Dark |date=1999-07-13 |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1999/07/20663 |work=[[Wired News|Wired]] |access-date=2008-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110183905/http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/1999/07/20663 |archive-date=2009-01-10 }}</ref>
* '''[[E-Cat]]''' – a claimed cold fusion reactor.<ref name="patent_app">Patent application {{cite patent |country=WO |number=2009125444 |title=Method and Apparatus for carrying out nickel and hydrogen exothermal reactions |inventor=Andrea Rossi |pubdate=2009-10-15 }}</ref><ref name="zyga">{{cite news|author=Zyga, Lisa|date=2011-08-11|url=http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-controversial-energy-generating-lacking-credibility-video.html|title=Controversial energy-generating system lacking credibility (w/ video)|work=[[PhysOrg]]|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=17 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117143839/http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-controversial-energy-generating-lacking-credibility-video.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Einstein–Cartan–Evans theory]]''' – a unified theory of physics proposed by Myron Wyn Evans which claims to unify general relativity, quantum mechanics and electromagnetism.<ref name=AIAS>{{citation |title= Alpha Institute for Advanced Studies (AIAS) |url= http://www.aias.us/ |access-date= 22 August 2017 |archive-date= 18 August 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170818204833/http://www.aias.us/ |url-status= live }}: "ECE Theory was discovered by chemist, physicist, and mathematician, Myron Wyn Evans...".<!--Also: "Many a good Welshman and many of the world's finest scientists have had difficulties like yours."--></ref> The hypothesis was largely published in the journal ''Foundations of Physics Letters'' between 2003 and 2005; in 2008, the editor published an editorial note effectively retracting the journal's support for the hypothesis due to incorrect mathematical claims.<ref>{{cite journal|last1='t Hooft|first1=Gerard|s2cid=189843269|author-link1=Gerard 't Hooft|title=Editorial note|journal=Foundations of Physics|volume=38|issue=1|year=2008|pages=1–2|issn=0015-9018|doi=10.1007/s10701-007-9187-8|bibcode=2008FoPh...38....1T}}</ref>
* '''[[Electrogravitics]]''' – claimed to be an unconventional type of effect or anti-gravity propulsion created by an electric field's effect on a mass. The name was coined in the 1920s by Thomas Townsend Brown, who first described the effect and spent most of his life trying to develop it and sell it as a propulsion system. Follow-ups on the claims (R. L. Talley in a 1990 U.S. Air Force study, NASA scientist Jonathan Campbell in a 2003 experiment<ref>{{Cite news | magazine = Wired Magazine | date = August 2003 | title = The Antigravity Underground | last = Thompson | first = Clive | url = https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_antigravity.html | access-date = 23 May 2019 | archive-date = 18 August 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100818230902/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_antigravity.html | url-status = live }}</ref> and Martin Tajmar in a 2004 paper<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tajmar |first1=M. |year=2004 |title=Biefeld-Brown Effect: Misinterpretation of Corona Wind Phenomena |journal=AIAA Journal |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=315–318 |bibcode=2004AIAAJ..42..315T |doi=10.2514/1.9095 |issn=0001-1452 |s2cid=3776302}}</ref>) have found that no thrust could be observed in a vacuum, consistent with the phenomenon of ion wind.
* '''[[Free energy suppression|Free energy]]''' – a class of [[perpetual motion]] that purports to create energy (violating the [[first law of thermodynamics]]) or extract useful work from equilibrium systems (violating the [[second law of thermodynamics]]).<ref>{{cite book|author-link= Robert L. Park |first= Robert L. |last= Park|title=Voodoo Science|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=US|isbn=978-0195147100|title-link= Voodoo Science |year= 2000 }}</ref><ref name=Milbank>{{cite news|last=Milbank|first=Dana|title=There's the Red Vote, the Blue Vote…and the Little Green Vote|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=18 September 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/17/AR2007091701780.html|quote=…the aliens' advanced technology, which uses nonpolluting fuel, could revolutionize the transport of goods and people on this planet and rejuvenate the biosphere.|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416234317/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/17/AR2007091701780.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
:* '''[[Water-fueled car]]s''' – an instance of perpetual motion machines. Such devices are claimed to use water as fuel or produce fuel from water on board with no other energy input. Many such claims are part of [[investment fraud]]s.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Edwards |title=End of road for car that ran on Water |url=http://groups.google.com/group/sci.energy.hydrogen/msg/8ee0acb80e943e21?hl=endc310437cd1cee1e7& |work=[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]] |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |page=Features 12 |date=1 December 1996 |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022022854/http://groups.google.com/group/sci.energy.hydrogen/msg/8ee0acb80e943e21?hl=endc310437cd1cee1e7& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>State of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety [http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases06/pr20061109d.html press release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622145407/http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases06/pr20061109d.html |date=22 June 2008 }}, 9 November 2006</ref><ref name="Dingel">{{cite news|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081220-179008/Inventor-82-gets-20-years-for-estafa|title=Inventor, 82, gets 20 years for 'estafa'|last=Lopez|first=Allison|date=20 December 2008|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|access-date=22 May 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226045539/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081220-179008/Inventor-82-gets-20-years-for-estafa|archive-date=26 December 2008}}</ref>
:* '''[[Gasoline pill]]''' or ''gasoline powder'', which was claimed to turn water into gasoline.<ref name="nydailynews.com 2008">{{cite web | title=Don't get caught in 'Net gas scams | website=Daily News | location=New York | date=2008-06-02 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/don-caught-net-gas-scams-article-1.293609 | access-date=2019-05-22 | archive-date=9 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309090538/https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/don-caught-net-gas-scams-article-1.293609 | url-status=live }}</ref>
:* '''[[Hongcheng Magic Liquid]]''' – a scam in China in which Wang Hongcheng (Chinese: 王洪成; pinyin: Wáng Hóngchéng), a bus driver from Harbin with no scientific education, claimed in 1983 that he could turn regular water into a fuel as flammable as petrol by simply dissolving a few drops of his liquid in it.<ref name="csicop_hongcheng">{{cite web|title=Paranormal in China |author=Wu Xianghong |work=Skeptical Briefs newsletter |publisher=[[CSICOP]] |date=March 2005 |url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/9503/china.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121210512/http://www.csicop.org/sb/9503/china.html |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref>
* '''Hydrinos''' (Randell L. Mills/[[Brilliant Light Power|Brilliant Light Power Inc.]]) – a supposed state of the [[hydrogen atom]] that, according to Mills, is of lower energy than [[ground state]] and has extremely high efficiency as a fuel.<ref name="parkorigin">{{cite web |title=What's New Friday, 26 April 1991 Washington, DC |author=Robert L. Park |url=http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN91/wn042691.html |date=26 April 1991 |access-date=17 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927142638/http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN91/wn042691.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead }} and {{cite web |title=What's New Friday, October 31, 2008 |author=Robert L. Park |url=http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN08/wn103108.html |date=31 October 2008 |access-date=17 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927142645/http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN08/wn103108.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Critics say it lacks corroborating scientific evidence and is a relic of [[cold fusion]]. Critical analysis of the claims have been published in the peer-reviewed journals ''[[Physics Letters A]]'', ''[[New Journal of Physics]]'', ''[[Journal of Applied Physics]]'', and ''[[Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics]]'' stating that the proposed hydrino states are unphysical and incompatible with key equations of quantum mechanics.<ref name="dombey">
{{cite journal |last=Dombey |first=Norman |date=8 August 2006 |title=The hydrino and other unlikely states |journal=Physics Letters A |volume=360 |issue=1 |pages=62–65 |arxiv=physics/0608095 |bibcode=2006PhLA..360...62D |doi=10.1016/j.physleta.2006.07.069 |issn=0375-9601 |s2cid=119011776}}</ref>
*'''[[Orgone]]''' – a pseudoscientific concept described as an [[Energy (esotericism)|esoteric energy]] or hypothetical universal [[Energy (esotericism)|life force]], originally proposed in the 1930s.<ref>Kenneth S. Isaacs (psychoanalyst), 1999: "Orgone—a useless fiction with faulty basic premises, thin partial theory, and unsubstantiated application results. It was quickly discredited and cast away."[[doi:10.1023/A:1021973219022|Isaacs 1999]], p.&nbsp;240.</ref><ref name="blumenfeld">{{citation|author=Robert Blumenfeld|title=Tools and techniques for character interpretation: a handbook of psychology for actors, writers, and directors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLxfnPc3lskC|pages=135–137|year=2006|series=Limelight Series|chapter=Chapter 6. Willian Reich and Character Analysis|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0879103262|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173422/https://books.google.com/books?id=YLxfnPc3lskC|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Applied sciences ==
=== Agriculture ===
<!--{{sfn|ICSU|2005}} -->
* '''[[Lysenkoism]]''', or '''Lysenko-Michurinism''' – was a political campaign against genetics and science-based agriculture conducted by [[Trofim Lysenko]], his followers and Soviet authorities. Lysenko served as the director of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Lysenkoism began in the late 1920s and formally ended in 1964. The pseudoscientific ideas of Lysenkoism built on [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's]] concepts of the heritability of acquired characteristics.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lysenkoism|title= Lysenkoism|work= merriam-webster.com|date= 10 July 2023|access-date= 23 June 2010|archive-date= 25 April 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090425195404/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lysenkoism|url-status= live}}</ref> Lysenko's theory rejected [[Gregor Mendel]]'s theory of inheritance and the concept of the "gene"; it departed from Darwinian evolutionary theory by rejecting natural selection, viewing that concept as being incompatible with Marxist ideology.<ref name="Perversion of Knowledge">{{cite book|last1= Birstein|first1= Vadim J.|title= The Perversion of Knowledge: The True Story of Soviet Science.|date= 2004|publisher= Westview Press|isbn= 978-0813342801}}</ref>
* '''[[Biodynamic agriculture]]''' – method of [[organic farming]] that treats farms as unified and individual organisms.  Biodynamics uses a calendar which has been characterized as [[astrological]]. The substances and composts used by biodynamicists have been described as unconventional and [[Homeopathy|homeopathic]].  For example, field mice are countered by deploying ashes prepared from field mice skin when Venus is in the Scorpius constellation. No difference in beneficial outcomes has been scientifically established between certified biodynamic agricultural techniques and similar organic and [[integrated farming]] practices. Biodynamic agriculture lacks strong scientific evidence for its efficacy and has been labeled a pseudoscience because of its overreliance upon esoteric knowledge and mystical beliefs.<ref name=demarc>{{cite book|veditors=Pigliucci M, Boudry M|author=Ruse M|work=Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc4OAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227|year=2013|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0226051826|page=227|title=Chapter 12: Evolution – From Pseudoscience to Popular Science, from Popular Science to Professional Science|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173422/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc4OAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Genetically modified food controversies#Health|GMO skepticism]]''' – The belief that genetically modified foods are inherently unsafe. This contradicts the [[scientific consensus]].<ref name="Nicolia2013">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/3337/peer%20reviewed%20meta%20study%20on%20GMOs%20copy.pdf|title=An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research|first1=Alessandro|last1=Nicolia|first2=Alberto|last2=Manzo|first3=Fabio|last3=Veronesi|first4=Daniele|last4=Rosellini|journal=Critical Reviews in Biotechnology|volume=34|issue=1|date=2013|pages=77–88|doi=10.3109/07388551.2013.823595|pmid=24041244|s2cid=9836802|quote=We have reviewed the scientific literature on GE crop safety for the last 10 years that catches the scientific consensus matured since GE plants became widely cultivated worldwide, and we can conclude that the scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazard directly connected with the use of GM crops.<br /><br/>The literature about Biodiversity and the GE food/feed consumption has sometimes resulted in animated debate regarding the suitability of the experimental designs, the choice of the statistical methods or the public accessibility of data. Such debate, even if positive and part of the natural process of review by the scientific community, has frequently been distorted by the media and often used politically and inappropriately in anti-GE crops campaigns.|access-date=19 April 2023|archive-date=9 October 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/3337/peer%20reviewed%20meta%20study%20on%20GMOs%20copy.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FAO">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Y5160E/y5160e10.htm#P3_1651The|title=State of Food and Agriculture 2003–2004. Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the Needs of the Poor. Health and environmental impacts of transgenic crops|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|access-date=August 30, 2019|quote=Currently available transgenic crops and foods derived from them have been judged safe to eat and the methods used to test their safety have been deemed appropriate. These conclusions represent the consensus of the scientific evidence surveyed by the ICSU (2003) and they are consistent with the views of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2002). These foods have been assessed for increased risks to human health by several national regulatory authorities (inter alia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the United States) using their national food safety procedures (ICSU). To date no verifiable untoward toxic or nutritionally deleterious effects resulting from the consumption of foods derived from genetically modified crops have been discovered anywhere in the world (GM Science Review Panel). Many millions of people have consumed foods derived from GM plants - mainly maize, soybean and oilseed rape - without any observed adverse effects (ICSU).|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109114119/http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Y5160E/y5160e10.htm#P3_1651The|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ronald2011">{{Cite journal|title=Plant Genetics, Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security|first=Pamela|last=Ronald|journal=Genetics|date=May 1, 2011|volume=188|issue=1|pages=11–20|doi=10.1534/genetics.111.128553|pmid=21546547|pmc=3120150|quote="There is broad scientific consensus that genetically engineered crops currently on the market are safe to eat. After 14 years of cultivation and a cumulative total of 2 billion acres planted, no adverse health or environmental effects have resulted from commercialization of genetically engineered crops (Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Committee on Environmental Impacts Associated with Commercialization of Transgenic Plants, National Research Council and Division on Earth and Life Studies 2002). Both the U.S. National Research Council and the Joint Research Centre (the European Union's scientific and technical research laboratory and an integral part of the European Commission) have concluded that there is a comprehensive body of knowledge that adequately addresses the food safety issue of genetically engineered crops (Committee on Identifying and Assessing Unintended Effects of Genetically Engineered Foods on Human Health and National Research Council 2004; European Commission Joint Research Centre 2008). These and other recent reports conclude that the processes of genetic engineering and conventional breeding are no different in terms of unintended consequences to human health and the environment (European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 2010)."}}</ref><ref name="Also"><p>But see also:</p><p>{{Cite journal|url=http://gaiapresse.ca/images/nouvelles/28563.pdf|title=A literature review on the safety assessment of genetically modified plants|first1=José L.|last1=Domingo|first2=Jordi Giné|last2=Bordonaba|journal=Environment International|date=2011|volume=37|issue=4|pages=734–742|doi=10.1016/j.envint.2011.01.003|pmid=21296423|bibcode=2011EnInt..37..734D |quote=In spite of this, the number of studies specifically focused on safety assessment of GM plants is still limited. However, it is important to remark that for the first time, a certain equilibrium in the number of research groups suggesting, on the basis of their studies, that a number of varieties of GM products (mainly maize and soybeans) are as safe and nutritious as the respective conventional non-GM plant, and those raising still serious concerns, was observed. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that most of the studies demonstrating that GM foods are as nutritional and safe as those obtained by conventional breeding, have been performed by biotechnology companies or associates, which are also responsible of commercializing these GM plants. Anyhow, this represents a notable advance in comparison with the lack of studies published in recent years in scientific journals by those companies.|access-date=19 April 2023|archive-date=22 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222023845/http://gaiapresse.ca/images/nouvelles/28563.pdf|url-status=live}}</p><p>{{Cite journal|title=An Illusory Consensus behind GMO Health Assessment|first=Sheldon|last=Krimsky|s2cid=40855100|journal=Science, Technology, & Human Values|volume=40|issue=6|pages=883–914|doi=10.1177/0162243915598381|date=2015|quote=I began this article with the testimonials from respected scientists that there is literally no scientific controversy over the health effects of GMOs. My investigation into the scientific literature tells another story.}}</p><p>And contrast:</p><p>{{Cite journal|title=Published GMO studies find no evidence of harm when corrected for multiple comparisons|first1=Alexander Y.|last1=Panchin|first2=Alexander I.|last2=Tuzhikov|journal=Critical Reviews in Biotechnology|volume = 37|issue = 2|pages = 213–217|date=January 14, 2016|issn=0738-8551|doi=10.3109/07388551.2015.1130684|pmid = 26767435|s2cid=11786594|quote=Here, we show that a number of articles some of which have strongly and negatively influenced the public opinion on GM crops and even provoked political actions, such as GMO embargo, share common flaws in the statistical evaluation of the data. Having accounted for these flaws, we conclude that the data presented in these articles does not provide any substantial evidence of GMO harm. <br /><br/> The presented articles suggesting possible harm of GMOs received high public attention. However, despite their claims, they actually weaken the evidence for the harm and lack of substantial equivalency of studied GMOs. We emphasize that with over 1783 published articles on GMOs over the last 10 years it is expected that some of them should have reported undesired differences between GMOs and conventional crops even if no such differences exist in reality.}}</p><p>and</p>{{Cite journal|title=Governing GMOs in the USA: science, law and public health|first1=Y.T.|last1=Yang|first2=B.|last2=Chen|journal=Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture|volume=96|issue = 4|pages=1851–1855|date=2016|doi=10.1002/jsfa.7523|pmid=26536836|bibcode=2016JSFA...96.1851Y |quote=It is therefore not surprising that efforts to require labeling and to ban GMOs have been a growing political issue in the USA ''(citing Domingo and Bordonaba, 2011)''. Overall, a broad scientific consensus holds that currently marketed GM food poses no greater risk than conventional food... Major national and international science and medical associations have stated that no adverse human health effects related to GMO food have been reported or substantiated in peer-reviewed literature to date.<br /><br/>Despite various concerns, today, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the World Health Organization, and many independent international science organizations agree that GMOs are just as safe as other foods. Compared with conventional breeding techniques, genetic engineering is far more precise and, in most cases, less likely to create an unexpected outcome.}}</ref>

=== Architecture ===
* '''[[Feng shui]]''' – ancient Chinese system of mysticism and [[aesthetics]] based on [[Chinese astronomy|astronomy]], [[geography]] and the putative flow of ''[[qi]]''. Evidence for its effectiveness is based on anecdote and there is a lack of a plausible method of action; this leads to conflicting advice from different practitioners of feng shui. Feng shui practitioners use this as evidence of variations or different schools; critical analysts have described it thus: "Feng shui has always been based upon mere guesswork."<ref name=duke>{{cite book | first = Edwin Joshua | last  = Dukes | title = The Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics | publisher = T & T Clark | location = Edinburgh | year = 1971 | page  = 834}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Monty | last = Vierra | title = Harried by "Hellions" in Taiwan | publisher = Sceptical Briefs | type = newsletter | date = March 1997}}</ref> Modern criticism differentiates between feng shui as a traditional proto-religion and the modern practice: "A naturalistic belief, it was originally used to find an auspicious dwelling place for a shrine or a tomb. However, over the centuries it...has become distorted and degraded into a gross superstition."<ref name=duke /><!-- p=833 -->
* '''[[Ley line]]s''' – proposed intentional alignment of ancient monuments and landscape features was later explained by a statistical analysis of lines that concluded: "the density of archaeological sites in the British landscape is so great that a line drawn through virtually anywhere will 'clip' a number of sites."<ref>{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Matthew|title=Archaeological Theory: An Introduction|date=29 December 2009|edition=2nd|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1405100151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYHwXdNVxzMC&pg=PA5|page=5|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173422/https://books.google.com/books?id=eYHwXdNVxzMC&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Additional [[New Age]] and feng shui concepts have been proposed building on the original concept and pseudoscientific claims about energy flowing through the lines have been made.
* '''[[Parking minimums and maximums|Minimum parking requirements]]''' – system for assigning an optimal number of parking spaces to a given land use. It is characterized as a pseudoscience by UCLA planning professor [[Donald Shoup]], especially as practiced by the [[Institute of Transportation Engineers]]. He argues that the ITE's calculations are arcane, overly specific, and typically based on minimal data and approximations that cannot be widely applied to other businesses, even of the same type, and yet are presented as science-backed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shoup |first=Donald |date=February 2020 |title=The Pseudoscience of Parking Requirements |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348325574 |journal=Zoning Practice |publisher=American Planning Association |issue=2 |pages=2–7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Milman |first=Oliver |title=US Cities Are Falling Out of Love With the Parking Lot |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/us-cities-are-falling-out-of-love-with-the-parking-lot/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702032813/https://www.wired.com/story/us-cities-are-falling-out-of-love-with-the-parking-lot/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Vastu shastra]]''' is the ancient Hindu system of architecture, which lays down a series of rules for building houses in relation to ambiance.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Quack|first1=Johannes|title=Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=119|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNbxUwhS5RUC&pg=PA119|access-date=23 May 2019|isbn=978-0199812608|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173424/https://books.google.com/books?id=TNbxUwhS5RUC&pg=PA119|url-status=live}}</ref> Vastu Shastra is considered pseudoscience by rationalists like [[Narendra Nayak]] of the [[Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations]]<ref name=OUP-Johannes>{{cite book|last1=Quack|first1=Johannes|title=Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNbxUwhS5RUC&pg=PA170|access-date=15 August 2015|isbn=978-0199812608|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173425/https://books.google.com/books?id=TNbxUwhS5RUC&pg=PA170|url-status=live}}</ref> and astronomer [[Jayant Narlikar]], who writes that Vastu does not have any "logical connection" to the environment.<ref name="narlikar_CUP">{{cite book|last1=Narlikar|first1=Jayant V.|editor1-last=Percy|editor1-first=John|editor2-last=Pasachoff|editor2-first=Jay|title=Teaching and Learning Astronomy: Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=165|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdzQ4uCnYfkC&pg=PA165|chapter=Astronomy, pseudoscience and rational thinking|isbn=978-0521115391|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307164247/https://books.google.com/books?id=mdzQ4uCnYfkC&pg=PA165|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Finance ===
* '''[[Technical analysis]]''' is a [[security analysis]] methodology for forecasting the direction of [[prices]] through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume.<ref name=Kirk>{{cite book
  | last1     = Kirkpatrick
  | last2     = Dahlquist
  | title     = Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians
  | publisher = Financial Times Press
  | year      = 2006
  | page      = 3
  | isbn      = 978-0131531130
}}</ref> [[Behavioral economics]] and [[Quantitative analysis (finance)|quantitative analysis]] use many of the same tools of technical analysis,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/114523-beating-the-quants-at-their-own-game|title=Beating the Quants at Their Own Game|publisher=Seeking Alpha|format=blog|first=Hugh|last=Akston|date=13 January 2009|access-date=20 July 2018|archive-date=5 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405013008/http://seekingalpha.com/article/114523-beating-the-quants-at-their-own-game|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Dehnad |first=Kosrow |date=August 2011 |title=Behavioral Finance and Technical Analysis |url=http://www.capco.com/sites/all/files/journal-32_article-10.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512110411/http://www.capco.com/sites/all/files/journal-32_article-10.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2013 |access-date=20 July 2013 |journal=The Capco Institute Journal of Financial Transformation |volume=32 |publisher=Capco Institute |pages=107–1011}}</ref><ref name="MizrachWeerts2007">{{cite journal |last1=Mizrach |first1=Bruce |last2=Weerts |first2=Susan |date=November 2007 |title=Highs and Lows: A Behavioral and Technical Analysis |url=http://www.sas.rutgers.edu/virtual/snde/wp/2006-10.pdf |journal=Working Paper |publisher=Rutgers University |volume=2006 |issue=10 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1118080 |issn=1556-5068 |ssrn=1118080 |hdl=10419/31262 |s2cid=154795544 |access-date=19 July 2019 |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207085352/http://www.sas.rutgers.edu/virtual/snde/wp/2006-10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | title     = Behavioural Technical Analysis: An introduction to behavioural finance and its role in technical analysis
  | year      = 2010
  | publisher = Harriman House
  | isbn      = 978-1905641413
  | author    = Paul V. Azzopardi
}}</ref> which, being an aspect of [[active management]], stands in contradiction to much of [[modern portfolio theory]]. The efficacy of both technical and [[fundamental analysis]] is disputed by the [[efficient-market hypothesis]], which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable.<ref>{{cite book
 |title        = The Evolution of Technical Analysis: Financial Prediction from Babylonian Tablets to Bloomberg Terminals
 |year         = 2010
 |publisher    = [[Bloomberg Press]]
 |isbn         = 978-1576603499
 |page         = 150
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=HMR_YTo3l2AC
 |author       = Andrew W. Lo
 |author2      = Jasmina Hasanhodzic
 |access-date  = 8 August 2011
 |archive-date = 7 November 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173514/https://books.google.com/books?id=HMR_YTo3l2AC
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> It is still considered by many academics to be pseudoscience.<ref name=Paulos2003>{{cite book
  | author    = Paulos, J.A.
  | year      = 2003
  | title     = A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market
  | url    = https://archive.org/details/mathematicianpla00paul
  | url-access = registration
  | publisher = Basic Books
  | isbn = 978-0465054800
 }}</ref> Academics such as [[Eugene Fama]] say the evidence for technical analysis is sparse and is inconsistent with the ''[[Efficient-market hypothesis#Weak-form efficiency|weak form]]'' of the efficient-market hypothesis.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|last1=Griffioen|first1=Gerwin A. W.|title=Technical Analysis in Financial Markets|year=2003|ssrn=566882|url=http://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/technical-analysis-in-financial-markets(2b5c6ba7-e57f-440f-969e-23df791edad2).html|publisher=Universiteit van Amsterdam|language=en|access-date=20 November 2018|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173939/https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=2b5c6ba7-e57f-440f-969e-23df791edad2|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fama |first=Eugene |year=1970 |title=Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work |url=http://www.e-m-h.org/Fama70.pdf |journal=The Journal of Finance |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=383–417 |doi=10.2307/2325486 |issn=0022-1082 |jstor=2325486 |access-date=7 January 2014 |archive-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602035413/http://www.e-m-h.org/Fama70.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Health and medicine ===
{{See also|List of diagnoses characterized as pseudoscience|List of forms of alternative medicine}}

Pseudoscientific medical practices are often known as [[quackery]]. In contrast, modern medicine is (or seeks to be) [[Evidence-based medicine|evidence-based]].
*The [[Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis|'''abortion–breast cancer hypothesis''']] posits that having an induced abortion can increase the risk of [[breast cancer]].<ref name="Melbye 81–85">{{Cite journal |last1=Melbye |first1=M. |last2=Wohlfahrt |first2=J. |last3=Olsen |first3=J. H. |last4=Frisch |first4=M. |last5=Westergaard |first5=T. |last6=Helweg-Larsen |first6=K. |last7=Andersen |first7=P. K. |date=1997-01-09 |title=Induced abortion and the risk of breast cancer |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=336 |issue=2 |pages=81–85 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199701093360201 |issn=0028-4793 |pmid=8988884 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This [[hypothesis]] is at odds with mainstream scientific opinion and is rejected by major medical professional organizations.<ref name="Melbye 81–85" /><ref name="Abortion and Cancer Risk">{{Cite web |title=Abortion and Cancer Risk |url=https://www.cancer.org/healthy/cancer-causes/medical-treatments/abortion-and-breast-cancer-risk.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223021352/https://www.cancer.org/healthy/cancer-causes/medical-treatments/abortion-and-breast-cancer-risk.html |archive-date=23 February 2023 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=www.cancer.org |language=en}}</ref>
*'''[[Access Consciousness]]''' is an alternative medicine technique similar to a combination of [[phrenology]], [[reiki]], energy therapies and therapeutic touch, where health and wellness can be improved by touching the 32 "Energy Bars" on a person's head.<ref name="Houston">{{Cite web |last=Malisow |first=Craig |date=November 7, 2012 |title=What's Behind Gary Douglas's Scientology Knockoff? |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/news/whats-behind-gary-douglass-scientology-knockoff-6596177 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507233928/https://www.houstonpress.com/news/whats-behind-gary-douglass-scientology-knockoff-6596177 |archive-date=May 7, 2015 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=Houston Press}}</ref> 
* '''[[Acupuncture]]''' – use of fine needles to stimulate ''acupuncture points'' and balance the flow of ''qi''. There is no known [[anatomical]] or [[histological]] basis for the existence of ''acupuncture points'' or ''meridians'' and acupuncture is regarded as an alternative medical procedure.<ref name="Barrett2022">{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=Stephen |title=Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and "Chinese Medicine" |website=Quackwatch |publisher=Center for Inquiry |date=2022-12-06 |url=https://quackwatch.org/related/acu/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417141218/https://quackwatch.org/related/acu/ |archive-date=2024-04-17}}</ref> Some acupuncturists regard them as functional rather than structural entities, useful in guiding evaluation and care of patients.  Acupuncture has been the subject of active [[Scientific method|scientific]] research since the late 20th century and its effects and application remain controversial among medical researchers and clinicians. Some scholarly reviews conclude that acupuncture's effects are mainly attributable to the [[placebo effect]] and others find likelihood of efficacy for particular conditions.
** '''[[Dry needling]]''' is the therapeutic insertion of fine needles without regard to [[traditional Chinese medicine]] (TCM) and is similarly controversial.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zhou K, Ma Y, Brogan MS |year=2015 |title=Dry needling versus acupuncture: the ongoing debate |journal=Acupunct Med |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=485–490 |doi=10.1136/acupmed-2015-010911 |issn=0964-5284 |pmid=26546163 |s2cid=23799474|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Donnerholt J, del Moral OM, Grobli C |year=2006 |title=Trigger point dry needling |url=http://jmmtonline.com/documents/v14n4/DommerholtDryNeedlingV14N4.pdf |journal=Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=E70–E87 |doi=10.1179/jmt.2006.14.4.70E |issn=1066-9817 |s2cid=72703587 |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010235724/http://jmmtonline.com/documents/v14n4/DommerholtDryNeedlingV14N4.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** '''[[Acupressure]]''' is an alternative medicine technique similar in principle to [[acupuncture]]. It is based on the concept of life energy, which flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to [[acupuncture point]]s with the aim of clearing blockages in these meridians. Pressure may be applied by hand, by elbow, or with various devices. Some studies have suggested it may be effective at helping manage nausea and vomiting, lower back pain, tension headaches and stomach ache, although such studies have been found to have a high likelihood of bias.<ref name="Lee">{{cite journal |vauthors=Lee EJ, Frazier SK |date=October 2011 |title=The efficacy of acupressure for symptom management: a systematic review |journal=Journal of Pain and Symptom Management |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=589–603 |doi=10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.01.007 |issn=0885-3924 |pmc=3154967 |pmid=21531533}}</ref> Like many alternative medicines, it may benefit from a [[placebo effect]]. [[Quackwatch]] says acupressure is a dubious practice and its practitioners use irrational methods.<ref name=Quackwatch>{{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/massage.html|title=Massage Therapy: Riddled with Quackery|first=Stephen|last=Barrett|name-list-style=vanc|publisher=Quackwatch|date=9 March 2006|access-date=3 June 2013|archive-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019151407/http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/massage.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Adrenal fatigue]]''' or '''hypoadrenia''' is a pseudoscientific diagnosis described as a state in which the [[adrenal gland]]s are exhausted and unable to produce adequate quantities of hormones, primarily the [[glucocorticoid]] [[cortisol]], due to chronic stress or infections.<ref name="2012Rev">{{cite journal |vauthors=Shah R, Greenberger PA |year=2012 |title=Unproved and controversial methods and theories in allergy-immunology |journal=Allergy Asthma Proc. |volume=33 |issue=Suppl 1 |pages=S100–S102 |doi=10.2500/aap.2012.33.3562 |issn=1088-5412 |pmid=22794702 |s2cid=12033165}} Quote: "There is no scientific basis for the existence of this disorder and no conclusive method for diagnosis."</ref> Adrenal fatigue should not be confused with a number of actual forms of adrenal dysfunction such as [[adrenal insufficiency]] or [[Addison's disease]].<ref name="webmd" /> The term "adrenal fatigue", which was invented in 1998 by James Wilson, a [[Chiropractic|chiropractor]],<ref name="sbm">{{cite web |url = http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/fatigued-by-a-fake-disease/ |title = Fatigued by a Fake Disease |work = [[Science-Based Medicine]] |date = 28 October 2010 |access-date = 12 March 2015 |author = Gavura, Scott |archive-date = 21 March 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200321085405/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/fatigued-by-a-fake-disease/ |url-status = live }}</ref> may be applied to a collection of mostly [[nonspecific symptoms]].<ref name=2012Rev/> There is no scientific evidence supporting the concept of adrenal fatigue and it is not recognized as a diagnosis by any scientific or medical community.<ref name=2012Rev/><ref name="webmd">{{cite web |url = http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/adrenal-fatigue-is-it-real |title = Adrenal Fatigue: Is It Real? |work = WebMD |publisher = Metcalf, Eric |access-date = 2014-03-19 |archive-date = 2 October 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171002103506/http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/adrenal-fatigue-is-it-real |url-status = live }}</ref> A systematic review found no evidence for the existence of adrenal fatigue, confirming the consensus among endocrinological societies that it is a myth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Cadegiani |first1 = Flavio A. |last2 = Kater |first2 = Claudio E. |title = Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review |journal = BMC Endocrine Disorders |date = 24 August 2016 |volume = 16 |issue = 1 |page = 48 |doi = 10.1186/s12902-016-0128-4 |issn = 1472-6823 |pmid = 27557747 |pmc = 4997656 |doi-access = free }}</ref>
* The '''[[Alexander Technique]]''', named after its creator [[Frederick Matthias Alexander]], is an educational process that was created to retrain habitual patterns of movement and posture. Alexander believed that [[Poor posture|poor habits in posture]] and movement damaged spatial [[self-awareness]] as well as health and that movement efficiency could support overall physical well-being. He saw the technique as a mental training technique as well.<ref name=blochLP>{{cite book | last = Bloch | first = Michael | title = F.M. : the life of Frederick Matthias Alexander : founder of the Alexander technique | publisher = Little, Brown | location = London | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0316860482 }}</ref>{{rp|221}} Alexander began developing his technique's principles in the 1890s<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rootberg |first=Ruth |date=September 2007 |title=Voice and Gender and other contemporary issues in professional voice and speech training |journal=Voice and Speech Review |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=164–170 |doi=10.1080/23268263.2007.10769755 |issn=2326-8263 |s2cid=144810660 |editor=Mandy Rees}}</ref> in an attempt to address [[voice loss]] during public speaking.<ref name=blochLP/>{{rp|34–35}} He credited his method with allowing him to pursue his passion for reciting in [[Shakespearean]] theater.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harer |first1=John B. |last2=Munden |first2=Sharon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8RlC8aE5foC |title=The Alexander Technique Resource Book: A Reference Guide |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2008 |pages=xii–xiii |isbn=978-0810863927 |access-date=2014-06-03 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173925/https://books.google.com/books?id=f8RlC8aE5foC |url-status=live }}</ref> Some proponents of the Alexander Technique say that it addresses a variety of health conditions related to cumulative physical behaviors, but there is little evidence to support many of the claims made about the technique.<ref name=aus17LP/><ref name="NHSLP"/> As of 2015, there was evidence suggesting the Alexander Technique may be helpful for both long-term [[back pain]] and long-term [[neck pain]] and may help people cope with [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref name="NHSLP">{{cite web|author1=NHS|title=Alexander Technique – NHS Choices|url=http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alexander-technique/Pages/Introduction.aspx|website=nhs.uk|access-date=17 April 2016|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412115420/http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alexander-technique/pages/introduction.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> However, both [[Aetna]] and the Australian Department of Health have conducted reviews and concluded that the technique has insufficient evidence to warrant insurance coverage.<ref name=aus17LP>{{cite book |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |publisher=Australian Government Department of Health |last=Baggoley |first=Chris |title=Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Natural Therapies for Private Health Insurance |year=2015 |access-date=10 July 2016 |isbn=978-1-76007-171-4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626024750/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2016}}
*{{lay source |template=cite web |author=Scott Gavura |date=November 19, 2015 |title=Australian review finds no benefit to 17 natural therapies |url=https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/australian-review-finds-no-benefit-to-17-natural-therapies |website=Science-Based Medicine}}</ref>
* '''[[Alternative cancer treatments]]''' are [[Alternative medicine|alternative or complementary treatments]] for [[cancer]] that have not been approved by the government agencies responsible for the [[regulation of therapeutic goods]] and have not undergone properly conducted, well-designed clinical trials. Among those that have been published, the methodology is often poor. A 2006 systematic review of 214 articles covering 198 clinical trials of alternative cancer treatments concluded that almost none conducted [[dose-ranging]] studies, which are necessary to ensure that the patients are being given a useful amount of the treatment.<ref name=Vickers2006>{{cite journal |vauthors=Vickers AJ, Kuo J, Cassileth BR |title=Unconventional anticancer agents: a systematic review of clinical trials |journal=Journal of Clinical Oncology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=136–140 |date=January 2006 |pmid=16382123 |pmc=1472241 |doi=10.1200/JCO.2005.03.8406}}</ref> These kinds of treatments appear and vanish frequently and have done so throughout history.<ref name=Cassileth1996>{{cite journal |author=Cassileth BR |title=Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments |journal=The Oncologist |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=173–179 |year=1996 |pmid=10387984 |url=http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=10387984 |doi=10.1634/theoncologist.1-3-173 |doi-access=free |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=22 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822081838/http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Alternative medicine|Alternative or fringe medicine]]''' – The terms ''alternative medicine'', ''complementary medicine'', ''integrative medicine,'' ''holistic medicine'', ''natural medicine'', ''unorthodox medicine'', ''fringe medicine'', ''unconventional medicine'' and ''[[New Age]] medicine'' are used interchangeably and are almost synonymous.<ref name="Shapiro 08">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ib_IbOu_d9gC&pg=PA1|title=Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All|last=Shapiro|first=Rose|date=2010|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1409059165|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173925/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ib_IbOu_d9gC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Terminology shifts over time to reflect the branding of practitioners.<ref name="SBM-brand">[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/integrative-medicine-a-brand-not-a-specialty/ "Integrative medicine": A brand, not a specialty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141104/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/integrative-medicine-a-brand-not-a-specialty/ |date=12 June 2018 }}. ''[[Science Based Medicine]]''</ref> Therapies are often [[Framing (psychology)|framed]] as "natural" or "holistic", implicitly and intentionally suggesting that conventional medicine is "artificial" and "narrow in scope".<ref name="ConsumerHealth9th">{{Cite book|title=Consumer health: a guide to intelligent decisions|last1=Barrett|first1=Stephen|last2=London|first2=William M.|last3=Kroger|first3=Manfred|last4=Hall|first4=Harriet|last5=Baratz|first5=Robert S.|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2013|isbn=978-0078028489|edition=9th|location=New York|pages=34–35, 134, 137|oclc=758098687}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:136:0085:0090:en:PDF|title=Directive 2004/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council|date=2004-04-30|website=Official Journal of the European Union|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=10 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210134935/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:136:0085:0090:en:PDF|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''[[Animal magnetism]]''' – also known as '''mesmerism'''; was the name given by German doctor [[Franz Mesmer]] in the 18th century to what he believed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans, animals and vegetables. He believed that the force could have physical effects, including healing, and he tried persistently but without success to achieve scientific recognition of his ideas.<ref name="wolfart">Wolfart, Karl Christian; Friedrich Anton Mesmer. ''Mesmerismus: Oder, System der Wechselwirkungen, Theorie und Anwendung des thierischen Magnetismus als die allgemeine Heilkunde zur Erhaltung des Menschen'' (in German, facsimile of the 1811 edition). Cambridge University Press, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1108072694}}. Foreword.</ref>
* '''[[Anthroposophic medicine]]''', or '''anthroposophical medicine''', is a form of alternative medicine.<ref name=teils>{{cite journal|doi=10.1159/000093481|pmid=16883076|title=Anthroposophische Medizin: Health Technology Assessment Bericht – Kurzfassung|year=2006|last1=Kienle|first1=Gunver S.|last2=Kiene|first2=Helmut|last3=Albonico|first3=Hans Ulrich|s2cid=72253140|journal=Forschende Komplementärmedizin|volume=13|issue=2|pages=7–18 |quote=teils ergänzend und teils ersetzend zur konventionellen Medizin}} ''Cited in'' {{cite journal|pmid=18540325|year=2008|last1=Ernst|first1=E|title=Anthroposophic medicine: A critical analysis|volume=150|issue=Suppl 1 |pages=1–6|journal=MMW Fortschritte der Medizin}}</ref> Devised in the 1920s by [[Rudolf Steiner]] and [[Ita Wegman]], it was based on [[occult]] notions and drew on Steiner's [[spiritual philosophy]], which he called [[anthroposophy]]. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts.<ref name=ernstmist>{{cite journal|doi=10.1136/bmj.39055.493958.80|title=Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer |year=2006|last1=Ernst|first1=E.|journal=BMJ|volume=333|issue=7582|pages=1282–1283|pmid=17185706|pmc=1761165}}</ref> Many drug preparations used in anthroposophic medicine are ultra-diluted substances, similar to those used in homeopathy. Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination and this has led to preventable outbreaks of disease. Professor of complementary medicine [[Edzard Ernst]] and other critics have characterized anthroposophic medicine as having no basis in science,<ref name=mckie/> pseudoscientific<ref name=seop/> and [[quackery]].<ref name="thes-aberdeen"/>
* '''[[Apitherapy]]''' is a branch of alternative medicine that uses [[honey bee]] products, including honey, pollen, [[propolis]], [[royal jelly]] and [[bee venom]]. Proponents of apitherapy make claims for its health benefits, which remain unsupported by [[evidence-based medicine]].<ref name="acsLP">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8aHAAAACAAJ&pg=704 |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |publisher=American Cancer Society|year=2009|isbn=978-0944235713|editor1-last=Ades|editor1-first=Terri B.|edition=2nd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/704 704–708]|chapter=Chapter 9: Pharmacologic and Biologic Therapies|editor2-last=Russel|editor2-first=Jill |url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/704}}</ref><ref name=cassLP>{{cite book |last1=Barry R. |first1=Cassileth |author-link=Barrie R. Cassileth |title=The Complete Guide to Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care: Essential Information for Patients, Survivors and Health Professionals |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J6kLNKw5baYC&pg=PA221 |year=2011 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-9814335669 |pages=221–224 |chapter=Chapter 36: Apitherapy |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173929/https://books.google.com/books?id=J6kLNKw5baYC&pg=PA221#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Applied kinesiology]]''' ('''AK''') is a technique in alternative medicine claimed to be able to diagnose illness or choose treatment by testing muscles for strength and weakness.<ref name=pmid11926427>{{cite journal |vauthors=Lüdtke R, Kunz B, Seeber N, Ring J |title=Test-retest-reliability and validity of the Kinesiology muscle test |journal=Complement Ther Med |year=2001 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=141–145 |pmid=11926427 |doi=10.1054/ctim.2001.0455}}</ref> According to their guidelines on allergy diagnostic testing, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology stated there is "no evidence of diagnostic validity" of applied kinesiology.<ref name="pmid18431959">{{cite journal|vauthors=Bernstein IL, Li JT, Bernstein DI, Hamilton R, Spector SL, Tan R |title=Allergy diagnostic testing: an updated practice parameter |journal=Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol |year=2008 |volume=100 |issue=Suppl 3 |pages=S1–148 |pmid=18431959 |doi=10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60305-5 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> Another study has shown that as an evaluative method, AK "is no more useful than random guessing"<ref name=kenney>{{cite journal |vauthors=Kenney JJ, Clemens R, Forsythe KD |title=Applied kinesiology unreliable for assessing nutrient status |journal=J Am Diet Assoc |volume=88 |issue=6 |pages=698–704 |date=June 1988 |doi=10.1016/S0002-8223(21)02038-1 |pmid=3372923 }}</ref> and the American Cancer Society has said that "scientific evidence does not support the claim that applied kinesiology can diagnose or treat cancer or other illness".<ref name=ACS2009>{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse |chapter-url-access=registration |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=978-0944235713 |veditors=Russell J, Rovere A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/160 160–164] |chapter=Applied Kinesiology}}</ref>
* '''[[Aromatherapy]]''' uses aromatic materials, including [[essential oils]], and other [[aroma compound]]s, with claims for improving psychological or physical well-being.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aromatherapy|url=http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Aromatherapy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227162445/http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Aromatherapy|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-02-27|website=Better Health Channel|access-date=2014-08-14}}</ref> It is offered as a [[complementary therapy]] or as a form of alternative medicine, the first meaning alongside standard treatments,<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1093/ecam/neh087| pmid = 15937558| title = Immunological and Psychological Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage| journal = Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine| volume = 2| issue = 2| pages = 179–184| year = 2005| last1 = Kuriyama| first1 = Hiroko| last2 = Watanabe| first2 = Satoko| last3 = Nakaya| first3 = Takaaki| last4 = Shigemori| first4 = Ichiro| last5 = Kita| first5 = Masakazu| last6 = Yoshida| first6 = Noriko| last7 = Masaki| first7 = Daiki| last8 = Tadai| first8 = Toshiaki| last9 = Ozasa| first9 = Kotaro| last10 = Fukui| first10 = Kenji| last11 = Imanishi| first11 = Jiro| pmc=1142199}}</ref> the second instead of conventional, evidence-based treatments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/types-of-treatment/alternative-therapies|title=Alternative therapies|website=www.macmillan.org.uk|access-date=16 October 2020|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021132745/https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/types-of-treatment/alternative-therapies|url-status=live}}</ref> Aromatherapists, people who specialize in the practice of aromatherapy, utilize blends of supposedly therapeutic essential oils that can be used as topical application, massage, inhalation or water immersion. There is no good medical evidence that aromatherapy can either prevent, treat, or cure any disease.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Choi|first2=Jiae|last3=Posadzki|first3=Paul|last4=Ernst|first4=Edzard|date=March 2012|title=Aromatherapy for health care: An overview of systematic reviews|journal=Maturitas|volume=71|issue=3|pages=257–260|doi=10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.12.018|pmid=22285469}}</ref> Placebo-controlled trials are difficult to design, as the point of aromatherapy is the smell of the products. There is disputed evidence that it may be effective in combating postoperative nausea and vomiting.<ref name=Hines2018>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hines S, Steels E, Chang A, Gibbons K |title=Aromatherapy for treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume=2018 |pages=CD007598 |date=March 2018 |issue=3 |pmid=29523018 |pmc=6494172 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD007598.pub3 }}</ref>
* '''[[Auriculotherapy]]''' (also '''auricular therapy''', '''ear acupuncture''', and '''auriculoacupuncture''') is a form of [[alternative medicine]] based on the idea that the [[ear]] is a micro-system which reflects the entire body, represented on the [[Pinna (anatomy)|auricle]], the outer portion of the ear. Conditions affecting the physical, mental or emotional health of the patient are assumed to be treatable by stimulation of the surface of the ear exclusively. Similar mappings are used in many areas of the body, including the practices of [[reflexology]] and [[iridology]]. These mappings are not based on or supported by any medical or [[Evidence-based medicine|scientific evidence]] and are therefore considered to be pseudoscience.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barrett|first1=Stephen|title=Auriculotherapy: A Skeptical Look|url=http://www.acuwatch.org/reports/auriculotherapy.shtml|website=Acupuncture Watch|date=2 February 2008|access-date=19 July 2014|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528151121/https://www.acuwatch.org/reports/auriculotherapy.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|year=2008|title=Auricular acupuncture for insomnia: a systematic review|journal=Int. J. Clin. Pract.|type=Systematic review|volume=62|issue=11|pages=1744–1752|doi=10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01876.x|pmid=18754807|vauthors=Lee MS, Shin BC, Suen LK, Park TY, Ernst E |s2cid=37046783 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''[[Autistic enterocolitis]]''' – is the name of a nonexistent medical condition proposed by discredited [[United Kingdom|British]] [[gastroenterologist]] [[Andrew Wakefield]] when he suggested a link between a number of common clinical symptoms and signs which he contended were distinctive to [[autism]].<ref name='discredited'>{{cite news|last=Rose |first=David |date=2010-02-03 |title=Lancet journal retracts Andrew Wakefield MMR scare paper |work=The Times |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7012267.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410083057/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7012267.ece |archive-date=2011-04-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The existence of such an [[enterocolitis]] has been dismissed by experts as having "not been established".<ref>{{cite journal |year=2010 |volume=125 |pages=S1–S18 |title=Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs: A Consensus Report |vauthors=Buie T, Campbell DB, Fuchs GJ |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/Supplement_1/S1.full |doi=10.1542/peds.2009-1878C |pmid=20048083 |display-authors=etal |citeseerx=10.1.1.692.4329 |s2cid=318955 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=4 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704214124/http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/Supplement_1/S1.full |url-status=live }}</ref> Wakefield's now-retracted and fraudulent<ref name=Deer2011>{{cite journal| title=How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed| vauthors=Deer B| journal=BMJ| year=2011| volume=342| page=c5347| url=http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347.full| doi=10.1136/bmj.c5347| pmid=21209059| doi-access=free| access-date=4 July 2018| archive-date=12 January 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112100916/http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347.full| url-status=live| url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=BMJ2011>{{cite journal |year=2011 |doi=10.1136/bmj.c7452 |page=c7452 |volume=342 |title=Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent |vauthors=Godlee F, Smith J, Marcovitch H |s2cid=43640126 |journal=[[BMJ]] |pmid=21209060 |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111093448/http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> report used inadequate controls and suppressed negative findings and multiple attempts to replicate his results have been unsuccessful.<ref name="histopathology">{{cite journal |vauthors=MacDonald TT, Domizio P |title=Autistic enterocolitis; is it a histopathological entity? |journal=Histopathology |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=371–379 |year=2007 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2559.2007.02606.x |pmid=17257133|s2cid=22342418 }}</ref> Reviews in the medical literature have found no link between autism and bowel disease.<ref name=unintended>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jefferson T, Price D, Demicheli V, Bianco E | title=Unintended events following immunization with MMR: a systematic review | journal=Vaccine | year=2003 | pages=3954–3960 | volume=21 | issue=25–26 | pmid=12922131 | doi=10.1016/S0264-410X(03)00271-8}}</ref><ref name="Gerber2009">{{cite journal |vauthors=Gerber JS, Offit PA |title=Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses |journal=Clin Infect Dis |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=456–461 |year=2009 |pmid=19128068 |pmc=2908388 |doi=10.1086/596476 |doi-access=free }}
*{{lay source |template=cite press release |title=Vaccines and Autism: Many Hypotheses, But No Correlation |website=Infectious Diseases Society of America |date=2009-01-30 |archive-date=12 August 2011 |url=http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=13336 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812162028/http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=13336}}</ref><ref name=cd004407>{{cite journal |vauthors=Di Pietrantonj C, Rivetti A, Marchione P, Debalini MG, Demicheli V |title=Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |issue= 4|page=CD004407 |year=2020 |volume=4 |pmid=32309885 |pmc=7169657 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub4}}</ref>{{Update inline|reason=Updated version https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34806766|date = January 2022}}
* '''[[Ayurveda]]''' – traditional Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old alternative medical practice with roots in ancient India based on a mind-body set of beliefs.<ref name="ayurveda_ama">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614085504/http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13638.shtml
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=14 June 2009
 |title=Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-97)
 |year=1997
 |publisher=[[American Medical Association]]
}}</ref><ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch">{{cite web |title=Ayurvedic medicine |url=http://www.skepdic.com/ayurvedic.html |access-date=16 August 2008 |publisher=[[The Skeptic's Dictionary]] |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810061129/http://skepdic.com/ayurvedic.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Imbalance or stress in an individual's consciousness is believed to be the cause of diseases.<ref name="ayurveda_ama" /> Patients are classified by body types (three ''[[doshas]]'', which are considered to control mind-body harmony, determine an individual's "body type") and treatment is aimed at restoring balance to the mind-body system.<ref name="ayurveda_ama" /><ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch" /> It has long been the main traditional system of health care in India<ref name="ayurveda_quackwatch" /> and it has become institutionalized in India's colleges and schools, although unlicensed practitioners are common.<ref name="ayurveda_review">{{Cite journal
  | journal    = [[Medical Anthropology Quarterly]]
  | first      = Lesley A.
  | last       = Sharp
  | title      = Review of Fluent bodies: Ayourvedic Remedies for Postcolonial Imbalance
  | url        = http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/maq.2003.17.4.511
  | doi        = 10.1525/maq.2003.17.4.512
  | issue      = 4
  | pages      = 511–512
  | date       = December 2003
  | access-date = 16 August 2008
  | volume     = 17
| doi-access= free
  }}</ref> As with other traditional knowledge, much of it was lost; in the West, current practice is in part based on the teachings of the [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] in the 1980s,<ref name="todd" /> who mixed it with [[Transcendental Meditation]]; other forms of [[Ayurveda]] exist as well. The most notable advocate of Ayurveda in America is [[Deepak Chopra]], who claims that the Maharishi's Ayurveda is based on [[quantum mysticism]].<ref name="todd">{{Cite book
 |title        = The Skeptic's Dictionary
 |first        = Robert Todd
 |last         = Carroll
 |author-link  = Robert Todd Carroll
 |publisher    = John Wiley and Sons
 |year         = 2003
 |pages        = 45–4?
 |isbn         = 978-0471272427
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=6FPqDFx40vYC&q=ayurveda+pseudoscience&pg=PA45
 |access-date  = 26 October 2020
 |archive-date = 7 November 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173931/https://books.google.com/books?id=6FPqDFx40vYC&q=ayurveda+pseudoscience&pg=PA45
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
* '''[[Balneotherapy]]''' ({{langx|la|balneum}} "bath") is the presumed benefit from [[disease]] by bathing, a [[traditional medicine]] technique usually practiced at [[spa]]s.<ref name="ShorterOxfordEnglishDictionary">{{cite book |year=2007 |edition=6th |title=Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, vol. 1: A-M |editor=Angus Stevenson |chapter=Definition of balneo therapy |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford |page=180 |isbn=978-0199206872|title-link=Shorter Oxford English Dictionary }}</ref> Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold [[water]], [[massage]] through moving water, relaxation, or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular [[mineral]]s such as [[silica]], [[sulfur]], [[selenium]] and [[radium]]. Scientific studies into the effectiveness of balneotherapy do not show that balneotherapy is effective for treating [[rheumatoid arthritis]].<ref name="Verhagen2015">{{Cite journal|last1=Verhagen|first1=Arianne P.|last2=Bierma-Zeinstra|first2=Sita M. A.|last3=Boers|first3=Maarten|last4=Cardoso|first4=Jefferson R.|last5=Lambeck|first5=Johan |last6=de Bie|first6=Rob|last7=de Vet|first7=Henrica C. W.|date=2015-04-11|title=Balneotherapy (or spa therapy) for rheumatoid arthritis|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=2015 |issue=4|page=CD000518 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD000518.pub2|issn=1469-493X|pmid=25862243|pmc=7045434}}</ref> There is also no evidence indicating a more effective type of bath,<ref name="Verhagen2015" /> or to indicate that bathing is more effective than physical exercise, [[relaxation therapy]], or [[mudpack]]s.<ref name="Verhagen2015" /> Most of the studies on balneotherapy have methodological flaws and are not reliable.<ref name="Verhagen2015" /><ref>{{cite journal |title=Taking baths: the efficacy of balneotherapy in patients with arthritis. A systematic review|journal=J Rheumatol|volume=24|issue=10|pages=1964–1971|date=October 1997|pmid=9330940 |vauthors=Verhagen AP, De Vet HC, De Bie RA, Kessels AG, Boers M, Knipschild |first6=PG}}</ref> A 2009 review of all published clinical evidence concluded that existing research is not sufficiently strong to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of balneotherapy.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Falagas ME|title=The therapeutic effect of balneotherapy: Evaluation of the evidence from randomized controlled trials |journal=International Journal of Clinical Practice|year=2009|pmid=19570124 |doi=10.1111/j.1742-1241.2009.02062.x|volume=63|pages=1068–1084|issue=7|s2cid=26008531|display-authors=etal|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''[[Bates method]]''' – an alternative therapy aimed at improving [[Visual acuity|eyesight]]. Eye-care physician [[William Bates (physician)|William Horatio Bates]] (1860–1931) attributed nearly all sight problems to [[Habit (psychology)|habitual]] "strain" of the eyes and thus felt that relieving such "strain" would cure the problems. In 1952, optometry professor [[Elwin Marg]] wrote of Bates, "Most of his claims and almost all of his theories have been considered false by practically all visual scientists."<ref name="Chou">{{cite journal |journal=Review of Optometry |title=Exposing the Secrets of Fringe Eye Care |first=Brian |last=Chou |volume=141 |number=9 |date=15 September 2004 |access-date=1 December 2020 |url=https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/exposing-the-secrets-of-fringe-eye-care |archive-date=30 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630171622/https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/exposing-the-secrets-of-fringe-eye-care |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Biological terrain assessment]]''' – a set of computerized tests used to measure the pH, resistivity and redox potentials of a person's urine, blood and saliva, with the intention of recommending a customized program of health supplements and remedies (such as vitamins, homeopathic supplements, or herbal medicines) based on the results. Proponents suggest that BTA allows for a correction of biological imbalances before they become pathological, while opponents claim that the tests are imprecise and result in incorrect diagnoses.<ref name=Quackwatch_terrain>{{cite web|url=https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/bioter.html|title=Biological Terrain Assessment Is Nonsense|first=Stephen|last=Barrett|name-list-style=vanc|publisher=Quackwatch|date=9 April 2002|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015000423/http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/bioter.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Biorhythm theory]]''' – an attempt to predict various aspects of a person's life through simple mathematical cycles. The theory was developed by [[Wilhelm Fliess]] in the late 19th century and was popularized in the United States in the late 1970s. It was described as pseudoscience.<ref>{{Cite book |series=SUNY series in philosophy |chapter=Winning through pseudoscience |author=Clark Glymour & Douglas Stalker |editor=Patrick Grim |edition=2nd |title=? Philosophy of science and the occult |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |year=1990 |isbn=978-0791402047 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie00grim/page/92 92, 94] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5VewAkDw8h0C |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie00grim/page/92 }}</ref>
* '''[[Body memory]]''' (BM) is a [[hypothesis]] that the body itself is capable of storing memories, as opposed to only the brain. While experiments have demonstrated the possibility of cellular memory<ref name="cosier">{{cite journal |last1=Cosier |first1=Susan |title=Could Memory Traces Exist in Cell Bodies? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-memory-traces-exist-in-cell-bodies/ |journal=Scientific American |access-date=31 May 2018 |doi=10.1038/scientificamericanmind0515-14b |volume=26 |year=2015 |page=14 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622005343/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-memory-traces-exist-in-cell-bodies/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> there are currently no known means by which tissues other than the brain would be capable of storing memories.<ref name="Smith">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Susan E. |title=Body Memories: And Other Pseudo-Scientific Notions of "Survivor Psychology" |journal=Issues in Child Abuse Accusations |year=1993 |volume=5 |url=http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_4_2.htm |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002015837/http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_4_2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lilienfeld">{{Cite book|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology|publisher=The Guilford Press|year=2002|isbn=157230828-1 |editor1=Scott O. Lilienfeld SO|editor2=Lynn SJ|editor3=Lohr JM}}</ref> Modern usage of BM tends to frame it exclusively in the context of traumatic memory and ways in which the body responds to recall of a memory. In this regard, it has become relevant in treatment for [[PTSD]].<ref name="M.D.2014">{{cite book|author=Bessel van der Kolk|title=The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Q3UAgAAQBAJ|date=2014|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-1101608302|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=7 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107173930/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Q3UAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Brain Gym]]''' – is an organization promoting a series of exercises claimed to improve academic performance. Twenty-six Brain Gym activities are claimed to improve eye teaming (binocular vision), spatial and listening skills, hand–eye coordination and whole-body flexibility and by doing this manipulate the brain, improving learning and recall of information.  The Brain Gym program calls for children to repeat certain simple movements such as crawling, yawning, making symbols in the air and drinking water; these are intended to "integrate", "repattern", and increase blood flow to the brain.<ref name=wishful2007>{{cite journal|last1=Hyatt|first1=K. J. |title=Brain Gym®: Building Stronger Brains or Wishful Thinking?|journal=Remedial and Special Education|date=1 April 2007|volume=28|issue=2|pages=117–124|doi=10.1177/07419325070280020201|s2cid=145748559}}</ref><ref name=Goldacre2010>{{cite book|last1=Goldacre|first1=Ben|title=Bad science : quacks, hacks, and big pharma flacks|date=2010|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-1429967099|edition=First American|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znCisNI4c8MC&pg=PA15|chapter=2: Brain Gym}}</ref> Though the organization claims the methods are grounded in good neuroscience, the underlying ideas are pseudoscience.<ref name="HJ-NN2014">{{cite journal|last1=Howard-Jones|first1=Paul A.|title=Neuroscience and education: myths and messages|journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience|date=15 October 2014|volume=15|issue=12|pages=817–824|doi=10.1038/nrn3817 |pmid=25315391|s2cid=3346477}}</ref><ref name=TES2016>{{cite journal|last1=Rose|first1=Hilary|last2=Rose|first2=Steven|title=The false promise of neuroeducation|journal=Times Educational Supplement|date=23 June 2016|url=https://www.tes.com/news/tes-magazine/tes-magazine/false-promise-neuroeducation|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=14 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214062206/https://www.tes.com/news/tes-magazine/tes-magazine/false-promise-neuroeducation|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Candida hypersensitivity]]''' – It has been spuriously claimed that chronic yeast infections are responsible for many common disorders and [[non-specific symptom]]s, including [[fatigue]], [[weight gain]], [[constipation]], [[dizziness]], muscle and joint [[pain]], [[asthma]] and others.<ref name="SBM">{{cite web|title=Candida and Fake Illnesses|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/candida-and-fake-illnesses/|website=Science-Based Medicine|date=25 September 2013|first=Steven|last=Novella|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704153327/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/candida-and-fake-illnesses/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Barrett2005">{{cite web|author1=Stephen Barrett|date=8 October 2005 |title=Dubious 'Yeast Allergies' |url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513203124/http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html|archive-date=13 May 2008}}</ref> The notion has been strongly challenged by the [[American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology]].<ref name="AndersonChai1986">{{cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=J |last2=Chai|first2=H|last3=Claman|first3=H|last4=Ellis|first4=E|last5=Fink|first5=J|last6=Kaplan|first6=A |last7=Lieberman|first7=P|last8=Pierson|first8=W|last9=Salvaggio|first9=J|last10=Sheffer|first10=A |title=Candidiasis hypersensitivity syndromeApproved by the executive committee of the American academy of allergy and immunology|journal=Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology|volume=78|issue=2|year=1986 |pages=271–273|issn=0091-6749 |doi=10.1016/S0091-6749(86)80073-2|pmid=3734279|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''[[Carnivore diet]]'''{{snd}}a fad diet in which nothing is eaten but meat. As well as being unhealthy the diet has a damaging environmental impact.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Science-Based Medicine]] |vauthors=Novella S |title=Skeptical of the Carnivore Diet |date=19 April 2023 |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/skeptical-of-the-carnivore-diet/ |access-date=21 April 2023 |archive-date=31 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831215400/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/skeptical-of-the-carnivore-diet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Chelation therapy]]''' is claimed by some practitioners of [[alternative medicine]] to treat a variety of ailments, including [[heart disease]] and [[autism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ernst |first= E. |author-link= Edzard Ernst |title=Chelation therapy for coronary heart disease: An overview of all clinical investigations |journal=American Heart Journal |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=139–141 |year=2000 |pmid=10874275 |doi=10.1067/mhj.2000.107548}}</ref><ref name=Weberchel>{{cite journal |journal=[[Pediatric Clinics of North America]] |year=2007 |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=983–1006 |title= Complementary and alternative medical therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism |last1= Weber |first1= W. |last2= Newmark |first2= S. |doi=10.1016/j.pcl.2007.09.006 |pmid=18061787}}</ref> While [[chelation]] is a valid form of medical treatment, used as a means to treat conditions such as acute heavy metal toxicity,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chelation Therapy {{!}} Michigan Medicine|url=https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ty3205spec|access-date=2021-06-16|website=www.uofmhealth.org|language=en|archive-date=18 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618055934/https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ty3205spec|url-status=live}}</ref> the use of chelation therapy by alternative medicine practitioners for behavioral and other disorders is considered pseudoscientific; there is no proof that it is effective.<ref>{{cite web |title=Boy with autism dies during 'chelation therapy' |work=Behavior News |publisher=Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan |date=30 August 2005 |url=http://www.baam.emich.edu/baamnewsarchive/BAAMbnachelationdeath.htm|access-date=2019-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129083241/http://www.baam.emich.edu/baamnewsarchive/BAAMbnachelationdeath.htm |archive-date=2016-11-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition to being ineffective, chelation therapy prior to heavy metal testing can artificially raise urinary heavy metal concentrations ("provoked" urine testing) and lead to inappropriate and unnecessary treatment.<ref name="toxicfive">{{Citation |author1=American College of Medical Toxicology |author1-link=American College of Medical Toxicology |author2=American Academy of Clinical Toxicology |author2-link=American Academy of Clinical Toxicology |date=February 2013 |title=Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question |work=[[Choosing Wisely]]: an initiative of the [[ABIM Foundation]] |publisher=American College of Medical Toxicology and American Academy of Clinical Toxicology |url=http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-college-of-medical-toxicology-and-the-american-academy-of-clinical-toxicology/ |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204163006/http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-college-of-medical-toxicology-and-the-american-academy-of-clinical-toxicology/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[American College of Medical Toxicology]] and the [[American Academy of Clinical Toxicology]] warn the public that chelating agents used in chelation therapy may have serious side effects, including liver and kidney damage, blood pressure changes, allergies and, in some cases, even death of the patient.<ref name="toxicfive"/>
* '''[[Chiropractic]]''' is a form of [[alternative medicine]] mostly concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of mechanical disorders of the [[musculoskeletal system]], especially the [[Vertebral column|spine]].<ref name=Chapman-Smith>{{cite book|vauthors=Chapman-Smith DA, ((Cleveland CS III)) |chapter= International status, standards, and education of the chiropractic profession|pages=111–134|title= Principles and Practice of Chiropractic|edition=3rd|veditors=Haldeman S, Dagenais S, Budgell B |publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2005|isbn=978-0071375344|display-editors=etal}}</ref> Some proponents, especially those in the field's early history, have claimed that such disorders affect general health via the [[nervous system]],<ref name=Nelson>{{cite journal |vauthors=Nelson CF, Lawrence DJ, Triano JJ, Bronfort G, Perle SM, Metz RD, Hegetschweiler K, LaBrot T | title = Chiropractic as spine care: a model for the profession | journal = Chiropractic & Osteopathy| volume = 13 | issue = 1 | page = 9 | year = 2005 | pmid = 16000175 | pmc = 1185558 | doi = 10.1186/1746-1340-13-9 | doi-access = free }}</ref> through [[vertebral subluxation]], claims which are not based on scientific evidence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chiropractic Vertebral Subluxations: Science vs. Pseudoscience|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractic-vertebral-subluxations-science-vs-pseudoscience/|website=Science-Based Medicine|date=1 October 2010|access-date=4 July 2018|first=Sam|last=Homola|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618004310/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractic-vertebral-subluxations-science-vs-pseudoscience/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Homola2010">{{cite journal|last1=Homola|first1=Samuel |title=Real orthopaedic subluxations versus imaginary chiropractic subluxations|journal=Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies|volume=15|issue=4|year=2010|pages=284–287|issn=1465-3753|doi=10.1111/j.2042-7166.2010.01053.x}}</ref> The main [[chiropractic treatment technique]] involves [[manual therapy]], especially [[Spinal manipulation|spinal manipulation therapy]] (SMT), manipulations of other joints and [[soft tissue]]s.<ref name="content-of-practice">{{cite book|chapter-url=http://chiroweb.com/archives/ahcpr/chapter3.htm|chapter=Content of practice|vauthors=Mootz RD, Shekelle PG|year=1997|title=Chiropractic in the United States: Training, Practice, and Research|pages=67–91|veditors=Cherkin DC, Mootz RD|location=Rockville, MD|publisher=Agency for Health Care Policy and Research|oclc=39856366|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=4 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004052159/http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/ahcpr/chapter3.htm|url-status=live}} AHCPR Pub No. 98-N002.</ref> Its foundation is at odds with [[mainstream medicine]] and chiropractic is sustained by pseudoscientific ideas, such as vertebral subluxation and "innate intelligence" that reject science.<ref name=Trick-or-Treatment>{{cite book|pages=145–190|chapter=The truth about chiropractic therapy|title=Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine |last1=Singh |first1=S |last2=Ernst |first2=E |year=2008|publisher=W.W. Norton|isbn=978-0393066616}}</ref><ref name=History-PPC>{{cite book|author= Keating J.C. Jr.|chapter= A brief history of the chiropractic profession|pages=23–64|title= Principles and Practice of Chiropractic|edition=3rd|veditors = Haldeman S, Dagenais S, Budgell B |publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2005|isbn=978-0071375344|display-editors=etal|author-link= Joseph C. Keating Jr.}}</ref>
* '''[[Chromotherapy]]''', sometimes called '''color therapy''', '''colorology''' or '''cromatherapy''', is an alternative medicine method which is considered pseudoscience.<ref>Williams, William F. (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy''. Facts on File Inc. p. 52. {{ISBN|1579582079}}</ref> Chromotherapists claim to be able to use light in the form of color to balance "energy" lacking from a person's body, whether it be on physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental levels. Color therapy is distinct from other types of [[light therapy]], such as [[Neonatal jaundice|neonatal jaundice treatment]]<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=1108807 |pmc=1545706 |year=1975 |last1=Dobbs |first1=R. H. |title=Phototherapy |journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood |volume=50 |issue=11 |pages=833–836 |last2=Cremer |first2=R. J. |doi=10.1136/adc.50.11.833}}</ref> and [[blood irradiation therapy]], which is a scientifically accepted medical treatment for a number of conditions,<ref name=ACSCT>{{cite book | last = Ades | first = Terri | year = 2009 | title = Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies | isbn = 978-1604430530 | publisher = American Cancer Society | page = 210 }}</ref> and from [[photobiology]], the scientific study of the effects of light on living organisms. French skeptic and lighting physicist Sébastien Point considers LED lamps at domestic radiance to be safe in normal use for the general population;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/shouldnt-afraid-leds/|title=Why you shouldn't be afraid of LEDs – European Scientist|date=1 February 2018|website=europeanscientist.com|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=3 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064403/https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/shouldnt-afraid-leds/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Some evidences that white LEDs are toxic for human at domestic radiance? |journal=Radioprotection |date=October–December 2017 |volume=52 |issue=4 |first1=S. |last1=Point1 |first2=J. |last2=Lambrozo |url=https://www.radioprotection.org/articles/radiopro/abs/2017/04/radiopro170025/radiopro170025.html |access-date=24 November 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308133134/https://www.radioprotection.org/articles/radiopro/abs/2017/04/radiopro170025/radiopro170025.html |url-status=live }}</ref> he also pointed out the risk of overexposure to light from LEDs for practices like chromotherapy, when duration and time exposure are not under control.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=S. Point |title=The danger of chromotherapy |magazine=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=41 |number=4 |date=July–August 2017 |url=http://www.skepdigest.awardspace.us/The_Danger_of_Chromotherapy.pdf |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=29 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829182534/http://skepdigest.awardspace.us/The_Danger_of_Chromotherapy.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfrp.asso.fr/medias/sfrp/documents/Divers/Fiche%20lampes%20%C3%A0%20Led%20SFRP%20-%20Anglais%20_%2006-2018%20(2).pdf |author=S. Point & A. Barlier-Salsi |title=LED lighting and retinal damage|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614144321/http://www.sfrp.asso.fr/medias/sfrp/documents/Divers/Fiche%20lampes%20%C3%A0%20Led%20SFRP%20-%20Anglais%20_%2006-2018%20(2).pdf|archive-date=14 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''[[Chronic Lyme disease]]''' (not to be confused with [[Lyme disease]]) is a generally rejected diagnosis that encompasses "a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to ''[[Borrelia burgdorferi]]'' infection."<ref name="nejm-feder">{{cite journal | title = A Critical Appraisal of 'Chronic Lyme Disease' | journal = [[The New England Journal of Medicine|NEJM]] | volume = 357 | issue = 14 | pages = 1422–1430 |date=October 2007 | pmid = 17914043 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMra072023 | last1 = Feder | first1 = HM | last2 = Johnson | first2 = BJB | last3 = O'Connell | first3 = S | display-authors = 3 | last4 = Shapiro | first4 = ED | last5 = Steere | first5 = AC | last6 = Wormser | first6 = GP | author7 = Ad Hoc International Lyme Disease Group | last8 = Agger | first8 = WA | last9 = Artsob | first9 = H | s2cid = 35285261 }}</ref> Despite numerous studies, there is no clinical evidence that "chronic" Lyme disease is caused by a persistent infection.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=P. J.|s2cid=36141950|title=Chronic Lyme disease: in defense of the scientific enterprise|journal=The FASEB Journal|date=14 July 2010|volume=24|issue=11|pages=4175–4177|doi=10.1096/fj.10-167247|doi-access=free |pmid=20631327}}</ref> It is distinct from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, a set of lingering symptoms which may persist after successful treatment of infection with Lyme spirochetes. The symptoms of "chronic Lyme" are generic and non-specific "symptoms of life".<ref name="SMB-Hall">{{cite web |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-everybody-have-chronic-lyme-disease-does-anyone/ |title=Does Everybody Have Chronic Lyme Disease? Does Anyone? |last=Hall |first=Harriet |author-link=Harriet Hall |website=[[Science Based Medicine]] |date=2013-09-03 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041931/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-everybody-have-chronic-lyme-disease-does-anyone/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Colon cleansing]]''' (a.k.a. '''colon therapy''') encompasses a number of [[Alternative medicine|alternative medical therapies]] claimed to remove nonspecific [[Toxin#Misuse of the term|toxins]] from the [[Colon (anatomy)|colon]] and intestinal tract by removing any accumulations of [[feces]].  Colon cleansing may be branded '''colon hydrotherapy''', a '''colonic''' or '''colonic irrigation'''. During the 2000s, internet marketing and [[infomercial]]s of oral supplements supposedly for colon cleansing increased.<ref name="Marketplace2009">{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_win_500000/busted.html |title=Do you really need to clean your colon? |work=[[Marketplace (Canadian TV program)|Marketplace]]|publisher=[[CBC Television]]  |access-date=2010-05-03 |year=2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315153906/http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_win_500000/busted.html |archive-date=2010-03-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some forms of [[Colon Hydrotherapy (Colonics)|colon Hydrotherapy]] use tubes to inject [[water]], sometimes mixed with herbs or with other liquids, into the colon via the rectum using special equipment. Oral cleaning regimens use [[dietary fiber]], herbs, [[dietary supplement]]s, or [[laxative]]s. People who practice colon cleansing believe that accumulations of putrefied feces line the walls of the [[large intestine]] and that these accumulations harbor [[parasite]]s or pathogenic [[gut flora]], causing [[nonspecific symptom]]s and general ill-health. This "auto-intoxication" hypothesis is based on medical beliefs of the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians and [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and was discredited in the early 20th century.<ref name="ACS12">{{cite web|title=Colon Therapy|url=http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/colon-therapy|publisher=American Cancer Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424180208/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/colon-therapy|archive-date=24 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* '''[[Colloidal silver]]''' (a [[colloid]] consisting of silver particles suspended in liquid) and formulations containing silver salts were used by physicians in the early 20th century, but their use was largely discontinued in the 1940s following the development of safer and effective modern antibiotics.<ref name=pmid8632503CS>{{cite journal |doi=10.3109/15563659609020246 |pmid=8632503 |title=Silver Products for Medical Indications: Risk-Benefit Assessment |journal=Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=119–126 |year=1996 |last1=Fung |first1=Man C. |last2=Bowen |first2=Debra L. |s2cid=10521403 }}</ref><ref name="mskccCS">{{cite web | publisher = [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]] | url = http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/colloidal-silver | title = Colloidal silver | date = 16 May 2011 | access-date = 2 January 2013 | archive-date = 3 April 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130403020452/http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/colloidal-silver | url-status = live }}</ref> Since about 1990, there has been a resurgence of the promotion of colloidal silver as a dietary supplement,<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/> marketed with claims of it being an essential mineral supplement, or that it can prevent or treat numerous diseases, such as [[cancer]], [[diabetes]], [[arthritis]], [[HIV]]/[[AIDS]], [[Herpes simplex|herpes]]<ref name=pmid8632503CS/> and [[tuberculosis]].<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS>{{cite web|title=Colloidal Silver|url=https://nccih.nih.gov/health/silver|publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health|access-date=9 October 2016|format=Last Updated September 2014|date=July 2009|archive-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005083834/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/silver|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=pmid15748553CS>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wadhera A, Fung M | title = Systemic argyria associated with ingestion of colloidal silver | journal = Dermatology Online Journal | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | page = 12 | date = March 2005 | doi = 10.5070/D30832G6D3 | pmid = 15748553 | url = http://dermatology.cdlib.org/111/case_reports/argyria/wadhera.html | access-date = 28 May 2019 | archive-date = 28 August 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120828142131/http://dermatology.cdlib.org/111/case_reports/argyria/wadhera.html | url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref name=pmid7563503CS>{{cite journal |pmid=7563503 |year=1995 |last1=Fung |first1=M. C. |title=Colloidal silver proteins marketed as health supplements |journal=JAMA |volume=274 |issue=15 |pages=1196–1197 |last2=Weintraub |first2=M. |last3=Bowen |first3=D. L. |doi=10.1001/jama.1995.03530150020017 }}</ref> No medical evidence supports the effectiveness of colloidal silver for any of these claimed indications.<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/><ref name="fda-ruleCS">{{cite journal | title = Over-the-counter drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Public Health Service (PHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Final rule | journal = Federal Register | volume = 64 | issue = 158 | pages = 44653–44658 | date = August 1999 | pmid = 10558603 | url = http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1999_register&docid=fr17au99-6.pdf }}</ref><ref name=pmid11593479CS>{{cite journal |doi=10.1053/ajem.2001.25773 |pmid=11593479 |title=Argyria in the ED |journal=The American Journal of Emergency Medicine |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=525–526 |year=2001 |last1=Newman |first1=Mark |last2=Kolecki |first2=Paul }}</ref> Silver is not an [[essential mineral]] in humans; there is no dietary requirement for silver and hence, no such thing as a silver "deficiency".<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/> There is no evidence that colloidal silver treats or prevents any medical condition and it can cause serious and potentially irreversible side effects, such as [[argyria]].<ref name=NCCIHsilverCS/>
* '''[[COVID-19 misinformation]]''' – multiple theories proposing a wide variety of different things regarding the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], [[COVID-19]] itself and [[COVID-19 vaccine]]s.
**'''The [[Great Barrington Declaration]]'''&nbsp;&ndash; a document that emerged from the [[American Institute for Economic Research]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], authored by three scientists. It promised a way to allow people to carry on their normal lives while invoking the impossible idea of "focused protection" for vulnerable people.<ref name="sbmgbd">{{cite web |publisher=[[Science-Based Medicine]] |author=David Gorski |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/great-barrington-declaration/ |title=The Great Barrington Declaration: COVID-19 deniers follow the path laid down by creationists, HIV/AIDS denialists, and climate science deniers |date=12 October 2020 |access-date=14 February 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015111359/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/great-barrington-declaration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The epidemiologist [[Michael Osterholm]] called it "a dangerous mix of pixie dust and pseudoscience".<ref name="osterholm">{{cite web |work=The Hill |author=Reid Wilson |date=15 October 2020 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/521320-great-barrington-mass-comes-out-against-great-barrington-declaration |title=Town of Great Barrington, Mass., comes out against Great Barrington Declaration |access-date=14 February 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016054908/https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/521320-great-barrington-mass-comes-out-against-great-barrington-declaration |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Craniosacral therapy]]''' – is a form of bodywork or alternative therapy using gentle touch to manipulate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. A practitioner of craniosacral therapy may also apply light touches to a patient's spine and pelvis. Practitioners believe that this manipulation regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and aids in "primary respiration." Craniosacral therapy was developed by John Upledger, D.O. in the 1970s as an offshoot of osteopathy in the cranial field, or cranial osteopathy, which was developed in the 1930s by William Garner Sutherland. According to the American Cancer Society, although CST may relieve the symptoms of stress or tension, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that craniosacral therapy helps in treating cancer or any other disease." CST has been characterized as pseudoscience and its practice has been called quackery.<ref name="quackcranial">{{cite book|title=Evaluation and Treatment of Chronic Pain|editor-first=George R.|editor-last=Aronoff|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|page=571|year=1999|isbn=978-0683301496|edition=3rd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cranial.html|first=Stephen|last=Barrett|publisher=Quackwatch|title=Why Cranial Therapy Is Silly|date=15 May 2004|access-date=16 December 2012|archive-date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030014408/http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cranial.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cranial osteopathy has received a similar assessment, with one 1990 paper finding there was no scientific basis for any of the practitioners' claims the paper examined.<ref name="Ferré 481–494">{{Cite journal|title = Cranial osteopathy, delusion or reality?|journal = Actualités Odonto-Stomatologiques|date = 1990-09-01|issn = 0001-7817|pmid = 2173359|pages = 481–494|volume = 44|issue = 171|first1 = J. C.|last1 = Ferré|first2 = C.|last2 = Chevalier|first3 = J. P.|last3 = Lumineau|first4 = J. Y.|last4 = Barbin}}</ref>
* '''[[Cryonics]]''' – a field of products, techniques, and beliefs supporting the idea that freezing the clinically dead at very low temperatures (typically below −196 degrees Celsius) will enable future revival or re-substantiation. These beliefs often hinge on the existence of advanced human societies in the distant future that will possess as-of-yet unknown technology for the stabilization of dying cells. There is no evidence a human being can be revived after such freezing and no solid scientific evidence suggests that reanimation will be possible in the future.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cryonics: Science or Religion |vauthors=Dein S |journal=Journal of Religion & Health |year=2022 |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=3164–3176 |doi=10.1007/s10943-020-01166-6|pmid=33523374 |s2cid=231745500 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/541311/the-false-science-of-cryonics/|title=The False Science of Cryonics|website=[[MIT Technology Review]]|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=2 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402015738/https://www.technologyreview.com/s/541311/the-false-science-of-cryonics/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/cold-reality-versus-the-wishful-thinking-of-cryonics/|title=Does Cold reality versus the wishful thinking of cryonics?|website=[[Science-Based Medicine]]|date=2 August 2014|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=25 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125183118/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/cold-reality-versus-the-wishful-thinking-of-cryonics/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=jk>{{cite news |title=Mainstream science is frosty over keeping the dead on ice |author=Steinbeck RL |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=29 September 2002 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-09-29-0209290429-story.html |access-date=20 July 2019 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717153237/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-09-29-0209290429-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Crystal healing]]''' – belief that [[crystals]] have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s with the [[New Age]] movement. There is no scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect.<ref name="Regal">Regal, Brian. (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood. p. 51. {{ISBN|978-0313355073}}</ref>
* '''[[Cupping therapy]]''' is an ancient form of [[alternative medicine]]. Cupping is used in more than 60 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nccaom.org/science-of-cupping/|title=The Science of Cupping|website=nccaom.org|date=5 December 2016 |access-date=2019-02-24|archive-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710135031/http://www.nccaom.org/science-of-cupping|url-status=live}}</ref> Its usage dates back to as far as 1550 B.C.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/cupping-therapy|title=What Is Cupping Therapy? Uses, Benefits, Side Effects, and More|website=WebMD|access-date=2019-02-24|archive-date=7 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607060818/https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/cupping-therapy|url-status=live}}</ref> There are different forms of cupping; the most common are dry, wet and fire cupping. Cups are applied onto the skin and a suction is created, pulling the skin up. It is meant to increase blood flow to certain areas of the body.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19893209/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cupping/|title=What Is Cupping Therapy—And Should You Try It?|last=Daly|first=Annie|date=2018-06-26|website=Women's Health|access-date=2019-02-24|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630144348/https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19893209/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cupping/|url-status=live}}</ref> Not a part of medical practice in the modern era, cupping has been characterized as a pseudoscience.<ref name="Crislip2">{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-odds-and-ends/|title=Acupuncture Odds and Ends|last1=Crislip|first1=Mark|author-link=Mark Crislip|date=24 December 2014|website=Science-Based Medicine|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-date=31 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531091113/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-odds-and-ends/|url-status=live}}</ref> There is no good evidence it has any health benefits and there are some risks of harm, especially in case of wet and fire cupping.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2019/05/13/the-ridiculous-and-possibly-harmful-practice-of-cupping/|title=The Ridiculous And Possibly Harmful Practice of Cupping|last=Salzberg|first=Steven|date=2019-05-13|website=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513190615/https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2019/05/13/the-ridiculous-and-possibly-harmful-practice-of-cupping/|archive-date=2019-05-13|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Detoxification (alternative medicine)|Detoxification]]''' – Detoxification in the context of [[alternative medicine]] consists of an approach that claims to rid the body of "toxins" – accumulated substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on individual health in the short or long term.  The concept has received criticism from scientists and health organizations for its unsound scientific basis and lack of evidence for the claims made.<ref name=2015rev12>{{cite journal|last1=Klein|first1=AV|last2=Kiat|first2=H|s2cid=37704045|title=Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence.|journal=Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics|date=December 2015|volume=28|issue=6|pages=675–686|pmid=25522674|doi=10.1111/jhn.12286}}</ref> The "toxins" usually remain undefined, with little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in the patient. The British organisation [[Sense about Science]] has described some detox diets and commercial products as "a waste of time and money",<ref name="senseaboutscience.org.uk">{{cite web |title=Debunking detox |website=Sense about Science |url=http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/debunking-detox.html |access-date=10 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826124704/http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/debunking-detox.html}}</ref> while the British Dietetic Association called the idea "nonsense" and a "marketing myth".<ref name=bdaa>{{cite web |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/detoxdiets.pdf |publisher=British Dietetic Association |title=Detox Diets |date=May 2016 |last=Porter |first=Sian |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=17 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017170537/https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/detoxdiets.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In the human body, the processing of chemicals, including those considered 'toxins', is handled by a number of organs, most prominently the liver and kidneys, thus making detoxes unnecessary.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-12-05|title=You can't detox your body. It's a myth. So how do you get healthy?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance|access-date=2021-06-16|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205145029/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Digit ratio]]''' – calculated by dividing the length of an index finger by the ring finger of the same hand, has been proposed to correlate with various personality, sexuality, biological, psychological and physical traits/outcomes. The field has been compared to pseudoscience due to irreproducible or contradictory findings, exaggerated claims of usefulness and lack of high quality research protocols.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smoliga |first1=James M |last2=Fogaca |first2=Lucas K |last3=Siplon |first3=Jessica S |last4=Goldburt |first4=Abigail A |last5=Jakobs |first5=Franziska |date=2021-12-15 |title=Giving science the finger—is the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) a biomarker of good luck? A cross sectional study |journal=BMJ |volume=375 |language=en |page=e067849 |doi=10.1136/bmj-2021-067849 |issn=1756-1833 |pmc=8672321 |pmid=34911738}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Talk to the hand. Scientists try to debunk idea that finger length can reveal personality and health |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/talk-hand-scientists-try-debunk-idea-finger-length-can-reveal-personality-and-health |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=www.science.org |language=en |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924164606/https://www.science.org/content/article/talk-hand-scientists-try-debunk-idea-finger-length-can-reveal-personality-and-health |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Ear candling]]''', also called '''ear coning''' or '''thermal-auricular therapy''', is a pseudoscientific<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=DeMeo S|title=The Pseudoscience of Ear Wax Removal |issue=6 |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=22 |year=1998 |page=17}}</ref> alternative medicine practice claimed to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow [[candle]] and placing the other end in the [[ear canal]]. Medical research has shown that the practice is both dangerous and ineffective<ref name="Seely">{{cite journal|author1=Seely, D.R. |author2=Quigley, S.M. |author3=Langman, A.W. | title=Ear candles: Efficacy and safety |journal=Laryngoscope |year=1996 |pages=1226–1229 |volume=106 |issue=10 |pmid=8849790 |doi=10.1097/00005537-199610000-00010|s2cid=45885657 }}</ref> and does not functionally remove [[earwax]] or [[toxicant]]s, despite product design contributing to that impression.<ref name=MayoClinic.org>{{cite web|last1=Beatty M.D.|first1=Charles W|title=Ear Candling: Is it Safe?|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/expert-answers/ear-candling/faq-20058212|website=MayoClinic.org|publisher=Mayo Clinic|access-date=7 June 2014|ref=MayoClinic.org|archive-date=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816225505/http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/expert-answers/ear-candling/faq-20058212|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{anchor|Earthing}}
* '''[[Energy medicine#Earthing|Earthing therapy]]''' or '''grounding''' is a therapy that is claimed to ease pain, provide a better night's sleep, and assist with symptoms of [[inflammation]] by being in direct physical contact with the ground or a device connected to [[Ground (electricity)|electrical ground]].<ref name="MIT_Grounding">{{cite news |last1=Mims |first1=Christopher |title=Your Appliances Are Grounded, So Why Not You? |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2012/06/07/185776/your-appliances-are-grounded-so-why-not-you/ |access-date=28 January 2023 |work=MIT Technology Review |date=7 June 2012 |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205173257/https://www.technologyreview.com/2012/06/07/185776/your-appliances-are-grounded-so-why-not-you/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Practitioners claim that Earth has an excess of electrons which people are missing due to insulating shoes and ground cover.<ref name="Oschman_JACM_2007">{{cite journal |last1=Oschman |first1=James L. |title=Can Electrons Act as Antioxidants? A Review and Commentary |journal=The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |date=November 2007 |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=955–967 |doi=10.1089/acm.2007.7048|pmid=18047442 }}</ref> Being in electrical contact with Earth is claimed to provide the body with those excess electrons, which then act as [[antioxidants]]. A 2012 systematic review study showed inconclusive results related to methodological issues across the literature.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kamioka H, Tsutani K, Mutoh Y, Honda T, Shiozawa N, Okada S, Park SJ, Kitayuguchi J, Kamada M, Okuizumi H, Handa S |year=2012|title=A systematic review of randomized controlled trials on curative and health enhancement effects of forest therapy.|journal=Psychology Research and Behavior Management|volume=5|pages=85–95 |doi=10.2147/PRBM.S32402|pmc=3414249|pmid=22888281 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Subsequently, a 2017 systematic review of the benefits of spending time in forests demonstrated positive health effects, but not enough to generate clinical practice guidelines or demonstrate [[causality]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oh B, Lee KJ, Zaslawski C, Yeung A, Rosenthal D, Larkey L, Back M |date=18 October 2017|title=Health and well-being benefits of spending time in forests: systematic review |journal=Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine |volume=22|issue=1|page=71 |doi=10.1186/s12199-017-0677-9|pmc=5664422|pmid=29165173 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017EHPM...22...71O }}</ref>
* '''[[Electrohomeopathy]]''' (or '''Mattei cancer cure''') is a derivative of [[homeopathy]] invented in the 19th century by Count Cesare Mattei. The name is derived from a combination of ''electro'' (referring to an electric [[Energy (esotericism)|bio-energy]] content supposedly extracted from plants and of therapeutic value, rather than [[electricity]] in its conventional sense) and ''homeopathy'' (referring to an alternative medicinal philosophy developed by [[Samuel Hahnemann]] in the 18th century). Electrohomeopathy has been defined as the combination of electrical devices and homeopathy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naturowatch.org/hx/fishbein.html|title=Naturopathy and Its Professors (1932)|work=naturowatch.org|date=27 July 2003|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528191621/https://www.naturowatch.org/hx/fishbein.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Electromagnetic hypersensitivity]]''' (EHS) – reported sensitivity to [[Electric field|electric]] and [[magnetic field]]s or [[electromagnetic radiation]] of various frequencies at exposure levels well below established safety standards. Symptoms are inconsistent, but can include headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping and similar non-specific indications.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Röösli|first1=Martin |last2=Moser|first2=Mirjana |last3=Baldinini|first3=Yvonne|last4=Meier|first4=Martin|last5=Braun-Fahrländer|first5=Charlotte|title=Symptoms of ill health ascribed to electromagnetic field exposure – a questionnaire survey |journal=International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health|volume=207 |issue=2|year=2004|pages=141–150|issn=1438-4639|doi=10.1078/1438-4639-00269|pmid=15031956|bibcode=2004IJHEH.207..141R }}</ref> Provocation studies find that the discomfort of sufferers is unrelated to hidden sources of radiation<ref name="rubinetal2005"/> and "no scientific basis currently exists for a connection between EHS and exposure to [electromagnetic fields]."<ref name="BadScience EMF woo">{{cite web |url=http://www.badscience.net/2007/06/electrosensitives-the-new-cash-cow-of-the-woo-industry/ |title=Electrosensitives: the new cash cow of the woo industry |access-date=17 November 2007 |last=Goldacre |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Goldacre |publisher=BadScience/[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=22 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722210132/http://www.badscience.net/2007/06/electrosensitives-the-new-cash-cow-of-the-woo-industry/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WHO EMF">{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/index.html |title=Electromagnetic fields and public health |access-date=17 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116024800/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/index.html |archive-date=16 November 2007}}</ref>
* '''[[Energy medicine]]''', '''energy therapy''', '''energy healing''', '''vibrational medicine, psychic healing''', '''spiritual medicine''', or '''spiritual healing''' are branches of alternative medicine based on a pseudoscientific belief that healers can channel healing [[Energy (esotericism)|energy]] into a patient and effect positive results. This idea itself contains several methods: hands-on, hands-off and distant (or absent) where the patient and healer are in different locations.<ref name=TimesLP>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/alternative_medicine/article4317985.ece | author=Jules Evans | title=Spiritual healing on the NHS? | newspaper=The Times | date=14 July 2008 | location=London | access-date=29 May 2019 | archive-date=14 May 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514033028/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/alternative_medicine/article4317985.ece | url-status=dead }}</ref> While early reviews of the scientific literature on energy healing were equivocal and recommended further research,<ref name=AstinLP>{{Cite journal|title=The Efficacy of "Distant Healing: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials|journal=Annals of Internal Medicine|year=2000|last=Astin|first=J.|s2cid=53089000|display-authors=etal |volume=132|issue=11|pages=903–910 |pmid=10836918|doi=10.7326/0003-4819-132-11-200006060-00009}}</ref><ref name="Ernst 2001 88–92">{{cite journal | title=A primer of complementary and alternative medicine commonly used by cancer patients | author-link=Edzard Ernst | journal=Medical Journal of Australia | first=Edzard | last=Ernst | year=2001 | volume=174 | issue=2 | pages=88–92 | pmid=11245510 | url=http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/174_02_150101/ernst/ernst.html#suba10 | doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143161.x | s2cid=45055625 | access-date=29 May 2019 | archive-date=29 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129083531/http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/174_02_150101/ernst/ernst.html#suba10 | url-status=live | url-access=subscription }}</ref> more recent reviews have concluded that there is no evidence supporting clinical efficiency.<ref>
{{cite journal | doi=10.1007/BF03040322 | vauthors=Ernst E
| s2cid=28737150
| author-link=Edzard Ernst
| title=Distant healing—an update of a systematic review
| journal=Wien. Klin. Wochenschr.  | volume=115 | issue=7–8
| date = 30 April 2003
| pages=241–245
| pmid=12778776
| quote = Since the publication of our previous systematic review in 2000, several rigorous new studies have emerged. Collectively they shift the weight of the evidence against the notion that distant healing is more than a placebo.
}}
</ref>
* '''[[Facilitated communication]]''' is a scientifically discredited technique<ref name="Autism Wars">{{cite web |last1=Vyse |first1=Stuart |title=Autism Wars: Science Strikes Back |url=https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/autism_wars_science_strikes_back |date=7 August 2018 |website=Skeptical Inquirer Online |publisher=Skeptical Inquirer |access-date=28 November 2018 |archive-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322040631/https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/autism_wars_science_strikes_back |url-status=live }}</ref> that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities. The facilitator holds the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a keyboard or other device.<ref name="Facilitated" /> Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC (involving [[ideomotor effect]] guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator).<ref name="Why debunked autism treatment fads persist">{{cite web|last1=Lilienfeld|date=26 February 2015|title=Why debunked autism treatment fads persist|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150226154644.htm|website=Science Daily|publisher=Emory University|access-date=10 November 2015|display-authors=etal|archive-date=3 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203125948/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150226154644.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ganz/Katsiyannis/Morin">{{cite journal|last1=Ganz|first1=Jennifer B.|last2=Katsiyannis|first2=Antonis |last3=Morin|first3=Kristi L.|title=Facilitated Communication: The Resurgence of a Disproven Treatment for Individuals With Autism |journal=Intervention in School and Clinic|volume=54|pages=52–56|doi=10.1177/1053451217692564 |year=2018|doi-access=free}}</ref> Studies have consistently found that FC is unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object).<ref name="An experimental analysis of facilitated communication">{{cite journal|last1=Montee|first1=B B|last2=Miltenberger|first2=R G|last3=Wittrock|first3=D|last4=Watkins|first4=N |last5=Rheinberger|first5=A|last6=Stackhaus|first6=J|title=An experimental analysis of facilitated communication.|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|year=1995|volume=28|issue=2|pages=189–200 |doi=10.1901/jaba.1995.28-189|pmid=7601804|pmc=1279809}}</ref>
** '''[[Rapid prompting method]]''' - a closely related discredited technique.<ref name="Todd, James (Rapid Prompting)">{{cite book|last1=Todd|first1=James|chapter=Rapid Prompting|title=Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders|pages=2497–2503|doi=10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1896|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4419-1697-6}}</ref>
* '''[[Fad diet]]''' - a [[Dieting|diet]] that becomes popular for a short time, similar to [[fad]]s in [[History of fashion design|fashion]], without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making pseudoscientific or unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements.<ref name="Hart2018">{{Cite book |last=Hart |first=Katherine |title=Advanced nutrition and dietetics in obesity |date=2018 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780470670767 |editor-last=Hankey |editor-first=Catherine |pages=177–182 |language=en |chapter=4.6 Fad diets and fasting for weight loss in obesity. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwBBDwAAQBAJ |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112191549/https://books.google.com/books?id=VwBBDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hanky20174">{{Cite book |last=Hankey |first=Catherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky5ADwAAQBAJ |title=Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics in Obesity |date=2017-11-23 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118857977 |pages=179–181 |language=en |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112191551/https://books.google.com/books?id=ky5ADwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Whitney 20192">Whitney, Eleanor Noss; Rolfes, Sharon Rady; Crowe, Tim; Walsh, Adam. (2019). ''Understanding Nutrition''. Cengage Learning Australia. pp. 321-325. {{ISBN|9780170424431}}</ref><ref name="bda4" /><ref name="Oxford2013">{{Cite book |last=Kraig |first=Bruce |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780199734962 |location=Oxford |pages=623–626}}</ref> Fad diets are generally restrictive (such as low-calorie diets e.g. [[Fasting#In alternative medicine|fasting]], or high protein-low carbohydrate diets e.g. [[Atkins diet]]), and are characterized by promises of fast weight loss<ref name="bda4">{{Cite web |year=2014 |title=Fact Sheet{{snd}}Fad diets |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/faddiets.pdf |access-date=12 December 2015 |publisher=British Dietetic Association |quote=Fad-diets can be tempting as they offer a quick-fix to a long-term problem. |archive-date=22 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822162710/https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/faddiets.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="phn3">{{cite book |author=Flynn MAT |title=Chapter 14: Fear of Fatness and Fad Slimming Diets |work=Public Health Nutrition |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-118-69332-2 |editor=Gibney MJ |pages=236–246}}</ref> or great physical health (such as "[[Detoxification (alternative medicine)#Detox diets|detoxification]]" or diets purporting to be [[alternative cancer treatments]]).<ref name="Hanky20174"/><ref name="bda4" /><ref name="fitz3">{{cite book |author=Fitzgerald M |url=https://archive.org/details/dietcultssurpris0000fitz |title=Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of US |publisher=Pegasus Books |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-60598-560-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Williams20133">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=William F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vH1EAgAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy |date=2013-12-02 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135955229 |pages=107–108 |language=en}}</ref> Fad diets are not supported by [[clinical research]] and their health recommendations are not [[peer-reviewed]], thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.<ref name="Whitney 20192"/>
* '''[[Faith healing]]''' – act of curing disease by such means as [[prayer]] and [[laying on of hands]]. There is no material benefit observed in excess of that expected by the [[placebo effect]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=National Science Foundation |author-link=National Science Foundation |title=Science and Engineering Indicators |publisher=National Science Foundation |year=2002 |location=Arlington, VA |chapter=ch. 7 |chapter-url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm |isbn=978-0160665790 |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm |archive-date=16 June 2016 |url-status=dead}} "Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread... Polls also show that one quarter to more than half of the public believes in ... faith healing."</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/congress.html
  | title       = In the Land of Galileo, Fifth World Skeptics Congress Solves Mysteries, Champions Scientific Outlook
  | access-date  = 18 December 2007
  | last        = Frazier
  | first       = Kendrick
  | author-link  = Kendrick Frazier
  | date        = January 2005
  | work        = Skeptical Inquirer
  | publisher   = Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017134445/http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/congress.html
  | archive-date = 17 October 2007
  | quote       = The majority of rigorous trials show no effect beyond placebo. ([[Edzard Ernst]])}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Feldenkrais}} The '''[[Feldenkrais method|Feldenkrais Method]]''' is a type of [[exercise therapy]] devised by Israeli [[Moshé Feldenkrais]] (1904–1984) during the mid-20th century.  The method is claimed to reorganize connections between the brain and body and so improve body movement and psychological state.<ref name=ehmLP>{{cite book |veditors=Stalker D, Glymour C |page=[https://archive.org/details/examiningholisti0000unse_w1i5/page/373 373] |year=1989 |publisher=Prometheus Books |title=Examining Holistic Medicine |isbn=978-0879755539 |quote=a system of exercise therapy developed in the 1940s by former judo instructor Moshe Feldenkrais |url=https://archive.org/details/examiningholisti0000unse_w1i5/page/373 }}</ref> There is no good [[Evidence-based medicine|medical evidence]] that the Feldenkrais method confers any health benefits. It is not known if it is safe or cost-effective,<ref name=aus17LP /> but researchers do not believe it poses serious risks.<ref name="CorgiLP">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=S|last2=Ernst|first2=E|title=Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial|date=2009|publisher=Corgi}}</ref>
* '''[[Functional medicine]]''' is a form of alternative medicine that encompasses a number of unproven and disproven methods and treatments.<ref name=sampson1321>{{cite web |last= Sampson |first= Wallace |author-link= Wallace Sampson |title= Functional Medicine – New Kid on the Block |url= http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=271 |work= [[Science-Based Medicine (website)|Science-Based Medicine]] |date= 30 October 2008 |access-date= 29 May 2019 |archive-date= 22 May 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110522063642/http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=271 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=Sampson2321>{{cite web |last=Sampson |first=Wallace |author-link=Wallace Sampson |title=Functional Medicine (FM) What Is It? |url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/fuctional-medicine-fm-what-is-it/ |work=Science Based Medicine |access-date=20 May 2014 |date=9 July 2009 |archive-date=20 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520233953/http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/fuctional-medicine-fm-what-is-it/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Pal |first= SK |title= Complementary and alternative medicine: An overview |journal= [[Current Science]] |volume= 82 |issue= 5 |pages= 518–524 |date= March 2002 |jstor= 24105958 }}</ref> Its proponents claim that it focuses on the "root causes" of diseases based on interactions between the environment and the gastrointestinal, endocrine and immune systems to develop "individualized treatment plans".<ref name=Ehrlich321>{{cite journal |last1=Ehrlich |first1=G |first2=T |last2=Callender |first3=B |last3=Gaster |title=Integrative medicine at academic health centers: A survey of clinicians' educational backgrounds and practices |journal=Family Medicine |date=May 2013 |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=330–334 |pmid=23681684 |url=http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2013/May/Gillian330.pdf |access-date=8 October 2013 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110345/http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2013/May/Gillian330.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Opponents have described it as pseudoscience,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/why-functional-medicine-is-bogus/ |title=Functional Medicine: Pseudoscientific Silliness |last=Hall |first=Harriet |year=2017 |magazine=Skeptic |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=4–5 |access-date=29 May 2019 |archive-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118102921/https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/why-functional-medicine-is-bogus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[quackery]]<ref name=quackademicfunctional>{{cite web |website= Science–Based Medicine |url= http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/quackademia-update-2014/ |last= Gorski |first= David |author-link= David Gorski |title= Quackademia update: The Cleveland Clinic, George Washington University, and the continued infiltration of quackery into medical academia |access-date= 2016-12-02 |date= 29 September 2014 |archive-date= 25 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190525100008/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/quackademia-update-2014/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and, at its essence, a re-branding of [[Alternative medicine|complementary and alternative medicine]].<ref name=quackademicfunctional/>
* '''[[Ryke Geerd Hamer#Germanic New Medicine|Germanic New Medicine]]''' – Sometime after his son's death in 1978 [[Ryke Geerd Hamer]] developed testicular cancer; believing there was a link between the two events Hamer developed "Germanic New Medicine" (GNM). According to GNM no real diseases exist; rather, what established medicine calls a "disease" is actually a "special meaningful program of nature" ({{lang|de|sinnvolles biologisches Sonderprogramm}}) to which bacteria, viruses and fungi belong. Hamer's GNM claims to explain every disease and treatment according to those premises and to thereby obviate traditional medicine. The cure is always the resolving of the conflict. Some treatments like [[chemotherapy]] or pain relieving drugs like [[morphine]] are deadly, according to Hamer.<ref name=hamer1321>{{cite web |url=http://dr-rykegeerdhamer.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=362&Itemid=76 |title=Dr.med.Mag.theol. Ryke Geerd Hamer – Germanische Neue Medizin – Dr. Hamer: DAS SPIEL IST AUS! |publisher=Dr-rykegeerdhamer.com |date=11 February 2010 |access-date=20 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815053742/http://dr-rykegeerdhamer.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=362&Itemid=76 |archive-date=15 August 2011}}</ref><ref name=hamer2321>{{cite web |url=http://dr-rykegeerdhamer.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=76 |title=Dr.med.Mag.theol. Ryke Geerd Hamer – Germanische Neue Medizin – Dr. Hamer an die Staatsanwaltschaft München |publisher=Dr-rykegeerdhamer.com |date=7 February 2010 |access-date=20 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815053200/http://dr-rykegeerdhamer.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=76 |archive-date=15 August 2011}}</ref> These "laws" are dogmas of GNM, not laws of nature or medicine, and are at odds with scientific understanding of human physiology.<ref>[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/another-cancer-tragedy-in-the-making/ Another cancer tragedy in the making] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529162441/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/another-cancer-tragedy-in-the-making/ |date=29 May 2019 }}, [[David Gorski]], ''Science Based Medicine''</ref>
* '''[[Germ theory denialism]]''' – the pseudoscientific belief that [[Microorganism|germs]] do not cause infectious disease and that the [[germ theory of disease]] is wrong.
* '''[[Hair analysis (alternative medicine)|Hair analysis]]''' is, in mainstream scientific usage, the chemical analysis of a [[hair]] sample. The use of '''hair analysis''' in '''[[alternative medicine]]''' as a method of investigation to assist [[:Category:Alternative medical diagnostic methods|alternative diagnosis]] is controversial<ref name="barrett321">{{cite journal |last1=Barrett |first1=S. |title=Commercial hair analysis. Science or scam? |journal=JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association |volume=254 |pages=1041–1045 |year=1985 |doi=10.1001/jama.254.8.1041 |issue=8|pmid=4021042 }}</ref><ref name="seidel321">{{cite journal |last1=Seidel |first1=S. |s2cid=1947454 |title=Assessment of Commercial Laboratories Performing Hair Mineral Analysis |journal=JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association |volume=285 |issue=1 |pages=67–72 |year=2001 |doi=10.1001/jama.285.1.67|pmid=11150111 }}</ref> and its use in this manner has been opposed repeatedly by the [[American Medical Association|AMA]] because of its unproven status and its potential for health care fraud.<ref name=AMA321123>Hair analysis: A potential for [[medical abuse]]. Policy number H-175.995,(Sub. Res. 67, I-84; Reaffirmed by CLRPD Rep. 3 – I-94)</ref>
* '''Health bracelets''' and various healing jewelry such as '''[[Ionized jewelry|ionized bracelets]]''', '''[[hologram bracelet]]s''' and '''[[Magnet therapy|magnetic jewelry]]''', are purported to improve the health, heal, or improve the [[Qi|chi]] of the wearer.  No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/2218-copper-and-magnetic-bracelets-do-not-work-for-rheumatoid-arthritis.html|title=Copper and Magnetic Bracelets Do Not Work for Rheumatoid Arthritis|first=Steven|last=Novella|format=blog|publisher=[[James Randi Educational Foundation]]|date=22 September 2013|access-date=20 July 2018|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082837/http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/2218-copper-and-magnetic-bracelets-do-not-work-for-rheumatoid-arthritis.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.alternet.org/copper-and-magnetic-healing-bracelets-are-pseudoscience|title=Quackwear: Big Pseudoscience Wants to Sell You Wearable Metal to Improve Your Health|journal=AlterNet|first=Cliff|last=Weathers|date=10 January 2015|access-date=20 July 2018|archive-date=13 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713094048/http://www.alternet.org/copper-and-magnetic-healing-bracelets-are-pseudoscience|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Hexagonal water]]'''&nbsp;– A term used in a [[Fraud|marketing scam]]<ref name="wired">{{cite magazine| last=Rowe| first=Aaron| title=Video: Hexagonal Water is an Appalling Scam| magazine=Wired| date=2008-03-17| access-date=2011-10-18| url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/chem-lab-hexago/| archive-date=26 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226035356/http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/chem-lab-hexago| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="alabama">{{cite web| title=Drinking Water and Water Treatment Scams| publisher=Alabama Cooperative Extension System| date=2003-10-22| url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QAUI82HS_Q4J:www.aces.edu/waterquality/articles/new/WATER_SCAMS3-HD.pdf+hexagonal+water+scam&gl=us&pid=bl}}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> that claims the ability to create a certain configuration of water that is better for the body.<ref name="aquatechnology">{{cite web| publisher=Aqua Technology| title=Understanding Hexagonal Water| access-date=2011-10-18| url=http://www.aquatechnology.net/hexagonalwater.html| archive-date=13 October 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013035945/http://www.aquatechnology.net/hexagonalwater.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> The term "hexagonal water" refers to a [[Water cluster|cluster of water molecules]] forming a hexagonal shape that supposedly enhances nutrient absorption, removes metabolic wastes and enhances [[Cell signaling|cellular communication]], among other things.<ref name="frequency">{{cite web| publisher=Frequency Rising| title=Hexagonal Water| access-date=2011-10-18| url=http://www.frequencyrising.com/water_hexagonal.htm| archive-date=10 April 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410160713/https://www.frequencyrising.com/water_hexagonal.htm| url-status=dead}}</ref> Similar to the [[dihydrogen monoxide hoax]], the scam takes advantage of the consumer's limited knowledge of chemistry, physics and physiology.
* '''[[Homeopathy]]'''&nbsp;– the belief that a patient with symptoms of an illness can be treated with extremely dilute remedies that are thought to produce those same symptoms in healthy people.  These [[List of homeopathic preparations|preparations]] are often diluted beyond the point where any treatment molecule is likely to remain. Studies of homeopathic practice have been largely negative or inconclusive.<ref name="Homeopathy_BBC_Eggar">{{cite news
 |title        = Homoeopathy's benefit questioned
 |date         = 25 August 2005
 |url          = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4183916.stm
 |work         = BBC News
 |access-date  = 30 January 2008
 |quote        = Professor Egger said: "We acknowledge to prove a negative is impossible. But good large studies of homeopathy do not show a difference between the placebo and the homoeopathic remedy, whereas in the case of conventional medicines you still see an effect."
 |archive-date = 3 August 2017
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20170803222020/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4183916.stm
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_Bandolier">{{Cite news
  | title        = Homeopathy: systematic review of systematic reviews
  | publisher        = Bandolier
  | url        = http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band116/b116-8.html
  | access-date        = 30 January 2008
  | quote        = None of these systematic reviews provided any convincing evidence that homeopathy was effective for any condition. The lesson was often that the best designed trials had the most negative result
  | url-status        = dead
  | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20080526184646/http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band116/b116-8.html
  | archive-date        = 26 May 2008  }}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_NCCIH1">{{cite web
 |url          = http://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/
 |title        = Questions and Answers About Homeopathy
 |access-date  = 30 January 2008
 |date         = April 2003
 |publisher    = National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
 |quote        = In sum, systematic reviews have not found homeopathy to be a definitively proven treatment for any medical condition.
 |archive-date = 31 July 2016
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160731170749/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> No scientific basis for homeopathic principles has been substantiated.<ref name="Beyerstein">{{cite web
  | last        = Beyerstein
  | first       = BL
  | author-link  = Barry Beyerstein
  | title       = Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience
  | year        = 1997
  | url         = https://www.sfu.ca/~beyerste/research/articles/02SciencevsPseudoscience.pdf
  | access-date  = 14 July 2007
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070711001032/http://www.sfu.ca/~beyerste/research/articles/02SciencevsPseudoscience.pdf
  | archive-date = 11 July 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url          = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm#c7s5l2
 |title        = Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding: Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
 |publisher    = [[National Science Foundation]]
 |author       = [[CSICOP]], cited in National Science Foundation Subcommittee on Science & Engineering Indicators
 |year         = 2000
 |access-date   = 13 July 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm#c7s5l2
 |archive-date = 16 June 2016
 |url-status     = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.ncahf.org/pp/homeop.html
 |title        = NCAHF Position Paper on Homeopathy
 |publisher    = National Council Against Health Fraud
 |year         = 1994
 |access-date  = 14 July 2007
 |archive-date = 25 December 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20181225185228/https://www.ncahf.org/pp/homeop.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="SAS_homeopathy">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/pdf/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf
  | title        = Sense About Homeopathy
  | access-date        = 29 January 2008
  | last        = Tyler
  | first        = Chris
  | date        = September 2006
  | publisher        = [[Sense about Science]]
  | quote        = The scientific evidence shows that homeopathy acts only as a placebo and there is no scientific explanation of how it could work any other way.
  | url-status        = dead
  | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20071004231233/http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/pdf/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf
  | archive-date        = 4 October 2007  }}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_NCCIH2">{{cite web
 |url          = http://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/
 |title        = Questions and Answers About Homeopathy
 |access-date  = 30 January 2008
 |date         = April 2003
 |publisher    = National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
 |quote        = a number of its key concepts do not follow the laws of science (particularly chemistry and physics)
 |archive-date = 31 July 2016
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160731170749/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="Homeopathy_ACS">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_What_is_Homeopathy_.asp
  | title       = What is Homeopathy
  | access-date  = 30 January 2008
  | date        = 5 January 2000
  | publisher   = American Cancer Society
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080120050259/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_What_is_Homeopathy_.asp
  | archive-date = 20 January 2008
  | quote       = Most scientists say homeopathic remedies are basically water and can act only as placebos.
}}</ref><ref name="BBC_Royal">{{cite news
 |quote        = In a statement, the Royal College of Pathologists said they were "deeply alarmed" that the regulation of medicine had "moved away from science and clear information for the public"
 |url          = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6085242.stm
 |title        = Scientists attack homeopathy move.
 |work         = BBC News
 |date         = 25 October 2006
 |access-date  = 2 February 2008
 |archive-date = 21 August 2016
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160821175034/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6085242.stm
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
:*'''[[Bach flower remedies]]''' ('''BFRs''') are solutions of [[brandy]] and water—the water containing [[Homeopathic dilutions|extreme dilutions]] of [[flower]] material developed by [[Edward Bach]], an English [[homeopath]], in the 1930s. Bach claimed that dew found on flower petals retain imagined healing properties of that plant.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bach flower remedies : a comprehensive study |author=D. S. Vohra |location=New Delhi |publisher=Health Harmony |year=2002 |oclc=428012690 |page=258 }}</ref> [[Systematic review]]s of [[clinical trial]]s of Bach flower solutions have found no efficacy beyond a [[placebo]] effect.<ref name="Thaler2009">{{cite journal|vauthors=Thaler K, Kaminski A, Chapman A, Langley T, Gartlehner G |title=Bach Flower Remedies for psychological problems and pain: a systematic review |journal=BMC Complement Altern Med |date=26 May 2009 |volume=9 |pmid=19470153 |pmc=2695424 |doi=10.1186/1472-6882-9-16|page=16 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Ernst2002">{{cite journal
  | author = Ernst E
  | title = 'Flower remedies': a systematic review of the clinical evidence
  | journal = Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift
  | volume = 114
  | issue = 23–24
  | pages = 963–966
  | year=2002
  | pmid = 12635462 }}</ref>
* '''[[Iridology]]''' – means of medical diagnosis which proponents believe can identify and diagnose health problems through close examination of the markings and patterns of the [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]]. Practitioners divide the iris into 80–90 zones, each of which is connected to a particular body region or organ. This connection has not been scientifically validated and disorder detection is neither selective nor specific.<ref name="iridology_IntelliHealth">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?d=dmtContent&c=358826&p=~br,IHW/~st,24479/~r,WSIHW000/~b,*/
  | title       = Iridology
  | access-date  = 1 February 2008
  | date        = 7 July 2005
  | work   = [[Natural Standard]]
  | quote       = Research suggests that iridology is not an effective method to diagnose or help treat any specific medical condition.
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100824075150/http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?d=dmtContent
  | archive-date = 24 August 2010
}}</ref><ref name="Ernst">{{cite journal
  | pmid    = 10636425
  | last    = Ernst
  | first   = E
  | title   = Iridology: not useful and potentially harmful
  | journal = Archives of Ophthalmology
  | volume  = 118
  | issue   = 1
  | date    = January 2000
  | pages   = 120–121
  | doi     = 10.1001/archopht.118.1.120
| doi-access= free
  }}</ref><ref name="iridology_AMA">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.ama-assn.org/ad-com/polfind/Hlth-Ethics.pdf
 |title        = H-175.998 Evaluation of Iridology
 |access-date  = 30 July 2009
 |publisher    = [[American Medical Association]]
 |quote        = Our AMA believes that iridology, the study of the iris of the human eye, has not yet been established as having any merit as a diagnostic technique.
 |archive-date = 20 March 2015
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150320143132/http://www.ama-assn.org/ad-com/polfind/Hlth-Ethics.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Because iris texture is a phenotypical feature which develops during gestation and remains unchanged after birth (which makes the iris useful for [[Biometrics]]), iridology is all but impossible.
* '''[[Jilly Juice]]''' – a potentially dangerous fermented drink that has been claimed to treat a variety of medical conditions.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/facebook-jilly-juice-cabbage-epperly | title=Here's How a Cabbage Juice "Cult" with 58,000 Followers Set off a Facebook War | website=[[BuzzFeed News]] | date=17 March 2018 | access-date=24 July 2022 | archive-date=12 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712063933/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/facebook-jilly-juice-cabbage-epperly | url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Leaky gut syndrome]]'''&nbsp;– in alternative medicine, a proposed condition caused by the passage of harmful substances outward through the gut wall. It has been proposed as the cause of many conditions, including [[multiple sclerosis]] and autism, a claim which has been called pseudoscientific.<ref name="Kalichman2009">{{cite book
 |first        = Seth C.
 |last         = Kalichman
 |title        = Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=_mtDBCDwxugC&pg=PA167
 |date         = 2009
 |publisher    = Springer
 |isbn         = 978-0387794761
 |page         = 167
 |access-date  = 27 January 2016
 |archive-date = 7 November 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20231107174449/https://books.google.com/books?id=_mtDBCDwxugC&pg=PA167#v=onepage&q&f=false
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> According to the [[National Health Service (England)|UK National Health Service]], the theory is vague and unproven.<ref name=nhs-lg>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leaky-gut-syndrome/
 |title        = Leaky gut syndrome
 |date         = 9 April 2013
 |publisher    = [[NHS Choices]]
 |access-date  = 24 October 2013
 |archive-date = 31 October 2019
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20191031200513/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leaky-gut-syndrome/
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Some skeptics and scientists say that the marketing of treatments for leaky gut syndrome is either misguided or an instance of deliberate [[health fraud]].<ref name=nhs-lg />
* '''[[The Lightning Process|Lightning Process]]''' – a system claimed to be derived from osteopathy, [[neuro-linguistic programming]] (NLP) and life coaching.<ref name="Cormier2008a">{{cite news
 |last        = Cormier
 |first       = Zoe
 |date        = 2008-03-08
 |title       = 'Talk Therapy' Takes on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Coming Soon To Canada
 |url         = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/medicine-talk-therapy-takes-on-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-coming-soon-to-canada/article26391/
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130204064813/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/medicine-talk-therapy-takes-on-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-coming-soon-to-canada/article26391/
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-date = 4 February 2013
 |access-date = 2011-05-25
 |location    = Toronto
}}</ref> Proponents claim that the Process can have a positive effect on a long list of diseases and conditions, including [[Chronic fatigue syndrome|myalgic encephalomyelitis]], despite no scientific evidence of efficacy. The designer of the Lightning Process, Phil Parker, suggests certain illnesses such as [[Chronic fatigue syndrome|ME/CFS]] arise from a dysregulation of the [[central nervous system]] and [[autonomic nervous system]], which the Lightning Process aims to address, helping to break the "adrenaline loop" that keeps the systems' stress responses high.<ref name="jep">{{cite journal |last1=Parker |first1=Phil |date=June 2018 |title=Understanding the Lightning Process Approach to CFS/ME; a Review of the Disease Process and the Approach. |url=https://jep.ro/images/pdf/cuprins_reviste/82_art_2__v.pdf |journal=Journal of Experiential Psychotherapy |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=21–28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Qualitative study of the Lightning Process |url=https://www.meresearch.org.uk/lightning-process/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.meresearch.org.uk}}</ref>
* '''[[Macrobiotic diet]]s''' (or '''macrobiotics''') are fixed on ideas about types of food drawn from [[Zen Buddhism]].<ref name="Lerman2010macro">{{cite journal|author=Lerman RH|title=The Macrobiotic Diet in Chronic Disease|journal=Nutrition in Clinical Practice|date=7 December 2010|volume=25|issue=6|pages=621–626|doi=10.1177/0884533610385704|pmid=21139126}}</ref><ref name=pimentelmacro>{{cite journal |vauthors=Pimentel L |title=Scurvy: historical review and current diagnostic approach |journal=American Journal of Emergency Medicine |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=328–332 |year=2003 |pmid=12898492 |type=Review |quote=Persons at risk include... followers of fad diets such as the Zen macrobiotic diet |doi=10.1016/s0735-6757(03)00083-4}}</ref> The diet attempts to balance the supposed [[yin and yang]] elements of food and cookware.<ref name=fadmacro>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Diet Fads: Understanding Science and Society |edition=2nd |title=Macrobiotics |year=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |vauthors=Bijlefeld M, Zoumbaris SK |pages=127–128 |isbn=978-1610697606 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127}}</ref><ref name=oxrefmacro>{{cite book |author=Bender DA |title=diet, macrobiotic |work=A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191752391.001.0001/acref-9780191752391-e-7301 |isbn=978-0191752391 |access-date=29 May 2019 |archive-date=16 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316064717/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191752391.001.0001/acref-9780191752391-e-7301 |url-status=live }}</ref> Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce animal products, eat locally grown foods that are in season and consume meals in moderation.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/> Macrobiotics writers often claim that a macrobiotic diet is helpful for people with cancer and other chronic diseases, although there is no good evidence to support such recommendations and the diet can be harmful.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/><ref name=cancer-dietsmacro>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hübner J, Marienfeld S, Abbenhardt C, Ulrich CM, Löser C |title=[How useful are diets against cancer?] |language=de |journal=Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift |volume=137 |issue=47 |pages=2417–2422 |date=November 2012 |pmid=23152069 |doi=10.1055/s-0032-1327276 |s2cid=76124925 |type=Review}}</ref><ref name=crukmacro>{{cite web|url=http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/macrobiotic|title=Macrobiotic diet|publisher=[[Cancer Research UK]]|access-date=8 July 2017|archive-date=5 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405153225/http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/macrobiotic|url-status=live}}</ref> Studies that indicate positive results are of poor methodological quality.<ref name="Lerman2010macro"/> Neither the [[American Cancer Society]] nor [[Cancer Research UK]] recommend adopting the diet.<ref name=crukmacro/><ref name=ACSmacro>{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=978-0944235713 |editor1=Russell J |editor2=Rovere A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/638 638–642] |chapter=Macrobiotic Diet |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/638 }}</ref>
* '''[[Magnet therapy]]''' – practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence health. While there are legitimate medical uses for magnets and magnetic fields, the field strength used in magnetic therapy is too low to effect any biological change and the methods used have no scientific validity.<ref name="Shermer2002">{{cite book
 |editor-last  = Shermer
 |editor-first = Michael
 |year         = 2002
 |title        = The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
 |url          = http://www.antoniolombatti.it/SkepticEncyclopedia1.pdf
 |publisher    = ABC–CLIO, Inc
 |isbn         = 978-1576076538
 |access-date  = 16 December 2013
 |archive-date = 11 August 2016
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160811161827/http://www.antoniolombatti.it/SkepticEncyclopedia1.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Park2000">{{Cite book
 |last         = Park
 |first        = Robert L.
 |author-link  = Robert L. Park
 |chapter      = The Virtual Astronaut
 |page         = 61
 |chapter-url  = https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC&q=%22not+only+are+magnetic%22
 |title        = Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud
 |publisher    = Oxford University Press
 |year         = 2000
 |location     = New York
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC&q=%22voodoo+science%22
 |isbn         = 978-0195135152
 |quote        = Not only are magnetic fields of no value in healing, you might characterize these as "homeopathic" magnetic fields.
 |access-date  = 26 October 2020
 |archive-date = 7 November 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20231107174452/https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC&q=%22voodoo+science%22#v=snippet&q=%22voodoo%20science%22&f=false
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="mag_NSF">{{Cite book
 |last         = National Science Foundation
 |author-link   = National Science Foundation
 |title        = Science and Engineering Indicators
 |publisher    = National Science Foundation
 |year         = 2002
 |location     = Arlington, VA
 |chapter      = 7
 |chapter-url  = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |isbn         = 978-0160665790
 |quote        = Among all who had heard of [magnet therapy], 14 percent said it was very scientific and another 54 percent said it was sort of scientific. Only 25 percent of those surveyed answered correctly, that is, that it is not at all scientific.
 |access-date  = 6 April 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |archive-date = 16 June 2016
 |url-status     = dead}}</ref>
:* The above is not to be confused with current health treatments involving [[electromagnetism]] on human tissue, such as [[pulsed electromagnetic field therapy]] (see: [[Electromagnetic therapy]]).
* A '''[[medical intuitive]]''' is an [[alternative medicine]] practitioner who claims to use their self-described intuitive abilities to find the cause of a physical or emotional condition through the use of insight rather than [[modern medicine]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carroll |first1=Robert Todd |author-link=Robert Todd Carroll |title=intuitive healer |url=http://skepdic.com/intuitivehealer.html |website=skepdic.com |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506063610/https://www.skepdic.com/intuitivehealer.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other terms for such a person include '''medical clairvoyant''', '''medical psychic''', or '''intuitive counselor'''.<ref name=howes2009intuit>{{cite book |first= Ruth |last= Barcan |editor-first= David |editor-last= Howes |year= 2009 |page= 211 |chapter= Intuition and Reason in the New Age |title= The Sixth Sense Reader |series= Sensory Formations |publisher= [[Berg Publishers]] |isbn= 978-1847882615 }}</ref> In 2009, [[Steven Novella]], writing on [[Science Based Medicine]], calls medical intuitive diagnosis as "purely magical thinking" and refers to a ''[[Huffington Post]]'' article about it as "a promotion of a dubious pseudoscientific medical claim".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Novella |first1=Steven |author-link=Steven Novella |title=Pseudoscience in Medical News at the Huffington Post |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pseudoscience-in-medical-news-at-the-huffington-post/ |website=sciencebasedmedicine.org |date=22 April 2009 |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204081606/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pseudoscience-in-medical-news-at-the-huffington-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''[[Morgellons]]''' – is the informal name of a self-diagnosed, unexplained [[Cutaneous condition|skin condition]] in which individuals have sores that they believe contain some kind of fibers.<ref name=Vulink2016>{{cite journal|last1=Vulink|first1=NC|title=Delusional Infestation: State of the Art.|journal=Acta Dermato-Venereologica|date=23 August 2016|volume=96|issue=217|pages=58–63|doi=10.2340/00015555-2412|pmid=27282746|doi-access=free}}{{open access}}</ref><ref name=Cutis2012>{{cite journal|last1=Halvorson|first1=CR|title=An approach to the evaluation of delusional infestation.|journal=Cutis|date=October 2012|volume=90|issue=4|pages=E1–4|pmid=24005827}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shmidt|first1=E|last2=Levitt|first2=J|title=Dermatologic infestations.|journal=International Journal of Dermatology|date=February 2012|volume=51|issue=2|pages=131–141|pmid=22250620 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05191.x|s2cid=38920288}}</ref> Morgellons is poorly characterized, but the general medical consensus is that it is a form of [[delusional parasitosis]].<ref name="CDCPLOS">{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0029908 |pmid=22295070 |pmc=3266263 |title=Clinical, Epidemiologic, Histopathologic and Molecular Features of an Unexplained Dermopathy |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=e29908 |year=2012 |last1=Pearson |first1=Michele L. |last2=Selby |first2=Joseph V. |last3=Katz |first3=Kenneth A. |last4=Cantrell |first4=Virginia |last5=Braden |first5=Christopher R. |last6=Parise |first6=Monica E. |last7=Paddock |first7=Christopher D. |last8=Lewin-Smith |first8=Michael R. |last9=Kalasinsky |first9=Victor F. |last10=Goldstein |first10=Felicia C. |last11=Hightower |first11=Allen W. |last12=Papier |first12=Arthur |last13=Lewis |first13=Brian |last14=Motipara |first14=Sarita |last15=Eberhard |first15=Mark L. |last16=Unexplained Dermopathy Study |first16=Team |bibcode=2012PLoSO...729908P |doi-access=free }}</ref> An attempt to link Morgellons to the cause of [[Lyme disease]] has been attacked by [[Steven Salzberg]] as "dangerous pseudoscience".<ref name="SMH">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/under-their-skin-the-morgellons-mystery-20150716-gidqmd.html|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|title=Under their skin: the Morgellons mystery|first=Melissa|last=Fyfe|date=31 July 2015|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704213928/https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/under-their-skin-the-morgellons-mystery-20150716-gidqmd.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Moxibustion]]''' – application on or above the skin of smoldering [[mugwort]], or ''moxa'', to stimulate ''acupuncture points''. A [[Cochrane Review]] found moderate certainty evidence for the use of moxibustion plus usual care in correcting [[breech presentation]] of babies but uncertainty about the need for [[External cephalic version]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Coyle |first1=Meaghan E. |last2=Smith |first2=Caroline |last3=Peat |first3=Brian |date=2023-05-09 |title=Cephalic version by moxibustion for breech presentation |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=2023 |issue=5 |pages=CD003928 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD003928.pub4 |issn=1469-493X |pmc=10167788 |pmid=37158339 }}</ref> Moxibustion has also been studied for the treatment of pain,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1142/S0192415X10008275|pmid=20821815|title=Moxibustion for Treating Pain: A Systematic Review|journal=The American Journal of Chinese Medicine|volume=38|issue=5|pages=829–838|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Choi|first2=Tae-Young|last3=Kang|first3=Jung Won|last4=Lee|first4=Beom-Joon |last5=Ernst|first5=Edzard|s2cid=8383035}}</ref> [[cancer]],<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-2407-10-130|pmid=20374659|pmc=2873382|title=Moxibustion for cancer care: A systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=BMC Cancer|volume=10|page=130|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Choi|first2=Tae-Young|last3=Park|first3=Ji-Eun|last4=Lee|first4=Song-Shil|last5=Ernst|first5=Edzard |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[stroke]],<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1161/STROKEAHA.109.566851|pmid=20150551|title=Moxibustion for Stroke Rehabilitation: Systematic Review|journal=Stroke|volume=41|issue=4|pages=817–820|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=M. S.|last2=Shin|first2=B.-C.|last3=Kim|first3=J.-I.|last4=Han|first4=C.-h.|last5=Ernst|first5=E.|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[ulcerative colitis]]<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-230X-10-36|pmid=20374658|pmc=2864201|title=Moxibustion for ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=BMC Gastroenterology|volume=10|page=36|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=Dong-Hyo|last2=Kim|first2=Jong-In|last3=Lee|first3=Myeong Soo|last4=Choi|first4=Tae-Young |last5=Choi|first5=Sun-Mi|last6=Ernst|first6=Edzard |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[constipation]],<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1749-8546-5-28|pmid=20687948|pmc=2922210|title=Effects of moxibustion for constipation treatment: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials|journal=Chinese Medicine|volume=5|page=28|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Choi|first2=Tae-Young|last3=Park|first3=Ji-Eun|last4=Ernst|first4=Edzard |doi-access=free }}</ref> and [[hypertension]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-2261-10-33|pmid=20602794|pmc=2912786|title=Moxibustion for hypertension: A systematic review|journal=BMC Cardiovascular Disorders|volume=10|page=33|year=2010 |last1=Kim|first1=Jong-In|last2=Choi|first2=Jun-Yong|last3=Lee|first3=Hyangsook|last4=Lee|first4=Myeong Soo|last5=Ernst|first5=Edzard |doi-access=free }}</ref> Systematic reviews have found that these studies are of low quality and positive findings could be due to [[publication bias]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1756-0500-3-284|pmid=21054851|pmc=2987875|title=Does moxibustion work? An overview of systematic reviews|journal=BMC Research Notes|volume=3 |page=284|year=2010|last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Kang|first2=Jung Won|last3=Ernst|first3=Edzard |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* '''[[Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques]]''' ('''NAET''') are a form of [[alternative medicine]] which proponents claim can treat allergies and related disorders. The techniques were devised by Devi Nambudripad, a California-based chiropractor<ref name=CLicense>{{cite web|title=License 16776: Devi S. Nambudripad|url=http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=16776&P_LTE_ID=808|publisher=California Board of Chiropractic Examiners|access-date=11 February 2012|archive-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506201537/http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=16776&P_LTE_ID=808|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[acupuncturist]],<ref name="ALicense">{{cite web|title=License 3433: Devi S. Nambudripad|url=http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=3433&P_LTE_ID=723|publisher=California Acupuncture Board|access-date=11 February 2012|archive-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506201535/http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=3433&P_LTE_ID=723|url-status=dead}}</ref> in 1983, drawing on a combination of ideas from [[applied kinesiology]], acupuncture, [[acupressure]], nutritional management and chiropractic methods.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nambudripad|first=Devi S.|title=NAET: Say Goodbye to Asthma: A Revolutionary Treatment for Allergy-Based Asthma and Other Respiratory Disorders|publisher=Delta Publishing Company|series=Say Good-Bye To... Series|year=2003|page= [https://archive.org/details/naetsaygoodbyeto00devi/page/37 37]|isbn=978-0974391519}}</ref> There is no credible evidence to support its effectiveness in assessing or treating allergies.<ref>{{citation|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Social Work Practice|year=2015|last1=Thyer|first1=Bruce A.|last2=Pignotti|first2=Monica G.|publisher=Springer Publishing|isbn=978-0826177698|page=47|quote=Another energy-based therapy that is claimed to identify and treat allergies...is called the Nambudripad allergy elimination technique (NAET; Nambudripad, 2003). However, a dearth of studies is not the same thing as evidence which conclusively proves that NAET is either ineffective or dangerous. Organizations that do rigorous clinical trials would have little interest in studying NAET because it is non-drug based. Funding is not usually available for assessing any alternative healing modalities. Defenders of alternative and holistic healing point out that most family doctors treat patients who have a wide range of underlying emotional issues that impair the patient's health. This could happen, for example, through elevated cortisone or adrenaline levels from prolonged stress. NAET testing is carried out through [[applied kinesiology]] while a person is holding small vials that are said to contain the energetic essences of various substances. Once the allergies are identified, treatment is carried out through stimulation of points along the spine. These vials contain substances prepared in a process similar to that of homeopathic preparation. Mainstream science claims this method has not been shown reliable or valid in assessing a client's sensitivity to environmental toxins.}}</ref>
* '''[[Naturopathy]]''', or '''naturopathic medicine''', is a type of alternative medicine based on a belief in [[vitalism]], which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth and adaptation.<ref>Sarris, J., and Wardle, J. 2010. Clinical naturopathy: an evidence-based guide to practice. Elsevier Australia. Chatswood, NSW.</ref> Naturopathy has been characterized as pseudoscience.<ref name=atwood2004>{{cite journal
  | author  = Atwood KC
  | date    = 26 March 2004
  | title   = Naturopathy, pseudoscience, and medicine: myths and fallacies vs truth
  | journal = Medscape Gen Med
  | volume  = 6
  | issue   = 1
  | page    = 33
  | pmid    = 15208545
  | pmc     = 1140750
}}</ref><ref name=Barrett-Naturopathy>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Naturopathy/naturopathy.html
 |author       = Barrett S
 |title        = A close look at naturopathy
 |website      = Quackwatch
 |date         = 23 December 2003
 |access-date  = 20 November 2012
 |archive-date = 6 April 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110406111422/http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Naturopathy/naturopathy.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> It has particularly been criticized for its unproven, disproven, or dangerous treatments.<ref name=McKnight2009>{{cite news
  | first      = P
  | last       = McKnight
  | title      = Naturopathy's main article of faith cannot be validated: Reliance on vital forces leaves its practises based on beliefs without scientific backing
  | date       = 2009-03-07
  | url        = https://vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=1364389
  | work       = [[The Vancouver Sun]]
  | access-date = 2009-03-21
}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="NSBattitudes">{{cite web
 |author       = National Science Board
 |date         = April 2002
 |work         = Science and engineering indicators
 |title        = Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding – Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
 |url          = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |location     = Arlington, Virginia
 |publisher    = National Science Foundation Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
 |access-date  = 6 April 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |archive-date = 16 June 2016
 |url-status     = dead}}</ref><ref name="WahlbergQuack">{{cite journal
 |author       = Wahlberg A
 |year         = 2007
 |doi          = 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.07.024
 |title        = A quackery with a difference – new medical pluralism and the problem of 'dangerous practitioners' in the United Kingdom
 |journal      = Social Science & Medicine
 |volume       = 65
 |issue        = 11
 |pages        = 2307–2316
 |pmid         = 17719708
 |s2cid        = 13672394
 |url          = https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/49590510/Wahlberg.2007.Aquackerywithadifference.pdf
 |access-date  = 20 November 2018
 |archive-date = 14 January 2021
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210114003657/https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/49590510/Wahlberg.2007.Aquackerywithadifference.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/iridology.html
  | title        = Iridology is nonsense
  | date        = 9 November 2015
  | access-date        = 14 January 2013
  | archive-date        = 6 April 2011
  | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20110406120005/http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/iridology.html
  | url-status        = live
  }}, a web page with further references</ref> ''Natural'' methods and chemicals are not necessarily safer or more effective than ''artificial'' or ''synthetic'' ones; any treatment capable of eliciting an effect may also have deleterious side effects.<ref name=Barrett-Naturopathy /><ref name="ACS">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Colon_Therapy.asp
 |title       = ACS: Colon Therapy
 |access-date  = 7 December 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121115232837/http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/manualhealingandphysicaltouch/colon-therapy
 |archive-date = 15 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=SkepDic_natural>{{cite web
 |url          = http://skepdic.com/natural.html
 |title        = Natural
 |access-date  = 2009-03-21
 |last         = Carroll
 |first        = Robert
 |author-link  = Robert Todd Carroll
 |work         = [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]
 |archive-date = 14 May 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110514011749/http://skepdic.com/natural.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name=NCAHF_herb>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.ncahf.org/pp/herbal.html
 |title        = NCAHF Position Paper on Over the Counter Herbal Remedies (1995)
 |access-date  = 2009-04-17
 |year         = 1995
 |publisher    = [[National Council Against Health Fraud]]
 |archive-date = 7 July 2011
 |archive-url  = http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20110707163329/http://www.ncahf.org/pp/herbal.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
* '''[[Negative air ionization therapy]]''' is the use of air ionizers as an experimental non-pharmaceutical treatment. It is widely considered pseudoscience.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Air ions and respiratory function outcomes: a comprehensive review|first1=Dominik D.|last1=Alexander|first2=William H.|last2=Bailey|first3=Vanessa|last3=Perez|first4=Meghan E.|last4=Mitchell|first5=Steave|last5=Su|date=9 September 2013|journal=Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine|volume=12|page=14|doi=10.1186/1477-5751-12-14|pmid = 24016271|pmc=3848581 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/jul/17/badscience.research|first=Ben|last=Goldacre|title=The truth about oxygen|date=2003-07-17|access-date=2018-07-02|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=2 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702180025/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/jul/17/badscience.research|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Oil pulling]]''' –  is a folk remedy where oil is "swished" or "held" in the mouth for up to 20 minutes with the goal of improving oral as well as systemic health. It is said that this technique "pulls out" toxins from the body and is claimed to be able to treat a plethora of conditions from [[migraines]] to [[diabetes]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Novella|first1=Steven|author-link1=Steven Novella|title=Oil Pulling Your Leg|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-pulling-your-leg/|website=Science-Based Medicine|access-date=22 April 2017|date=12 March 2014|archive-date=23 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423152143/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-pulling-your-leg/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Orthomolecular medicine]]''',<ref name="isbn1-59120-226-4">{{cite book|author1= Saul AW |author2= Hoffer A|title= Orthomolecular Medicine For Everyone: Megavitamin Therapeutics for Families and Physicians|publisher= Basic Health Publications|location= Laguna Beach, California|year= 2008|isbn= 978-1591202264|oclc= 232131968|ol= 16944688M|author-link1= Andrew W. Saul|author-link2= Abram Hoffer}}</ref><ref name="pmid7207301">{{cite journal |vauthors=McMichael AJ|title=Orthomolecular medicine and megavitamin therapy|journal=[[Med. J. Aust.]]|volume=1|issue=1|pages=6–8|date=January 1981|pmid=7207301|doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1981.tb135275.x|s2cid=27461422}}</ref> sometimes referred to as [[megavitamin therapy]], is a form of [[alternative medicine]] that aims to maintain [[human health]] through nutritional [[Dietary supplement|supplementation]]. The concept builds on the idea of an optimum nutritional environment in the body and suggests that diseases reflect deficiencies in this environment. Treatment for disease, according to this view, involves attempts to correct "imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry" by use of substances such as vitamins, minerals, [[amino acids]], trace elements and fatty acids.<ref name=Hoffer2000>{{cite book|vauthors= Hoffer A, Walker M |year= 2000|title= Smart Nutrients |publisher= Avery|isbn= 978-0895295620}}</ref><ref name="SkinnerP">{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0000/ai_2603000096 |author=Skinner Patricia |title=Gale encyclopedia of alternative medicine: holistic medicine |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2004 |access-date=29 May 2019 |archive-date=3 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703094213/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0000/ai_2603000096/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="orthomed">{{cite web|url= http://www.orthomed.org/|title= Orthomolecular medicine|publisher= orthomed.org|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110827215048/http://orthomed.org/|archive-date= 27 August 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref> The notions behind orthomolecular medicine are not supported by sound [[Evidence-based medicine|medical evidence]] and the therapy is not effective;<ref name=Aaronson2003>{{cite book |vauthors=Aaronson S, etal |title=Cancer medicine 6 |editor1=Frei Emil |editor2=Kufe Donald W |editor3=Holland James F |publisher=BC Decker |location=Hamilton, Ontario |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cancermedicine60002unse/page/76 76] |isbn=978-1550092134 |chapter=Cancer medicine |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowTOC&rid=cmed6.TOC&depth=2 |quote=There is no evidence that megavitamin or orthomolecular therapy is effective in treating any disease. |url=https://archive.org/details/cancermedicine60002unse/page/76}}</ref><ref name=NIH_CSSS2006>{{cite journal |title=NIH state-of-the-science conference statement on multivitamin/mineral supplements and chronic disease prevention |journal=NIH Consens State Sci Statements |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=1–30 |year=2006 |pmid=17332802}}</ref> even the validity of calling the orthomolecular approach a form of medicine has been questioned since the 1970s.<ref name="APAorthomed">{{Cite report |vauthors=Lipton M |display-authors=etal |title=Task Force Report on Megavitamin and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry |publisher=American Psychiatric Association |year=1973}}</ref>
* '''[[Osteopathic manipulative medicine]]''' (OMM) or '''osteopathic manipulative treatment''' (OMT)&nbsp;– the core technique of osteopathic medicine. OMM is based on a philosophy devised by [[Andrew Taylor Still]] (1828–1917), who held that the body had self-regulating mechanisms that could be harnessed through manipulating the bones, tendons and muscles. It has been proposed as a treatment for a number of human ailments, including [[Parkinson's disease]], [[pancreatitis]] and [[pneumonia]], but has only been found to be effective for lower back pain by virtue of the [[spinal manipulation]] used.<ref name="coch">{{cite journal |vauthors=Chen X, Jiang J, Wang R, Fu H, Lu J, Yang M |title=Chest physiotherapy for pneumonia in adults |journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |year=2022 |volume=2022 |issue=9 |pages=CD006338 |publication-date=September 2022 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD006338.pub4 |pmid=36066373|pmc=9447368 |s2cid=252087888 }}</ref><ref name=ernst-sr>{{cite journal
  | doi     = 10.1542/peds.2012-3959
  | title   = Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Pediatric Conditions: A Systematic Review
  | year    = 2013
  | last1   = Posadzki
  | first1  = P.
  | last2   = Lee
  | first2  = M. S.
  | last3   = Ernst
  | first3  = E.
  | s2cid = 5112754
 | journal = Pediatrics
  | volume  = 132
  | pages   = 140–152
  | pmid    = 23776117
  | issue   = 1
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
  | doi     = 10.1002/14651858.CD001002.pub2
  | title   = Manual therapy for asthma
  | journal = Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
  | year    = 2005
  | last1   = Hondras
  | first1  = Maria A
  | last2   = Linde
  | first2  = Klaus
  | last3   = Jones
  | first3  = Arthur P |editor1-last=Hondras |editor1-first=Maria A
  | pmid    = 15846609
  | issue   = 2
  | page    = CD001002
}}</ref> It has long been regarded as rooted in "pseudoscientific dogma".<ref name=ident>{{cite journal
  | pmid    = 10179479
  | year    = 1998
  | last1   = Guglielmo
  | first1  = WJ
  | title   = Are D.O.s losing their unique identity?
  | volume  = 75
  | issue   = 8
  | pages   = 200–202, 207–210, 213–214
  | journal = Medical Economics
}}</ref> In 2010, [[Steven Salzberg]] referred to the OMT-specific training given by colleges of osteopathic medicine as "training in pseudoscientific practices".<ref>{{cite magazine
  | url        = https://www.forbes.com/sites/sciencebiz/2010/10/27/osteopaths-versus-doctors/
  | title      = Osteopathic Physicians Versus Doctors
  | last       = Salzberg
  | first      = Steven
  | date       = 27 October 2010
  | magazine  = [[Forbes]]
  | access-date = 15 September 2013
}}</ref>
* '''[[Pulse diagnosis]]''' is a diagnostic technique used in [[Ayurveda]], [[traditional Chinese medicine]], [[traditional Mongolian medicine]], [[Siddha medicine]], [[traditional Tibetan medicine]] and [[Unani]]. It has no scientific legitimacy,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/tag/pulse-diagnosis/ |title=pulse diagnosis – Science-Based Medicine |website=sciencebasedmedicine.org |access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref> and is ill-defined, subjective and unreliable.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bilton |first1=Karen |last2=Zaslawski |first2=Chris |date=August 2016 |title=Reliability of Manual Pulse Diagnosis Methods in Traditional East Asian Medicine: A Systematic Narrative Literature Review |journal=Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |location=New York |volume=22 |issue=8 |pages=599–609 |doi=10.1089/acm.2016.0056 |issn=1557-7708 |pmid=27314975}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html |title=Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and "Chinese Medicine" |website=[[Quackwatch]] |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=2019-02-25}}</ref>
* '''[[Radionics]]''' – means of medical diagnosis and therapy which proponents believe can diagnose and remedy health problems using various frequencies in a [[Energy medicine#Putative energy medicine|putative energy]] field coupled to the practitioner's electronic device. The first such "black box" devices were designed and promoted by [[Albert Abrams]] and were definitively proven useless by an independent investigation commissioned by ''[[Scientific American]]'' in 1924.<ref name="radionics_Guardian">{{cite news
  | first      = Mark
  | last       = Pilkington
  | title      = A vibe for radionics
  | date       = 15 April 2004
  | url        = https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/apr/15/farout
  | newspaper  = The Guardian
  | access-date = 7 February 2008
  | location   = London
  | quote      = Scientific American concluded: 'At best, [ERA] is all an illusion. At worst, it is a colossal fraud.'
}}</ref> The internal circuitry of radionics devices is often obfuscated and irrelevant, leading proponents to conjecture [[dowsing]] and [[Extrasensory perception|ESP]] as operating principles.<ref name="radionics_BBC">{{Cite news
  | author     = Radionic Association
  | title      = 10 lesser-known alternative therapies
  | date       = 23 May 2006
  | work  = BBC
  | url        = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5007802.stm
  | access-date = 7 February 2008
  | quote      = Radionics is a technique of healing using extrasensory perception (ESP) and an instrument.
}}</ref><ref name="TalkOrigins Archive">{{cite web
  | url       = http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html#CD
  | title     = Index to Creationist Claims: Geology|editor-first= Mark |editor-last=Isaak
  | publisher = [[TalkOrigins Archive]]
}}</ref><ref name="Radionic Association">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.radionic.co.uk/What_is_radionics.htm
  | title       = What is Radionics
  | access-date  = 7 February 2008
  | publisher   = The Radionic Association
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080115233858/http://www.radionic.co.uk/What_is_radionics.htm
  | archive-date = 15 January 2008
  | quote       = This subtle field cannot be accessed using our conventional senses. Radionic practitioners use a specialised dowsing technique to both identify the sources of weakness in the field and to select specific treatments to overcome them.
}}</ref> Similar devices continue to be marketed under various names, though none is approved by the U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]]; there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy or underlying premise of radionics devices.<ref name="radionics_ACS">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Electromagnetic_Therapy.asp
 |title       = Electromagnetic Therapy
 |access-date  = 6 February 2008
 |publisher   = [[American Cancer Society]]
 |quote       = There is no relationship between the conventional medical uses of electromagnetic energy and the alternative devices or methods that use externally applied electrical forces. Available scientific evidence does not support claims that these alternative electrical devices are effective in diagnosing or treating cancer or any other disease.
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080204225953/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Electromagnetic_Therapy.asp
 |archive-date = 4 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="radionics_Gale">{{Cite book
 |first            = David
 |last             = Helwig
 |contribution     = Radionics
 |title            = The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
 |editor-first     = Jacqueline L.
 |editor-last      = Longe
 |publisher        = Gale Cengage
 |date             = 2004
 |isbn             = 978-0787674243
 |contribution-url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0006/ai_2603000616
 |access-date      = 7 February 2008
 |archive-date     = 6 April 2008
 |archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20080406103625/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0006/ai_2603000616
 |url-status       = dead
}}</ref> The radionics of Albert Abrams and his intellectual descendants should not be confused with similarly named reputable and legitimate companies, products, or medical treatments such as [[radiotherapy]] or [[radiofrequency ablation]].
* '''[[Reiki]]''' is a form of [[alternative medicine]] called [[Energy medicine|energy healing]]. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a "[[Energy (esotericism)|universal energy]]" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing. Reiki is a pseudoscience,<ref name="auto">{{cite web |first= Steven |last= Novella |author-link= Steven Novella |title= Reiki |work= [[Science-Based Medicine]] |date= 19 October 2011 |url= http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reiki/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150411081804/https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reiki/ |archive-date= 11 April 2015 |url-status= live}}</ref> and is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. It is based on ''[[qi]]'' ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal [[Vitalism|life force]], although there is no [[empirical evidence]] that such a life force exists.<ref name='Lee_SR'/><ref name="sciencebasedmedicine.org">Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation  « [[Science-Based Medicine]]: [https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reiki-fraudulent-misrepresentation/ Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation] « [[Science-Based Medicine]], accessdate: 28 May 2016</ref> Clinical research has not shown reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition.<ref name='Lee_SR'>{{cite journal |last1= Lee |first1= MS |last2= Pittler |first2= MH |last3= Ernst |first3= E |author-link3= Edzard Ernst |title=Effects of reiki in clinical practice: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials |journal= International Journal of Clinical Practice |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=947–954 |year=2008 |pmid=18410352 |doi=10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01729.x |s2cid= 25832830 |type=Systematic Review |quote=In conclusion, the evidence is insufficient to suggest that reiki is an effective treatment for any condition. Therefore the value of reiki remains unproven.|doi-access=free }}</ref> There has been no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to the [[placebo effect]]. An overview of reiki investigations found that studies reporting positive effects had methodological flaws. The [[American Cancer Society]] stated that reiki should not replace conventional cancer treatment,<ref name=ACSreiki>{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse |chapter-url-access=registration |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=978-0944235713 |veditors=Russell J, Rovere A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/243 243–245] |chapter=Reiki}}</ref> a sentiment echoed by [[Cancer Research UK]]<ref name=crukLP>{{cite web |title=Reiki |publisher=[[Cancer Research UK]] |url=http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150318062404/http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki |archive-date= 18 March 2015 |url-status= live|date=2017-08-30 }}</ref> and the [[National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health]].<ref name=NCCIHreiki>{{cite web |title= Reiki: What You Need To Know |url= https://nccih.nih.gov/health/reiki/introduction.htm |publisher= [[National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150411002903/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/reiki/introduction.htm |archive-date= 11 April 2015 |url-status= dead |access-date= 24 May 2019 }}</ref> Developed in Japan in 1922 by [[Mikao Usui]],<ref name="auto"/> it has been adapted into varying cultural traditions across the world.
* '''[[Reflexology]]''', or '''zone therapy''', is an [[alternative medicine]] involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion. It is based on what reflexologists claim to be a system of zones and reflex areas that they say reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands, with the premise that such work effects a physical change to the body.<ref name="Kunz&Kunz1993">{{cite book
  | last1     = Kunz
  | first1    = Kevin
  | last2     = Kunz
  | first2    = Barbara
  | title     = The Complete Guide to Foot Reflexology
  | url     = https://archive.org/details/completeguidetof00barb
  | url-access = registration
  | publisher = Reflexology Research Project
  | year      = 1993
| isbn = 978-0960607013
 }}</ref> A 2009 [[systematic review]] of randomized controlled trials concluded that the best evidence available to date does not demonstrate convincingly that reflexology is an effective treatment for any medical condition.<ref name="Ernst E 2009 263–6">{{cite journal
  | journal = Med J Aust
  | year    = 2009
  | volume  = 191
  | issue   = 5
  | pages   = 263–266
  | title   = Is reflexology an effective intervention? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials
  | author  = Ernst E
  | s2cid = 17307793
 | doi     =10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02780.x
  | pmid    = 19740047
}}</ref> There is no consensus among reflexologists on how reflexology is supposed to work; a unifying theme is the idea that areas on the foot correspond to areas of the body and that, by manipulating these, one can improve health through one's ''[[qi]]''.<ref name=TRH1>{{cite book
  | last       = Norman
  | first      = Laura
  | author-link = Laura Norman
  | author2    = Thomas Cowan
  | title      = The Reflexology Handbook, A Complete Guide
  | publisher  = [[Piatkus]]
  | year       = 1989
  | pages      = 22, 23
  | isbn       = 978-0861889129
}}</ref> Reflexologists divide the body into 10 equal vertical zones, five on the right and five on the left.<ref name=NS>{{cite web
  | title      = Natural Standard
  | publisher      = Harvard Medical School
  | date      = 7 July 2005
  | url      = http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/34968/360060.html?d=dmtContent
  | access-date      = 27 January 2007
  | url-status      = dead
  | archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20120221233457/http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/34968/360060.html?d=dmtContent
  | archive-date      = 21 February 2012  }}</ref> Concerns have been raised by medical professionals that treating potentially serious illnesses with reflexology, which has no proven efficacy, could delay the seeking of appropriate medical treatment.<ref name=ncahf>{{cite web
  | title      = Reflexology
  | publisher  = National Council Against Health Fraud
  | year       = 1996
  | url        = http://www.ncahf.org/articles/o-r/reflexology.html
  | access-date = 2007-01-27
}}</ref>
* '''[[Rolfing]]''' (also called '''Structural Integration''') – body manipulation devised by [[Ida Rolf]] (1896–1979) claimed by practitioners to be capable of ridding the body of traumatic memories stored in the muscles.<ref name=pop>{{cite encyclopedia
  | author    = Cordón, LA
  | encyclopedia      = Popular Psychology: An Encyclopedia
  | url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy1gmwcAgg4C&pg=PA218
  | date      = January 2005
  | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
  | isbn      = 978-0313324574
  | pages     = 217–218
  | title     = Rolfing
}}</ref> There is no evidence that rolfing is effective as a treatment for any condition.<ref name=aus17LP />
* '''[[Therapeutic touch]]''' – a form of [[vitalism]] where a practitioner, who may be also a nurse,<ref name=saf /><ref name="TT_CSI">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.csicop.org/articles/therapeutic-touch/
  | title       = 'Therapeutic Touch' Fails a Rare Scientific Test
  | access-date  = 5 December 2007
  | last1        = Wallace
  | first1       = Sampson
  | first2      = Lewis
  | last2       = Vaughn
  | date        = 24 March 1998
  | work        = CSICOP News
  | publisher   = Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013191002/http://www.csicop.org/articles/therapeutic-touch/
  | archive-date = 13 October 2007
  | quote       = Despite this lack of evidence, TT is now supported by major nursing organizations such as the National League of Nurses and the American Nurses Association.
}}</ref> passes their hands over and around a patient to "realign" or "rebalance" a putative energy field.<ref name="scientificamerican" /> A recent [[Cochrane Review]] concluded that "[t]here is no evidence that [Therapeutic Touch] promotes healing of acute wounds."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=O'Mathúna|first1=Dónal P.|last2=Ashford|first2=Robert L.|editor1-first=Dónal P|editor1-last=O'Mathúna|date=2014-07-29|title=Therapeutic touch for healing acute wounds|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|issue=7|page=CD002766|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD002766.pub3|issn=1469-493X|pmid=25069726}}</ref> No biophysical basis for such an energy field has been found.<ref name="TT_QW_RN">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/tt2.html
  | title      = Further Notes on Therapeutic Touch
  | access-date = 5 December 2007
  | last       = Courcey
  | first      = Kevin
  | publisher  = Quackwatch
  | quote      = What's missing from all of this, of course, is any statement by Krieger and her disciples about how the existence of their energy field can be demonstrated by scientifically accepted methods.
}}</ref><ref name="TT_NCCIH">{{cite web
  | url        = http://nccih.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/energymed.htm
  | title      = Energy Medicine: An Overview
  | access-date = 5 December 2007
  | date       = 24 October 2007
  | publisher  = National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
  | quote      = neither the external energy fields nor their therapeutic effects have been demonstrated convincingly by any biophysical means.
}}</ref>
* '''[[Tin foil hat]]''' – A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, [[Brainwashing|mind control]] and mind reading. The usage of a metal foil hat for protection against interference of the mind was mentioned in a science fiction short story by [[Julian Huxley]], "[[The Tissue-Culture King]]", first published in 1926,<ref name="Huxley1926">{{cite journal|last=Huxley|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Huxley|title=The Tissue-Culture King: A Parable of Modern Science|volume= XV|year=1925–1926 |journal=[[The Yale Review]]|pages=479–504|url=http://yalereview.yale.edu/volume-xv-1925-1926}}</ref> in which the protagonist discovers that "caps of metal foil" can block the effects of telepathy.<ref name="Huxley1927">{{cite journal|last=Huxley|first=Julian|title=The Tissue-Culture King|date= August 1927|journal=[[Amazing Stories]]|quote=Well, we had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect, and had prepared for ourselves a sort of tin pulpit, behind which we could stand while conducting experiments. This, combined with caps of metal foil, enormously reduced the effects on ourselves.}}</ref> At this time, no link has been established between the radio-frequency EMR that tin foil hats are meant to protect against and subsequent ill health.
* '''[[Traditional Chinese medicine]]''' ('''TCM''') – a [[Traditional medicine|traditional medical]] system originating in China and practiced as an [[alternative medicine]] throughout much of the world. It contains elements based in the cosmology of [[Taoism]]<ref name="Unschuld1985">{{Cite book
  | last      = Unschuld
  | first     = Paul Ulrich
  | title     = Medicine in China: A History of Ideas
  | publisher = University of California Press
  | year      = 1985
  | isbn      = 978-0520062160
}}</ref> and considers the human body more in functional and [[Vitalism|vitalistic]] than anatomical terms.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /><ref>{{Cite news
  | title      = The Roots of Qi
  | url        = http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/roots_of_qi/
  | publisher  = CSICOP
  | access-date = 12 February 2009
}}</ref> Health and illness in TCM follow the principle of [[yin and yang]] and are ascribed to balance or imbalance in the flow of a [[Putative energy|vital force]], ''qi''.<ref name="NIH-1997consensus">{{cite web
 |author       = NIH Consensus Development Program
 |title        = Acupuncture – Consensus Development Conference Statement
 |url          = http://consensus.nih.gov/1997/1997Acupuncture107html.htm
 |date         = 3{{ndash }}5 November 1997
 |publisher    = National Institutes of Health
 |access-date  = 17 July 2007
 |archive-date = 25 August 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110825052220/http://consensus.nih.gov/1997/1997Acupuncture107html.htm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Barrett2022" /> Diagnostic methods are solely external, including [[Pulse diagnosis|pulse examination]] at six points, examination of a patient's tongue and a patient interview; interpractitioner diagnostic agreement is poor.<ref name="TCM_MDA_DT">{{cite web
 |url        = http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/display.cfm?id=62639b39-b458-4926-8a9b3cb261dc1e4d&method=displayfull&pn=6eb86a59-ebd9-11d4-810100508b603a14
 |title      = Traditional Chinese Medicine: Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment
 |access-date = 12 February 2009
 |work       = Complementary/Integrative Medicine Therapies
 |publisher  = [[The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center]]
}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Acu_NCAHF_pos">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.ncahf.org/pp/acu.html
  | title      = NCAHF Position Paper on Acupuncture (1990)
  | access-date = 30 December 2007
  | date       = 16 September 1990
  | publisher  = National Council Against Health Fraud
}}</ref><ref name="Maciocia">{{Cite book
  | first     = Giovanni
  | last      = Maciocia
  | title     = The Foundations of Chinese Medicine
  | publisher = Churchill Livingstone
  | year      = 1989
  | isbn      = 978-0443039805
}}</ref><ref name="TCM_diag_QW">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.acuwatch.org/reports/diagnosis.shtml
  | title      = Why TCM Diagnosis Is Worthless
  | access-date = 16 February 2009
  | last       = Barrett
  | first      = Stephen
  | date       = 28 March 2008
  | work       = Acupuncture Watch
}}</ref> The TCM description of the function and structure of the human body is fundamentally different from modern medicine.
** '''[[Chinese herbology|TCM ''materia medica'']]''' – a collection of [[crude medicine]]s used in traditional Chinese medicine. These include many plants in part or whole, such as [[ginseng]] and [[Wolfberry#Medicinal|wolfberry]], as well as more exotic ingredients, such as [[Seahorse#Use in Chinese medicine|seahorse]]s. Preparations generally include several ingredients in combination, with selection based on physical characteristics such as taste or shape, or relationship to the organs of TCM.<ref name="TCM_MDA_HM">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/display.cfm?id=1b608136-f1c3-43b5-a3e14b864d2d14c6&method=displayfull&pn=6eb86a59-ebd9-11d4-810100508b603a14
 |title       = Traditional Chinese Medicine: Overview of Herbal Medicines
 |access-date  = 12 February 2009
 |work        = Complementary/Integrative Medicine Therapies
 |publisher   = [[The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center]]
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071215023315/http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/display.cfm?id=1b608136-f1c3-43b5-a3e14b864d2d14c6&method=displayfull&pn=6eb86a59-ebd9-11d4-810100508b603a14
 |archive-date = 15 December 2007}}</ref> Most preparations have not been rigorously evaluated or give no indication of efficacy.<ref name="TCM_CSI_1">{{Cite news
  | title       = Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 1)
  | url         = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/china_conference_1/
  | publisher   = CSICOP
  | access-date  = 12 February 2009
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091004020227/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/china_conference_1/
  | archive-date = 4 October 2009
}}</ref><ref name="Yuehua2004">{{Cite journal
  | last1    = Yuehua
  | first1   = N
  | year    = 2004
  | title   = Chinese medicinal herbs for sore throat (Review)
  | doi     = 10.1002/14651858.CD004877
  | last2   = Chen| editor1-first = Jin
  | first2  = J
  | last3   = Wu
  | first3  = T| editor1-last = Chen
  | last4   = Jiafu
  | first4  = W
  | last5   = Liu
  | first5  = G
  | last6   = Chen
  | first6  = Jin
  | journal = Protocols
}}</ref><ref name="TCM_Pulse">{{Cite news
  | first       = Nigel
  | last        = Praities
  | title       = GPs warned over Chinese medicine
  | date        = 7 August 2008
  | url         = http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4120343&c=1
  | work        = Pulse
  | access-date  = 16 February 2009
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100923005253/http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4120343&c=1
  | archive-date = 23 September 2010
}}</ref> [[Pharmacognosy]] research for potential active ingredients present in these preparations is active, though the applications do not always correspond to those of TCM.<ref name="Normile2003">{{Cite journal
  | last    = Normile
  | first   = Dennis
  | year    = 2003
  | title   = Asian Medicine: the New Face of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  | journal = Science
  | volume  = 299
  | issue   = 5604
  | pages   = 188–190
  | doi     = 10.1126/science.299.5604.188
  | pmid    = 12522228
  | s2cid = 70525749
}}</ref>
** '''[[Gua sha]]''' ({{zh|c=刮痧}}), '''kerokan''' or '''coining''', is part of [[traditional Chinese medicine]] (TCM). Its practitioners use a tool to scrape people's skin to cause [[Petechiae|tissue damage]] in the belief this has medicinal benefit.<ref name=dermLP>{{cite journal|vauthors=Vashi NA, Patzelt N, Wirya S, Maymone MB, Zancanaro P, Kundu RV| title=Dermatoses caused by cultural practices: Therapeutic cultural practices. | journal=J Am Acad Dermatol | year= 2018 | volume= 79 | issue= 1 | pages= 1–16 | pmid=29908818 | doi=10.1016/j.jaad.2017.06.159 | s2cid=49268995 |type=Review }}</ref><ref name=sbmGS>{{cite web |website=Science-Based Medicine |vauthors=Crislip C |title=Traditional Chinese Pseudo-Medicine Hodgepodge |date=20 February 2015 |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/traditional-chinese-pseudo-medicine-hodgepodge/}}</ref> Gua sha is sometimes referred to as "scraping", "spooning" or "coining" by English speakers. [[Edzard Ernst]] has written that any apparent benefit from gua sha is due to the [[placebo effect]].<ref name = ErnstGS>{{cite web |last1=Ernst |first1=Edzard |author-link1=Edzard Ernst |url=https://edzardernst.com/2013/01/gua-sha-torture-or-treatment/ |website=Edzardernst.com |publisher=Edzard Ernst |access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217144537/https://edzardernst.com/2013/01/gua-sha-torture-or-treatment/ |archive-date=17 February 2019 |date=11 January 2013|title=Gua Sha: torture or treatment?|url-status=live}}</ref>
** '''[[Meridian (Chinese medicine)|Meridian]]s''' are the channels through which ''[[qi]]'' flows, connecting the several ''zang-fu'' organ pairs.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /><ref name="meridian_NCI">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary?CdrID=449742
  | title      = Definition of Chinese meridian theory
  | access-date = 16 February 2009
  | publisher  = [[National Cancer Institute]]
}}</ref> There is no known [[anatomical]] or [[histological]] basis for the existence of ''[[acupuncture points]]'' or ''meridians''.<ref name=Acu_NCAHF_pos /><ref name="Mann_drunkard">{{Cite book
  | first      = Felix
  | last       = Mann
  | author-link = Felix Mann
  | quote      = ...acupuncture points are no more real than the black spots that a drunkard sees in front of his eyes.
  | title      = Reinventing Acupuncture: A New Concept of Ancient Medicine.
  | publisher  = Butterworth Heinemann
  | location   = London
  | year       = 1996
  | page       = 14
}}</ref>
** '''[[Shiatsu]]''' ({{lang|ja|指圧}}) is a form of Japanese [[Bodywork (alternative medicine)|bodywork]] based on ideas in [[traditional Chinese medicine]]. ''Shiatsu'' derives from a Japanese massage modality called ''[[anma]]''. There is no [[Evidence-based medicine|evidence]] that ''shiatsu'' is an effective medical treatment.<ref name=robinsonLP>{{cite journal|quote=Shiatsu incorporates acupressure, which is similar but applies pressure for longer on specific pressure points on meridians, following Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) |doi=10.1186/1472-6882-11-88|title=The evidence for Shiatsu: A systematic review of Shiatsu and acupressure |year=2011|last1=Robinson|first1=N |last2=Lorenc|first2=A |last3=Liao|first3=X |journal=BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine|volume=11|page=88|pmid=21982157|pmc=3200172 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=crukLP2>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/shiatsu
|title=Shiatsu
|publisher=[[Cancer Research UK]]
|access-date=30 August 2013
|archive-date=30 November 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130234031/http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/shiatsu
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
** '''[[Qi]]''' – [[vital energy]] whose flow must be balanced for health. ''Qi'' has never been directly observed and is unrelated to the concept of [[energy]] used in science.<ref name="acu_SA_2005">{{Cite journal
  | title      = Full of Holes: the curious case of acupuncture
  | journal    = Scientific American
  | date       = July 2005
  | first      = Michael
  | last       = Shermer
  | author-link = Michael Shermer
  | volume     = 293
  | issue      = 2
  | page       = 30
  | doi        = 10.1038/scientificamerican0805-30
| pmid = 16053133
 | bibcode= 2005SciAm.293b..30S
  }}</ref><ref name="Acu_CSI">{{Cite news
  | first       = Victor J.
  | last        = Stenger
  | title       = Reality Check: the energy fields of life
  | date        = June 1998
  | work        = Skeptical Briefs
  | publisher   = Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
  | url         = http://www.csicop.org/sb/9806/reality-check.html
  | access-date  = 25 December 2007
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211153047/http://www.csicop.org/sb/9806/reality-check.html
  | archive-date = 11 December 2007
}} "Despite complete scientific rejection, the concept of a special biological fields within living things remains deeply engraved in human thinking. It is now working its way into modern health care systems, as non-scientific alternative therapies become increasingly popular. From acupuncture to homeopathy and therapeutic touch, the claim is made that healing can be brought about by the proper adjustment of a person's or animal's 'bioenergetic fields.{{'"}}</ref><ref name="TCM_CSI_2">{{Cite news
  | title       = Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 2)
  | url         = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/china_conference_2/
  | publisher   = CSICOP
  | access-date  = 15 February 2009
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091004014428/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/china_conference_2/
  | archive-date = 4 October 2009
}}</ref>
** '''[[Qigong]]''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|iː|ˈ|ɡ|ɒ|ŋ}}),<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/qigong "qigong"]. ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]''.</ref> '''qi gong''', '''chi kung''', or '''chi gung''' ({{zh|t=氣功|s=气功|p=qìgōng|w=ch'i kung|l=life energy cultivation}}) is a [[holistic]] system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality and martial arts training.<ref name="nccih2016LP">{{cite web|title=Tai Chi and Qi Gong: In Depth|url=https://nccih.nih.gov/health/taichi/introduction.htm|publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health|access-date=10 February 2018|date=October 2016}}</ref> With roots in Chinese [[Traditional Chinese medicine|medicine]], [[Chinese philosophy|philosophy]] and [[Chinese martial arts|martial arts]], qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance [[qi]] (chi), translated as "life energy".<ref name=CohenLP>{{cite book|last= Cohen |first=K. S. | year=1999|title= The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing |publisher= Random House of Canada |isbn=978-0345421098}}</ref> Research concerning qigong has been conducted for a wide range of medical conditions, including [[hypertension]], [[pain]] and [[cancer]], and with respect to [[quality of life]].<ref name=nccih2016LP/> Most research concerning health benefits of qigong has been of poor quality, such that it would be unwise to draw firm conclusions at this stage.<ref name=Lee2011LP>{{cite journal |vauthors=Lee MS, Oh B, Ernst E |title=Qigong for healthcare: an overview of systematic reviews |journal=JRSM Short Rep |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=1–5 |year=2011 |pmid=21369525 |pmc=3046559 |doi=10.1258/shorts.2010.010091 }}</ref>
** '''[[Zang-fu]]''' – concept of organs as functional yin and yang entities for the storage and manipulation of ''qi''.<ref name='TCM_MDA_DT' /> These organs are not based in anatomy.
* '''[[Tomatis Method]]''' A type of [[auditory integration training]] devised by [[Alfred A. Tomatis]] and promoted, without supporting evidence, as being of benefit to people with autism.<ref>{{cite book |page=157 |chapter=Section 6: Unconventional Treatments |title=ADHD |publisher=Oxford University Press |vauthors=Selikowitz M |edition=2nd}}</ref>
* '''[[Urine therapy]]''' – drinking either one's own undiluted urine or homeopathic potions of urine for treatment of a wide variety of diseases is based on pseudoscience.<ref>{{Cite book
  | author     = Gardner, Martin
  | title      = Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience
  | publisher  = W.W. Norton & Company
  | location   = New York
  | year       = 2001
  | pages      = 92–101
  | isbn       = 978-0393322385
  }}</ref>
* '''Promotion of a link between [[autism and vaccines]]''', in which the vaccines are accused of causing autism-spectrum conditions, triggering them, or aggravating them, has been characterized as pseudoscience.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/02/lancet-retracts-mmr-paper |title=Lancet retracts 'utterly false' MMR paper |last=Boseley |first=Sarah |date=2 February 2010  |work=The Guardian |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> Many epidemiological studies have reported no association between either the [[MMR vaccine controversy|MMR vaccine]] and autism, or [[thiomersal controversy|thimerosal-containing vaccines]] and autism.<ref>{{cite journal
  | vauthors = Doja A, Roberts W
  | title    = Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature
  | journal  = Can J Neurol Sci
  | volume   = 33
  | issue    = 4
  | pages    = 341–346
  | date     = November 2006
  | pmid     = 17168158
  | doi      = 10.1017/s031716710000528x
  | doi-access= free
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Luke E. |author2=Swerdfeger, Amy L. |author3=Eslick, Guy D. |title=Vaccines are not associated with autism: An evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies |journal=Vaccine |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.085 |pmid=24814559 |volume=32 |issue=29 |date=June 2014 |pages=3623–3629}}</ref> Consequently, the [[Institute of Medicine]] has concluded that there is no causal link between either of these varieties of vaccines and autism.<ref name=IOM2004>{{cite book
  | author    = ((Immunization Safety Review Committee, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, [[Institute of Medicine]]))
  | title     = Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism
  | publisher = The National Academies Press
  | location  = Washington, DC
  | year      = 2004
  | isbn      = 978-0309092371
  | url       = http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10997.html
| doi = 10.17226/10997
 | pmid = 20669467
 }}</ref> Similarly, '''[[Vaccine controversies#Vaccine overload|"vaccine overload"]]''', a non-medical term describing the notion that giving many vaccines at once may overwhelm or weaken a child's immature immune system and lead to adverse effects<ref name="Hilton">{{cite journal |vauthors=Hilton S, Petticrew M, Hunt K |title='Combined vaccines are like a sudden onslaught to the body's immune system': parental concerns about vaccine 'overload' and 'immune-vulnerability' |journal=Vaccine |volume=24 |issue=20 |pages=4321–4327 |year=2006 |pmid=16581162 |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.03.003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Hurst L |title=Vaccine phobia runs deep |work=Toronto Star |date=2009-10-30 |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/article/718829 |access-date=2009-11-04 }}</ref> is strongly contradicted by scientific evidence.<ref name="Gerber2009"/>
* '''[[Vitalism]]''' – doctrine that the processes of life are not explicable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is, in some part, self-determining. The book ''[[Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy|Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience]]'' stated "today, vitalism is one of the ideas that form the basis for many pseudoscientific health systems that claim that illnesses are caused by a disturbance or imbalance of the body's vital force." "Vitalists claim to be scientific, but in fact they reject the scientific method with its basic postulates of cause and effect and of provability. They often regard subjective experience to be more valid than objective material reality."<ref name="Williams">{{Cite book |author     = Williams, William A.
 |title      = Encyclopedia of pseudoscience
 |publisher  = Facts on File
 |location   = New York
 |year       = 2000
 |isbn       = 978-0816033515
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofps0000unse_t6o6
}}</ref>
* '''[[Water memory]]''' – a homeopathic theory based on the purported ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ball |first=Philip |date=8 October 2004 |title=The memory of water |work=Nature |url=https://www.nature.com/news/2004/041004/full/news041004-19.html}}</ref>
* '''[[Wilson's syndrome]]''' (not to be confused with [[Wilson's disease]]) is an [[alternative medicine]] concept, not recognized as a legitimate diagnosis in [[Medicine|evidence-based medicine]].<ref name="mayo">{{cite web | publisher = [[Mayo Clinic]] | first = Todd | last = Nippoldt | title = Is Wilson's syndrome a legitimate ailment? | date = 21 November 2009 | access-date = 9 April 2010 | url = http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wilsons-syndrome/AN01728}}</ref> Its supporters describe Wilson's syndrome as a mix of common and [[non-specific symptoms]] which they attribute to low body temperature and impaired conversion of [[thyroxine]] (T4) to [[triiodothyronine]] (T3), despite normal [[thyroid function test]]s. The [[American Thyroid Association]] (ATA) says Wilson's syndrome is at odds with established knowledge of thyroid function, has vague diagnostic criteria and lacks supporting [[scientific evidence]]. The ATA further raised concern that the proposed treatments were potentially harmful.<ref name="ATA">{{cite web |title=Public Health Statement: "Wilson's Syndrome"|url= http://www.thyroid.org/american-thyroid-association-statement-on-wilsons-syndrome/ |publisher=American Thyroid Association|date= 2005-05-24 }}</ref>
* '''[[Wind turbine syndrome]]''' and '''wind farm syndrome''' are terms for adverse health effects that have been ascribed to the proximity of [[wind turbine]]s.<ref name="FPH">{{cite journal |title=The Link between Health Complaints and Wind Turbines: Support for the Nocebo Expectations Hypothesis |vauthors=Crighton F |display-authors=etal | journal=Frontiers in Public Health |date=November 2014 |volume=2 |issue=220 |page=220 |pmc=4227478 |pmid=25426482 |doi=10.3389/fpubh.2014.00220| doi-access=free}}</ref> Proponents have claimed that these effects include death, cancer and [[congenital abnormality]]. The distribution of recorded events, however, correlates with media coverage of wind farm syndrome itself and not with the presence or absence of wind farms.<ref name="Chapman-Interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/curious-distribution-for-wind-turbine-sickness/4323486#transcript|title=Interview with Simon Chapman|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=20 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="Guardian-2013.03.15">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/15/windfarm-sickness-spread-word-australia |title=Windfarm sickness spreads by word of mouth, Australian study finds |first=Alison|last=Rourke |date=15 March 2013  |work=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref> Reviews of the scientific literature have consistently found no reason to believe that wind turbines are harmful to health.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Simon Chapman |url=http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/10559|title=Summary of main conclusions reached in 25 reviews of the research literature on wind farms and health|website=[[Sydney University]] School of Public Health|date=10 April 2015|access-date=4 July 2018}}</ref>

=== Technology ===
* '''[[5G conspiracies]] and [[5G causes coronavirus]]''' theories – theory proposing that [[5G]] causes health issues, including [[COVID-19]].

== Social sciences ==

=== History ===
{{Main|Pseudohistory}}
* '''[[Christ myth theory]]''' – A [[fringe theory]] that proposes that the [[historical Jesus]] did not exist in any capacity whatsoever. While the divinity of Jesus is disputed, Christian and non-Christian scholars of antiquity universally agree that [[Jesus of Nazareth]] was a [[Galilean]] Jew who lived in the first century, [[Baptism of Jesus|was baptized]], and later [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified]] by Roman authorities. This is based on [[Sources for the historicity of Jesus|sources]] written by historians, scholars, and politicians who lived during the time of Christ.<ref name="DunnPaul35">[[James D.G. Dunn]] "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus" in ''Sacrifice and Redemption'' edited by S.W. Sykes (3 December 2007) Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|978-0-521-04460-8}} pp. 35–36</ref><ref name="Then' 2004 page 34">''Jesus Now and Then'' by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (1 April 2004) {{ISBN|978-0-8028-0977-3}} p. 34</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 200">''Jesus'' by Michael Grant 2004 {{ISBN|978-1-898799-88-7}} p. 200</ref><ref name="Jesus' page 145">''The Gospels and Jesus'' by [[Graham Stanton]], 1989 {{ISBN|978-0-19-213241-3}} Oxford University Press, p. 145</ref><ref name="voorst16">[[Robert E. Van Voorst]] ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4368-5}} p. 16</ref>
* '''[[Historical materialism]]''' – [[Karl Popper]] criticised the [[Marxist theory of history]] on the grounds of being [[Falsifiability|unfalsifiable]].<ref name="Popper">{{Cite book|last=Popper|first=Karl|title=Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge.|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-0415285940|page=49}}</ref><ref name="Stanford1">{{Citation|last=Thornton|first=Stephen|title=Karl Popper|date=2021|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Spring 2021|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2021-05-09}}</ref> Specifically, he claimed that while the theory was originally scientific, over time it has been modified and degraded into a non-scientific form.<ref name="Popper" /><ref name="Stanford1" /> Popper thus viewed Marxism as a pseudoscience.<ref name="Stanford1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Liz|date=2012-09-24|title=Karl Popper, the enemy of certainty, part 3: rejecting politics as science|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/sep/24/karl-popper-politics-as-science |access-date=2021-05-09|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Hudelson">{{Cite journal|last=Hudelson|first=Richard|date=1980|title=Popper's Critique of Marx|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4319371|journal=Philosophical Studies|volume=37|issue=3|pages=259–270|doi=10.1007/BF00372447|jstor=4319371|s2cid=170099971|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Fuller|first=Mike|date=1996|title=Is Science an Ideology?|url=https://philosophynow.org/issues/15/Is_Science_an_Ideology |access-date=2021-05-09|website=philosophynow.org}}</ref> Others who shared a similar view were philosopher [[Imre Lakatos]] and sociologist [[Ernest van den Haag]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Musgrave|first1=Alan|title=Imre Lakatos|date=2021|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lakatos/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Summer 2021|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2021-05-09|last2=Pigden|first2=Charles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burawoy|first=Michael|date=1989|title=Marxism, Philosophy and Science|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41035415|journal=Berkeley Journal of Sociology|volume=34|page=237|jstor=41035415}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=van den Haag|first=Ernest|date=1987|title=Marxism as Pseudo-Science|url=https://reasonpapers.com/pdf/12/rp_12_3.pdf|journal=Reason Papers|volume=12|pages=26–32}}</ref> 
* '''[[Holocaust denial]]''' – Historical revisionist movements associated with Holocaust denial have employed pseudoscientific evidence<ref name="Rosenfeld2015">{{cite book |last1=Rosenfeld |first1=Alvin H. |title=Deciphering the new antisemitism |date=2015 |location=Bloomington and Indianapolis |publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253018694 |pages=250, 350 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibfkCgAAQBAJ|quote="In the 1970s, Holocaust denial took up more sophisticated pseudoscientific methods and began to portray itself as a movement of historal revisionists..."}}</ref><ref name="Pigliucci_Philosophy_of_Pseudoscience_2013">{{cite book |last1=Pigliucci |first1=Massimo |last2=Boudry |first2=Maarten |title=Philosophy of pseudoscience : reconsidering the demarcation problem |date=2013 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=9780226051826 |pages=206 |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofpseu00unse/page/206/ |access-date=13 February 2023|quote="The following are examples of claims that might best be placed in each of these three bins... Pseudoscience: creationism, Holocaust revisionism, remote viewing, astrology, Bible code, alien abductions, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), Bigfoot, Freudian psychoanalytic theory, reincarnation, angels, ghosts, extrasensory perception (ESP), recovered memories."}}</ref><ref name="Brittingham2020">{{cite journal | last1 = Brittingham | first1 = Matthew H. | title = "The Jews love numbers": Steven L. Anderson, Christian Conspiracists, and the Spiritual Dimensions of Holocaust Denial | journal = Genocide Studies and Prevention | date = September 2020 | volume = 14 | issue = 2 | pages = 44–64 | issn = 1911-0359 | eissn = 1911-9933 | doi = 10.5038/1911-9933.14.2.1721 | pmid =  | s2cid = 225256338 | url = https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1721 | quote = "The preacher produced a nearly 40-minute video, “Did the Holocaust Really Happen?,” in which he espoused what Deborah Lipstadt has called “hardcore” Holocaust denial, “den[ying] the facts of the Holocaust” in an “outright and forceful fashion.” Though his “scientific” evidence for the “Holocaust hoax” or “Holocaust myth,” as he often refers to the Holocaust, is mostly a regurgitation of the pseudoscientific arguments made by a more established group of Holocaust deniers, Anderson adds a spiritual dimension to Holocaust denial to make it attractive to Christian viewers." | doi-access = free }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="HirvonenKaristo2022">{{cite journal | last1 = Hirvonen | first1 = Ilmari | last2 = Karisto | first2 = Janne | title = Demarcation without Dogmas | journal = Theoria | date = 13 February 2022 | volume = 88 | issue = 3 | pages = 701–720 | issn = 0040-5825 | eissn = 1755-2567 | doi = 10.1111/theo.12395 | pmid = | hdl = 10138/345499 | s2cid = 246834442 | url = https://philarchive.org/rec/HIRDWD|quote="On the one hand, there is science denialism, such as climate change scepticism, the anti-vaccination movement, and holocaust denial, which attacks well-established scientific theories and practices. On the other hand, there is the promotion of pseudotheory, the attempt to get doctrines like homoeopathy and intelligent design accepted as sciences even though they have no warrant for such merit (Hansson, 2017). Both types of pseudoscience have harmful effects on health, environment, education, and society...Paradigmatic pseudosciences can also be very different from one another. Think of, say, intelligent design, Holocaust denial, ancient astronaut hypothesis, homoeopathy, the anti-vaccine movement, astrology, or climate change scepticism. Because there are different forms of pseudoscience, one cannot rule out the possibility that different criteria are needed to distinguish them from science."| hdl-access = free }}</ref> and [[Holocaust denial#Holocaust denial and antisemitism|conspiracy theories]] published in [[Diegesis|intradiegetic]] pseudo-academic journals<ref name="CODOH_ADL">{{cite news |title=Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH) {{!}} Center on Extremism |url=https://extremismterms.adl.org/glossary/committee-open-debate-holocaust-codoh |access-date=13 February 2023 |work=extremismterms.adl.org |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |date=2022 |language=en}}</ref> and presented at fringe conferences<ref name="HolocaustEncyclopedia_2001">{{cite book |last1=Laqueur |first1=Walter |last2=Baumel-Schwartz |first2=Judith Tydor |title=The Holocaust encyclopedia |date=2001 |location=New Haven  |publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300084320 |pages=300|quote="Holocaust revisionism enlists a wide variety of strategies and assumes many different forms adapted to the history and political cultures in which it operates. It has nonetheless developed into an international movement with its own networks, gatherings, public forums, propaganda, and pseudo-scientific journal"}}</ref><ref name="Pigliucci_Philosophy_of_Pseudoscience_2013"/> (e.g. misconstruing [[Leuchter report|cyanide residue studies]], claiming despite all evidence to the contrary that [[The Hoax of the Twentieth Century|gas chambers were built after the war]]).<ref name="NESS_HD">{{cite news |last1=Novella |first1=Steven |title=Holocaust Denial |url=https://theness.com/index.php/holocaust-denial |access-date=13 February 2023 |work=New England Skeptical Society |date=17 July 2009|quote="Those who deny that there ever was a Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II have used a similar style of arguing.  Deniers have subjugated science, in this case historical science, to a political agenda, creating a pseudoscience called Holocaust Denial.... Inventing and promoting pseudoscience [the art of using “expert witnesses”]: Leuchter claims that the gas chamber was not really used against human beings.... Error #1: Leuchter estimates that a certain crematorium at Auschwitz could process only 156 bodies. He was apparently unaware of an SS report which confirms that the same building (which he describes) destroyed 4756 bodies in the course of a single 24 hour period. Error #2: He notes that the cyanide residue from one gas chamber wall is less than the residue from a wall inside a known delousing chamber. Leuchter claims that this is the most conclusive evidence that a “gas chamber” could not have been used for killing humans. His argument is based on the assumption that humans require much more cyanide than lice to die – an assumption that, as it happens, is wrong. In fact, lice require about a 50 times higher dose of cyanide gas than humans in order to die."}}</ref><ref name="Whine2008">{{cite journal |last1=Whine |first1=Michael |title=Expanding Holocaust Denial and Legislation Against It |journal=Jewish Political Studies Review |date=2008 |volume=20 |issue=1/2 |pages=57–77 |jstor=25834777 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25834777 |access-date=13 February 2023 |issn=0792-335X|quote="Holocaust deniers, and the media they use, are changing as a consequence of international political developments... New forms of this propaganda encompassed pseudoscientific books and papers; crude denial material, usually published in leaflet form by small neo-Nazi groups; and what can be called political denial, which includes the most recent and increasingly potent source, namely, Islamists as well as Internet and television transmissions within some Muslim states. Many of the pseudoscientific publications available internationally were published under cover of fictitious academic publishing houses. These works included, for example, ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century'' by Arthur Butz, ''Did Six Million Really Die?'' by Richard Harwood, and ''The Leuchter Report''. Historians challenged these and rebutted their false theses."}}</ref>
* [[Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry|'''Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry''']] –  A [[fringe theory]] that postulates that [[Ashkenazi Jews]] were primarily, or to a large extent, descended from [[Khazars]], a multi-ethnic conglomerate of mostly [[Turkic peoples]] who formed a semi-nomadic [[khanate]] in and around the northern and central [[Caucasus]] and the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Venton |first=Danielle |date=January 2013 |title=Highlight: Out of Khazaria—Evidence for "Jewish Genome" Lacking |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234157950 |journal=[[Genome Biology and Evolution]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=75–6 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evs129 |pmc=3595031 |pmid=23325386}}</ref> [[Genetic studies on Jews]] have found no substantive evidence of a Khazar origin among Ashkenazi Jews, with evidence suggesting the Ashkenazi have mixed [[Near East|Near Eastern]] and Southern European/Mediterranean origins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Behar |first1=Doron M. |last2=Metspalu |first2=Mait |last3=Baran |first3=Yael |last4=Kopelman |first4=Naama M. |last5=Yunusbayev |first5=Bayazit |last6=Gladstein |first6=Ariella |last7=Tzur |first7=Shay |last8=Sahakyan |first8=Havhannes |last9=Bahmanimehr |first9=Ardeshir |last10=Yepiskoposyan |first10=Levon |last11=Tambets |first11=Kristiina |last12=Khusnutdinova |first12=Elza K. |last13=Kusniarevich |first13=Aljona |last14=Balanovsky |first14=Oleg |last15=Balanovsky |first15=Elena |year=2013 |title=No Evidence from Genome-Wide Data of a Khazar Origin for the Ashkenazi Jews |url=https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=humbiol_preprints |journal=[[Human Biology (journal)|Human Biology]] |volume=85 |issue=41 |pages=859–900 |doi=10.1353/hub.2013.a548065 |ref={{harvid|Behar|et al.|2013}} |last16=Kovacevic |first16=Lejla |last17=Marjanovic |first17=Damir |last18=Mihailov |first18=Evelin |last19=Kouvatsi |first19=Anastasia |last20=Traintaphyllidis |first20=Costas |last21=King |first21=Roy J. |last22=Semino |first22=Ornella |last23=Torroni |first23=Antonio |last24=Hammer |first24=Michael F. |last25=Metspalu |first25=Ene |last26=Skorecki |first26=Karl |last27=Rosset |first27=Saharon |last28=Halperin |first28=Eran |last29=Villems |first29=Richard |last30=Rosenberg |first30=Noah A.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* '''[[New chronology (Fomenko)]]''' – [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] [[conspiracy theory]] which argues that events of antiquity generally attributed to the civilizations of the [[Roman Empire]], [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Egypt]], actually occurred during the [[Middle Ages]], more than a thousand years later.

=== Linguistics ===
* '''[[Japhetic theory]]''' – claim that the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]], [[Basque language|Basque]], and [[Kartvelian languages|Kartvelian]] language families share a common origin<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-09-02 |title=Marxism and Problems of Linguistics |url=http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1950/jun/20.htm |access-date=2024-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000902060004/http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1950/jun/20.htm |archive-date=2 September 2000 }}</ref>
* '''[[Sun Language Theory]]''' – the belief that all languages had their origins in the [[Turkish language]].

=== Psychology ===
*{{anchor|Attachment}} '''[[Attachment therapy]]''' – common name for a set of potentially fatal<ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.randi.org/jr/071604an.html#7
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20040717205317/http://www.randi.org/jr/071604an.html
  | url-status   = dead
  | archive-date = 17 July 2004
  | title      = An Important Appeal
  | access-date = 17 November 2007
  | last       = Randi
  | first      = James
  | author-link = James Randi
  | date       = 16 July 2004
  | publisher  = [[James Randi Educational Foundation]]
  | quote      = This is a total quack procedure that has actually killed children.
  | format     = newsletter
}}</ref> clinical interventions and parenting techniques aimed at controlling aggressive, disobedient, or unaffectionate children using "restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results."<ref name="quackwatch_attatchment_therapy">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/at.html
  | title      = Be Wary of Attachment Therapy
  | access-date = 17 November 2007
  | last       = Maloney
  | first      = Shannon-Bridget
| date = 24 July 2003
 }}</ref> (The term "attachment therapy" may sometimes be used loosely to refer to mainstream approaches based on attachment theory, usually outside the US where the pseudoscientific form of attachment therapy is less known.) Probably the most common form is holding therapy, in which the child is restrained by adults for the purpose of supposed cathartic release of [[Catharsis|suppressed rage]] and [[Age regression in therapy|regression]]. Perhaps the most extreme, but much less common, is "[[Rebirthing (attachment therapy)|rebirthing]]", in which the child is wrapped tightly in a blanket and then made to simulate emergence from a birth canal. This is done by encouraging the child to struggle and pushing and squeezing him/her to mimic contractions.<ref name="Shermer2002"/> Despite the practice's name, it is not based on traditional [[attachment theory]] and shares no principles of mainstream developmental psychology research.<ref name="Berlin et al.">{{cite book
  | chapter   = Preface
  | title     = Enhancing Early Attachments. Theory, Research, Intervention and Policy
  | series    = Duke series in child development and public policy|editor-first=Lisa J. |editor-last=Berlin|editor2-first= Yair |editor2-last=Ziv|editor3-first=Lisa |editor3-last=Amaya-Jackson |editor4-first=Mark T. |editor4-last=Greenberg
  | publisher = Guilford Press
  | isbn      = 978-1593854706
  | page      = xvii
| date     = 2007
  }}</ref> In 2006, it was the subject of an almost entirely critical Taskforce Report commissioned by the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC).<ref name="Chaffin">{{Cite journal
  | last1           = Chaffin
  | first1          = M
  | last2          = Hanson
  | first2         = R
  | last3          = Saunders
  | first3         = BE
  | title          = Report of the APSAC task force on attachment therapy, reactive attachment disorder, and attachment problems
  | journal        = [[Child Maltreat]]
  | volume         = 11
  | issue          = 1
  | pages          = 76–89
  | year           = 2006
  | pmid           = 16382093
  | doi            = 10.1177/1077559505283699
  | last4          = Nichols
  | first4         = T
  | last5          = Barnett
  | first5         = D
  | last6          = Zeanah
  | first6         = C
  | last7          = Berliner
  | first7         = L
  | last8          = Egeland
  | first8         = B
  | last9          = Newman
  | first9         = E
  | s2cid = 11443880
 | display-authors = 8
}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Conversion}} '''[[Conversion therapy]]''' – sometimes called '''reparative therapy''', seeks to change a non-heterosexual person's [[sexual orientation]] so they will no longer have same-sex attraction.<ref name="Haldeman1999">{{cite journal
 |title        = The Pseudo-science of Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy
 |journal      = ANGLES: The Policy Journal of the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies
 |date         = December 1999
 |first        = Douglas C.
 |last         = Haldeman
 |volume       = 4
 |issue        = 1
 |url          = http://www.drdoughaldeman.com/doc/Pseudo-Science.pdf
 |access-date  = 7 November 2010
 |archive-date = 1 April 2016
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160401032405/http://drdoughaldeman.com/doc/Pseudo-Science.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> The [[American Psychiatric Association]] defines reparative therapy as "psychiatric treatment ... which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the ''a priori'' assumption that a patient should change their sexual homosexual orientation."<ref name="Psych">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.psych.org/Departments/EDU/Library/APAOfficialDocumentsandRelated/PositionStatements/200001a.aspx
  | title       = Position Statement on Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation (Reparative or Conversion Therapies)
  | access-date  = 28 August 2007
  | date        = May 2000
  | publisher   = [[American Psychiatric Association]]
  | format      = PDF
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080910045820/http://www.psych.org/Departments/EDU/Library/APAOfficialDocumentsandRelated/PositionStatements/200001a.aspx
  | archive-date = 10 September 2008
}}</ref><ref name="APA_ConvTher">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.pdf
  | title      = Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel
  | access-date = 14 May 2010
  | year       = 1999
  | publisher  = Just the Facts Coalition
}}</ref><ref name="NewAPA">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf
  | title      = Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation
  | access-date = 24 September 2009
  | first      = JM
  | last       = Glassgold
  | publisher  = [[American Psychological Association]]
  | date       = 1 August 2009
}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Coding}} '''[[Coding (therapy)|Coding]]''' is a catch-all term for various [[Russia]]n [[Alternative medicine|alternative therapeutic methods]] used to treat [[addiction]]s, in which the therapist attempts to scare patients into abstinence from a substance they are addicted to by convincing them that they will be harmed or killed if they use it again. Each method involves the therapist pretending to insert a "code" into patients' brains that will ostensibly provoke a strong [[adverse reaction]] should it come into contact with the addictive substance. The methods use a combination of theatrics, [[hypnosis]], [[placebo]]s, and [[drug]]s with temporary adverse effects to instill the erroneous beliefs. Therapists may pretend to "code" patients for a fixed length of time, such as five years.<ref name="Finn2005">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/01/AR2005100101196.html | title=Russia's 1-Step Program: Scaring Alcoholics Dry | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=2 October 2005 | access-date=9 June 2011 | author=Finn, Peter}}</ref>
*{{anchor|EMDR}} '''[[Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing]]''' ('''EMDR''') is a form of [[psychotherapy]] in which the person being treated is asked to recall distressing images; the therapist then directs the person in one type of [[Bilateral stimulation|bilateral sensory input]], such as side-to-side [[eye]] movements or hand tapping.<ref name=feske>{{cite journal |last=Feske |first=Ulrike |title=Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder |journal=Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice |year=1998 |volume=5 |issue=2 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2850.1998.tb00142.x |pages=171–181}}</ref> It is included in several guidelines for the treatment of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD).<ref name=Schnyder2015>{{Cite book|title = Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders: A Practical Guide for Clinicians|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0Vx0BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA205|publisher = Springer|date = 2015|access-date = 2015-04-20|isbn = 978-3319071091|first1 = Ulrich|last1 = Schnyder|first2 = Marylène|last2 = Cloitre}}</ref><ref name=WHO2013>{{cite book |publisher=World Health Organization |year=2013 |title=Guidelines for the management of conditions that are specifically related to stress |location=Geneva |url=https://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/stress_guidelines/en/ |pmid=24049868 }}</ref> Some clinical psychologists have argued that the eye movements do not add anything above imagery exposure and characterize its promotion and use as pseudoscience.<ref name="Herbert2000">{{cite journal|last1=Herbert|first1=J|title=Science and pseudoscience in the development of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing Implications for clinical psychology|journal=Clinical Psychology Review|volume=20|issue=8|year=2000|pages=945–971|issn=0272-7358|doi=10.1016/S0272-7358(99)00017-3|pmid=11098395|s2cid=14519988}}</ref>
*{{anchor|FC}} '''[[Facilitated communication]]''' ('''FC'''), or '''supported typing''', is a scientifically discredited technique<ref name="Autism Wars" /> that attempts to facilitate communication by people with severe educational and communication disabilities. The facilitator holds or gently touches the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a special keyboard. In addition to providing physical support needed for typing or pointing, the facilitator provides verbal prompts and moral support.<ref name="Facilitated">{{cite web|last1=Auerbach|first1=David|title=Facilitated Communication Is a Cult That Won't Die|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/11/facilitated_communication_pseudoscience_harms_people_with_disabilities.html|website=Slate|access-date=30 November 2015|date=2015-11-12}}</ref> There is widespread agreement within the scientific community and multiple disability advocacy organizations that FC is not a valid technique for authentically augmenting the communication skills of those with autism spectrum disorder.<ref name="Review 2018FC">{{cite journal |last1=Hemsley |first1=Bronwyn |author-link=Bronwyn Hemsley |last2=Bryant |first2=Lucy |last3=Schlosser |first3=Ralf |last4=Shane |first4=Howard |last5=Lang |first5=Russell |last6=Paul |first6=Diane |last7=Benajee |first7=Meher |last8=Ireland |first8=Marie |year=2018 |title=Systematic review of facilitated communication 2014–2018 finds no new evidence that messages delivered using facilitated communication are authored by the person with the disability |journal=Autism and Developmental Language Impairments |volume=3 |page=239694151882157 |doi=10.1177/2396941518821570 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Instead, research indicates that the facilitator is the source of most or all messages obtained through FC (involving [[ideomotor effect]] guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator);<ref name="Why debunked autism treatment fads persist" /><ref name="Ganz/Katsiyannis/Morin" /> thus, studies have consistently found that patients are unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object) .<ref name="An experimental analysis of facilitated communication"/> In addition, numerous cases have been reported by investigators in which disabled persons were assumed by facilitators to be typing a coherent message while the patient's eyes were closed or while they were looking away from or showing no particular interest in the letter board.<ref name="Goldacre">{{cite news|last1=Goldacre|first1= Ben|title=Making contact with a helping hand|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/dec/05/bad-science-ben-goldacre-column|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=10 November 2015|date= 5 December 2009}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Graphology}} '''[[Graphology]]''' – psychological test based on a belief that personality traits or gender unconsciously and consistently influence handwriting morphology—that certain types of people exhibit certain quirks of the pen. Analysis of handwriting attributes provides no better than chance correspondence with personality, and neuroscientist [[Barry Beyerstein]] likened the assigned correlations to sympathetic magic.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name=saf /><ref name="Graph_Beyer_PBS">{{cite web
 |url          = https://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_bbeyerstein.html
 |title        = Barry Beyerstein Q&A
 |access-date  = 22 February 2008
 |work         = Ask the Scientists
 |publisher    = [[Scientific American Frontiers]]
 |quote        = they simply interpret the way we form these various features on the page in much the same way ancient oracles interpreted the entrails of oxen or smoke in the air. I.e., it's a kind of magical divination or fortune telling where 'like begets like.'
 |archive-date = 20 February 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220080111/https://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3282_bbeyerstein.html
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Graph_BCCLA">{{Cite news
  | title       = The use of graphology as a tool for employee hiring and evaluation
  | year        = 1988
  | publisher   = British Columbia Civil Liberties Union
  | url         = http://www.bccla.org/positions/privacy/88graphology.html
  | access-date  = 22 February 2008
  | quote       = On the other hand, in properly controlled, blind studies, where the handwriting samples contain no content that could provide non-graphological information upon which to base a prediction (e.g., a piece copied from a magazine), graphologists do no better than chance at predicting the personality traits
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080217191252/http://www.bccla.org/positions/privacy/88graphology.html
  | archive-date = 17 February 2008
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |title=Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, 2nd edition
 |author=National Academy of Science
 |publisher=National Academy Press
 |year=1999
 |url=https://archive.org/details/sciencecreationi0000unse/page/48
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sciencecreationi0000unse/page/48 48]
 |author-link=United States National Academy of Sciences
 |doi=10.17226/6024
 |pmid=25101403
 |isbn=978-0309064064
 }}</ref><ref name="Graph_NT">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.ntskeptics.org/factsheets/graphol.htm
  | title      = Graphology Fact Sheet
  | access-date = 22 February 2008
  | last       = Thomas
  | first      = John A.
  | year       = 2002
  | publisher  = North Texas Skeptics
  | quote      = In summary, then, it seems that graphology as currently practiced is a typical pseudoscience and has no place in character assessment or employment practice. There is no good scientific evidence to justify its use, and the graphologists do not seem about to come up with any.
}}</ref> Graphology is only superficially related to [[forensic document examination]], which also examines handwriting.
*{{anchor|Hypnosis}} '''[[Hypnosis]]''' – state of extreme relaxation and inner focus in which a person is unusually responsive to suggestions made by the hypnotist. The modern practice has its roots in the idea of [[animal magnetism]], or mesmerism, originated by [[Franz Mesmer]].<ref name="Hypnosis_ACS">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Hypnosis.asp
 |title       = Hypnosis
 |access-date  = 25 February 2008
 |publisher   = [[American Cancer Society]]
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080305051629/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Hypnosis.asp
 |archive-date = 5 March 2008}}</ref> Mesmer's explanations were thoroughly discredited, and to this day there is no agreement amongst researchers whether hypnosis is a real phenomenon, or merely a form of participatory role-enactment.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name="Westen 2006">Westen et al. 2006 "Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition" John Wiley.</ref><ref name="Cathcart">{{Cite news
  | url        = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/hypnotism-does-not-exist-say-the-experts-1389968.html
  | title      = Hypnotism does not exist, say experts
  | work       = The Independent
  | location   = London
  | first1     = Brian
  | last1      = Cathcart
  | first2     = Tom
  | last2      = Wilkie
  | date       = 18 December 1994
  | access-date = 31 March 2010
}}</ref> Some aspects of suggestion have been clinically useful.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/IBSFullGuideline.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008122956/http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/IBSFullGuideline.pdf|url-status=dead|title=NICE Guidance for IBS|archive-date=8 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="Nash">Nash, Michael R. "[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0008D31F-BD5B-1C6F-84A9809EC588EF21 The Truth and the Hype of Hypnosis]". [[Scientific American]]: July 2001 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012142730/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0008D31F-BD5B-1C6F-84A9809EC588EF21 |date=12 October 2007 }}</ref> Other claimed uses of hypnosis more clearly fall within the area of pseudoscience. Such areas include the use of hypnotic regression, including [[past life regression]].<ref name="Hypnosis_Lynn">{{Cite book
  | first1     = Steven Jay
  | last1      = Lynn
  | first2     = Timothy
  | last2      = Lock
  | first3     = Elizabeth
  | last3      = Loftus
  | first4     = Elisa
  | last4      = Krackow
  | first5     = Scott O.
  | last5      = Lilienfeld
  | chapter    = The remembrance of things past: problematic memory recovery techniques in psychotherapy
  | title      = Science and Pseudoscience in Psychotherapy| editor1-first=Scott O.| editor1-last=Lilienfeld|editor2-last= Lynn|editor2-first=Steven Jay|editor3-last=Lohr|editor3-first=Jeffrey M.
  | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rZr0DtX2siQC&pg=PA219
  | publisher  = Guilford Press
  | location   = New York
  | pages      = 219–220
  | year       = 2003
  | isbn       = 978-1572308282
  }} "[H]ypnotically induced past life experiences are rule-governed, goal-directed fantasies that are context generated and sensitive to the demands of the hypnotic regression situation."</ref>
*{{anchor|Hypnotherapy}} '''[[Hypnotherapy]]''' –  therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.<ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.hypnos.info/pages/whatis.html
  | title      = What is Hypnotherapy and How Does it Differ From Hypnosis?
  | publisher  = Hypnos.info
  | date       = 22 July 2007
  | access-date = 28 November 2011
}}</ref> Using [[hypnosis]] for relaxation, [[Mood (psychology)|mood]] control, and other related benefits (often related to [[meditation]]) is regarded as part of standard medical treatment rather than alternative medicine, particularly for patients subjected to difficult physical emotional stress in [[chemotherapy]].<ref>{{cite journal
  | pmc     = 1071579
  | pmid    = 11577062
  | volume  = 175
  | issue    = 4
  | title   = Hypnosis and relaxation therapies
  | year    = 2001
  | journal = West. J. Med.
  | pages   = 269–272
  | last1   = Vickers
  | first1  = A
  | last2   = Zollman
  | first2  = C
  | last3   = Payne
  | first3  = DK
  | quote   = Evidence from randomized controlled trials indicates that hypnosis, relaxation, and meditation techniques can reduce anxiety, particularly that related to stressful situations, such as receiving chemotherapy
  | doi     = 10.1136/ewjm.175.4.269
}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Attraction}} '''[[Law of attraction (New Thought)|Law of attraction]]''' –  the [[Maxim (philosophy)|maxim]] that "like attracts like" which, in [[New Thought]] philosophy, is used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life.<ref name=gazette>Whittaker, S. [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=78fc94dd-c0b2-4ade-891d-98770bfae388&k=70777 Secret attraction] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090328/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=78fc94dd-c0b2-4ade-891d-98770bfae388&k=70777 |date=4 March 2016 }}, ''The Montreal Gazette'', 12 May 2007.</ref> ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' magazine criticized the lack of [[falsifiability]] and [[testability]] of these claims.<ref name="csicop.org">{{cite web
  | author1       = Mary Carmichael
  | author2       = Ben Radford
  | name-list-style = amp
  | url           = http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/secrets_and_lies/
  | title         = CSI &#124; Secrets and Lies
  | publisher     = Csicop.org
  | date          =29 March 2007
  | access-date    = 2012-05-16
}}</ref> Critics have asserted that the evidence provided is usually [[anecdotal]] and that, because of the [[Publication bias|self-selecting nature of the positive reports]], as well as the [[Subjectivity|subjective]] nature of any results, these reports are susceptible to [[confirmation bias]] and [[selection bias]].<ref name="Kaptchuck">{{cite journal
  | author  = Kaptchuk, T. |author2=Eisenberg, D.
  |s2cid=24942410
 | year    = 1998
  | title   = The Persuasive Appeal of Alternative Medicine
  | journal = Annals of Internal Medicine
  | volume  = 129
  | issue   = 12
  | pmid    = 9867762
  | pages   = 1061–1065
  | doi     = 10.7326/0003-4819-129-12-199812150-00011
| citeseerx    = 10.1.1.694.4798
  }}</ref> Physicist [[Ali Alousi]], for instance, criticized it as unmeasurable and questioned the likelihood that thoughts can affect anything outside the head.<ref name=gazette />
*{{anchor|Memetics}} '''[[Memetics]]''' – approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept that units of information, or "memes", have an independent existence, are self-replicating, and are subject to selective evolution through environmental forces. Starting from a proposition put forward in the writings of [[Richard Dawkins]], it has since turned into a new area of study, one that looks at the self-replicating units of culture. It has been proposed that just as memes are analogous to genes, memetics is analogous to genetics. Memetics has been deemed a pseudoscience on several fronts.<ref name="Polichak">{{cite book
  | first   = James W.
  | last    = Polichak
  | chapter-url     = https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr4snwg7iaEC&pg=PA664
  | chapter = Memes as Pseudoscience| editor-first=Michael |editor-last=Shermer
  | title   = Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
  | pages   = 664ff
  | isbn    = 978-1576076538
| year    = 2002
  | publisher = Abc-Clio
 }}</ref> Its proponents' assertions have been labeled "untested, unsupported or incorrect".<ref name=Polichak /> Supporters of memetics include [[EO Wilson]], [[Douglas Hofstadter]] and many others.
*{{anchor|MBTI}} '''[[Myers–Briggs Type Indicator]]''' – a [[personality test]] composed of four categories of two types. The test has [[Myers–Briggs Type Indicator#Criticism|consistent problems]] with [[repeatability]], in addition to problems of whether or not it has exhaustive and mutually exclusive classifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/give-and-take/201309/goodbye-mbti-the-fad-won-t-die|title=Goodbye to MBTI, the Fad That Won't Die|website=Psychology Today|access-date=2017-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pittenger|first=David|title=Measuring the MBTI... And Coming Up Short|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/Articles/develop/mbti.pdf|journal=Psychology Today|access-date=12 April 2017|archive-date=15 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815192736/http://www.indiana.edu/~jobtalk/Articles/develop/mbti.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28315137|title=Debunking the Myers-Briggs personality test|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|date=2014-07-15|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/mar/19/myers-briggs-test-unscientific|title=Nothing personal: The questionable Myers-Briggs test|last=Burnett|first=Dean|date=2013-03-19|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-04-12|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-myers-briggs-personality-test-is-pretty-much-meaningless-9359770/|title=The Myers-Briggs Personality Test Is Pretty Much Meaningless |last=Eveleth |first=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |work=Smithsonian|access-date=2017-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQFPCQAAQBAJ&q=myers+briggs+pseudoscience&pg=PP1|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Social Work Practice|last1=Thyer|first1=Dr Bruce A.|last2=Pignotti|first2=Monica|date=2015|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=978-0826177681|pages=50–51|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boyle|first=Gregory J.|date=1995-03-01|title=Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Some Psychometric Limitations|journal=Australian Psychologist|volume=30|issue=1|pages=71–74|doi=10.1111/j.1742-9544.1995.tb01750.x|issn=1742-9544|url=http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/26|access-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822080333/http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/26/|archive-date=22 August 2017|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Hunsley, John |author2=Catherine M. Lee |author3=James M. Wood |year=2003|title=Controversial and questionable assessment techniques|journal=Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology|pages=39–76}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q50gBQAAQBAJ&q=science+and+pseudoscience+in+clinical+psychology&pg=PP1|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology|last1=Lilienfeld|first1=Scott O.|last2=Lynn|first2=Steven Jay|last3=Lohr|first3=Jeffrey M.|date=2014|publisher=Guilford Publications|isbn=978-1462517510|pages=67–69|language=en}}</ref> The four categories are Introversion/Extroversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perception. Each person is said to have one quality from each category, producing 16 unique types. The Center for Applications of Psychological Type claims that the MBTI is scientifically supported, but most of the research on it is done through its own journal, ''Journal of Psychological Type'', raising questions of bias.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q50gBQAAQBAJ&q=science+and+pseudoscience+in+clinical+psychology&pg=PP1|title=Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology|last1=Lilienfeld|first1=Scott O.|last2=Lynn|first2=Steven Jay|last3=Lohr|first3=Jeffrey M.|date=2014-10-01|publisher=Guilford Publications|isbn=978-1462517510|language=en}}</ref> Results are said to follow the [[Barnum effect]].
*{{anchor|NLP}} '''[[Neuro-linguistic programming]]''' – an approach to [[Interpersonal communication|communication]], [[personal development]], and [[psychotherapy]] created in the 1970s. The title refers to a stated connection between the neurological processes ("neuro"), language ("linguistic") and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ("programming") and can be organized to achieve specific goals in life.<ref name="Tosey & Mathison 2006">{{cite web
 |last1        = Tosey
 |first1       = P
 |last2        = Mathison
 |first2       = J
 |year         = 2006
 |url          = http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf
 |title        = Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming
 |publisher    = Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, [[University of Surrey]]
 |access-date  = 17 January 2012
 |archive-date = 3 January 2019
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20190103020411/http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Dilts et al. 1980 p.2">{{Cite book |last1      = Dilts
 |first1     = R.
 |last2     = Grinder
 |first2    = J.
 |last3     = Delozier
 |first3    = J.
 |last4     = Bandler
 |first4    = R.
 |title     = Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I: The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience
 |publisher = Cupertino, CA: Meta Publications
 |year      = 1980
 |page      = [https://archive.org/details/neurolinguisticp01dilt/page/2 2]
 |isbn      = 978-0916990077
 |url       = https://archive.org/details/neurolinguisticp01dilt/page/2
}}</ref> According to certain neuroscientists<ref name="Corballis 1999" /> psychologists<ref name="Drenth Promethius chained">{{cite journal
  | title   = Prometheus chained: Social and ethical constraints on psychology
  | last    = Drenth
  | first   = P J D
  | journal = [[European Psychologist]]
  | year    = 1999
  | volume  = 4
  | issue   = 4
  | pages   = 233–239
  | doi     = 10.1027//1016-9040.4.4.233
  }}</ref><ref name="Witkowski 2010" /> and linguists,<ref name="Stollznow" /><ref name="Lum 2001" /> NLP is unsupported by current scientific evidence, and uses incorrect and misleading terms and concepts. Reviews of empirical research on NLP indicate that NLP contains numerous factual errors,<ref name="Von Bergen 1997">{{cite journal
  | last1    = von Bergen
  | first1   = C.W.
  | first2  = Barlow Soper
  | last2   = Gary
  | first3  = T.
  | last3   = Rosenthal
  | first4  = Lamar V.
  | last4   = Wilkinson
  | year    = 1997
  | title   = Selected alternative training techniques in HRD
  | journal = Human Resource Development Quarterly
  | volume  = 8
  | pages   = 281–294
  | doi     = 10.1002/hrdq.3920080403
  | issue   = 4
}}</ref><ref name="Druckman 2004">{{cite journal |author1-link=Daniel Druckman
  | last    = Druckman
  | first   = Daniel
  | title   = Be All That You Can Be: Enhancing Human Performance
  | journal = [[Journal of Applied Social Psychology]]
  | volume  = 34
  | issue   = 11
  | date    = November 2004
  | pages   = 2234–60(27)
  | doi     = 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb01975.x
}}</ref> and has failed to produce reliable results for the claims for effectiveness made by NLP's originators and proponents.<ref name="Witkowski 2010">{{cite journal
  | title   = Thirty-Five Years of Research on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP Research Data Base. State of the Art or Pseudoscientific Decoration?
  | last1    = Witkowski
  | journal = Polish Psychological Bulletin
  | year    = 2010
  | volume  = 41
  | issue   = 2
  | pages   = 58–66
  | doi     = 10.2478/v10059-010-0008-0
  | first1  = Tomasz
| s2cid = 18838685
 | doi-access= free
  }}</ref><ref name="Sharpley 1987">{{Cite journal
  | last    = Sharpley
  | first   = C.F.
  | title   = Research Findings on Neuro-linguistic Programming: Non supportive Data or an Untestable Theory
  | journal = [[Journal of Counseling Psychology]]
  | year    = 1987
  | volume  = 34
  | pages   = 103–107 [105]
  | url     = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=EJ352101
  | doi     = 10.1037/0022-0167.34.1.103
  | issue   = 1
| url-access= subscription
  }}</ref> According to Devilly,<ref name="Devilly 2005">{{cite journal
  | last    = Devilly
  | first   = GJ
  | s2cid = 208627667
 | year    = 2005
  | title   = Power therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry
  | url     = http://www.devilly.org/Publications/Power_Therapies_-_Published.pdf
  | journal = [[Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry]]
  | volume  = 39
  | pages   = 437–445
  | doi     = 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01601.x
  | pmid    = 15943644
  | issue   = 6
}}</ref> NLP is no longer as prevalent as it was in the 1970s and 1980s. Criticisms go beyond the lack of empirical evidence for effectiveness; critics say that NLP exhibits pseudoscientific characteristics,<ref name="Devilly 2005" /> title,<ref name="Corballis 1999">{{cite book
  | last       = Corballis
  | first      = MC
  | author-link = Michael Corballis
  | chapter    = Are we in our right minds? |editor-last=Sala|editor-first= S
  | year       = 1999
  | title      = Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain
  | publisher  = Wiley, John & Sons
  | isbn       = 978-0471983033
  | pages      = 25–41
}}</ref> concepts and terminology.<ref name="Stollznow">{{Cite journal
  | title    = Not-so Linguistic Programming
  | last     = Stollznow
  | first    = K
  | journal = Skeptic
  | year     = 2010
  | volume   = 15
  | issue    = 4
  | page     = 7
}}</ref> NLP is used as an example of pseudoscience for facilitating the teaching of scientific literacy at the professional and university level.<ref name="Lum 2001">{{cite book
  | title     = Scientific Thinking in Speech and Language Therapy
  | publisher = Psychology Press
  | last      = Lum
  | first     = C
  | year      = 2001
  | page      = 16
  | isbn      = 978-0805840292
}}</ref><ref name="Lilienfeld et al 2001">{{cite journal
  | title   = The Teaching of Courses in the Science and Pseudoscience of Psychology: Useful Resources
  | last1    = Lilienfeld
  | first1   = S
  | last2   = Mohr
  | first2  = J
  | last3   = Morier
  | first3  = D
  | journal = Teaching of Psychology
  | year    = 2001
  | volume  = 28
  | issue   = 3
  | pages   = 182–191
  | doi     = 10.1207/S15328023TOP2803_03
| citeseerx    = 10.1.1.1001.2558
  | s2cid = 145224099
 }}</ref><ref name="Dunn et al 2008">{{cite book
  | title     = Teaching critical thinking in psychology : a handbook of best practices
  | publisher = Wiley-Blackwell
  | author1   = Dunn. D.
  | author2   = Halonen. J
  | author3   = Smith. R.
  | year      = 2008
  | page      = 12
  | isbn      = 978-1405174022
  | oclc      = 214064173
}}</ref> NLP also appears on peer-reviewed expert-consensus based lists of discredited interventions.<ref name="Witkowski 2010" /> In research designed to identify the "quack factor" in modern mental health practice, Norcross ''et al.'' (2006)<ref name="Norcross et al 2006">{{Cite journal
  | last1    = Norcross
  | year    = 2006
  | title   = Discredited Psychological Treatments and Tests: A Delphi Poll
  | journal = Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
  | doi     = 10.1037/0735-7028.37.5.515
  | last2   = Koocher
  | first2  = Gerald P.
  | last3   = Garofalo
  | first3  = Ariele
  | s2cid = 35414392
 | volume  = 37
  | issue   = 5
  | pages   = 515–522 |display-authors=etal
}}</ref> list NLP as possibly or probably discredited, and in papers reviewing discredited interventions for substance and alcohol abuse, Norcross ''et al.'' (2008)<ref>{{cite book
  | last1      = Norcross
  | first1     = John C.
  | first2    = Thomas P.
  | last2     = Hogan
  | first3    = Gerald P.
  | last3     = Koocher
  | year      = 2008
  | title     = Clinician's Guide to Evidence-based Practices.
  | publisher = Oxford University Press
  | location  = US
  | isbn      = 978-0195335323
  | page      = 198
}}</ref> list NLP in the "top ten" most discredited, and Glasner-Edwards and Rawson (2010) list NLP as "certainly discredited".<ref>{{cite journal
  | title   = Evidence-based practices in addiction treatment: review and recommendations for public policy
  | last1    = Glasner
  | first1   = Edwards. S.
  | last2   = Rawson.
  | first2  = R.
  | journal = Health Policy
  | date    = June 2010
  | volume  = 97
  | issue   = 2–3
  | pages   = 93–104
  | doi     = 10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.05.013
  | pmid    = 20557970
  | pmc     = 2951979
}}</ref>
*{{Anchor|Odic force}} '''[[Odic force]]''' – hypothetical life force used to explain hypnosis.
*{{anchor|Parapsychology}} '''[[Parapsychology]]''' – controversial discipline that seeks to investigate the existence and causes of [[psychic]] abilities and [[Survivalism (life after death)|life after death]] using the [[scientific method]]. Parapsychological experiments have included the use of [[Random number generation|random number generators]] to test for evidence of [[precognition]] and [[psychokinesis]] with both human and animal subjects<ref>{{Cite journal
  | last    = Schmidt
  | first   = Helmut
  | title   = Clairvoyance Tests with a Machine'
  | journal = Journal of Parapsychology
  | volume  = 33
  | year    = 1969
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
  | last    = Schmidt
  | first   = Helmut
  | title   = PK Experiments with Animals as Subjects
  | journal = Journal of Parapsychology
  | volume  = 34
  | year    = 1970
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
  | last    = Schmidt
  | first   = Helmut
  | title   = PK Tests with a High Speed Random Number Generator
  | journal = Journal of Parapsychology
  | volume  = 37
  | year    = 1973
}}</ref> and [[Ganzfeld experiment]]s to test for extrasensory perception.<ref>{{cite book
  | title     = Looking in and Speaking Out: Introspection, Consciousness, Communication
  | page      = 32
  | first1    = Robin
  | last1     = Wooffitt
  | first2    = Nicola
  | last2     = Holt
  | publisher = Andrews UK Limited
  | url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=poi7BAAAQBAJ
| isbn      = 978-1845403355
  | date      = 2011
  }}</ref>
*{{anchor|Phrenology}} '''[[Phrenology]]''' – now defunct system for determining personality traits by feeling bumps on the skull proposed by 18th-century physiologist [[Franz Joseph Gall]].<ref name="Shermer2002"/> In an early recorded use of the term "pseudo-science", [[François Magendie]] referred to phrenology as "a pseudo-science of the present day".<ref name="Magendie1843">{{cite book
  | last      = Magendie
  | first     = F.
  | others    = Translated by John Revere
  | date      = 1844
  | title     = An Elementary Treatise on Human Physiology
  | edition   = 5th
  | chapter   = IV
  | location  = New York
  | publisher = Harper
  | page      = 150
  | chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=LC84AQAAMAAJ&q=editions%3AHt_mQrRROzcC&pg=PA150
}}</ref> The assumption that personality can be read from bumps in the skull has since been thoroughly discredited. However, Gall's assumption that character, thoughts, and emotions are located in the brain is considered an important historical advance toward neuropsychology (see also [[Localization of brain function]], [[Brodmann's areas]], [[Neuro-imaging]], [[Modularity of mind]] or [[Faculty psychology]]).<ref>{{cite book
  | last      = Fodor
  | first     = J. A.
  | year      = 1983
  | title     = The Modularity of Mind
  | publisher = MIT Press
  | pages     = 14, 23, 131
}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Polygraph}} '''[[Polygraph]]''' ("[[lie detection]]")<ref name="harv">{{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=J.E. |last2=Inbau |first2=F.E. |title=Truth and deception: The polygraph (lie-detector) technique |date=1977 |publisher=Williams & Wilkins}}</ref> – an interrogation method which measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions. The belief is that deceptive answers will produce physiological responses that can be differentiated from those associated with non-deceptive answers. Many members of the scientific community consider polygraphy to be pseudoscience.<ref name="council">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.icsu.org/3_mediacentre/INSIGHT_12_2005.html
  | title       = ICSU Insight
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060721032542/http://www.icsu.org/3_mediacentre/INSIGHT_12_2005.html
  | archive-date = 2006-07-21
  | publisher   = [[International Council for Science]]
  | year        = 2005
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
  | last    = Iacono
  | first   = W.G.
  | s2cid = 143077241
 | title   = Forensic 'lie detection': Procedures without scientific basis
  | journal = Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice
  | volume  = 1
  | year    = 2001
  | pages   = 75–86
  | issue   = 1
  | doi     = 10.1300/J158v01n01_05
}}</ref> Polygraphy has little credibility among scientists.<ref>{{cite web
  | first1      = Leonard
  | last1       = Saxe
  | first2     = Denise
  | last2      = Dougherty
  | first3     = Theodore
  | last3      = Cross
  | url        = https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/ota/index.html
  | access-date = 29 February 2008
  | title      = Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation
  | location   = Washington, D.C.
  | publisher  = U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment
  | year       = 1983
}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical
  | url        = http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/polygraph.html
  | first      = R.
  | last       = Adelson
  | access-date = 29 February 2008
  | date       = July 2004
  | periodical= Monitor on Psychology
|title=The polygraph in doubt
  | publisher  = American Psychological Association
  | volume     = 35
  | page       = 71
  | issue      = 7
}}</ref> Despite claims of 90–95% validity by polygraph advocates, and 95–100% by businesses providing polygraph services,<ref>{{cite web
 |first=James
 |last=Bassett
 |url=http://www.theftstopper.com/solutions/polygraph-testing/
 |title=Polygraph Testing
 |access-date=9 May 2012
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312050805/http://www.theftstopper.com/solutions/polygraph-testing/
 |archive-date=12 March 2012
}}</ref> critics maintain that rather than a "test", the method amounts to an inherently unstandardizable [[interrogation]] technique whose accuracy cannot be established. A 1997 survey of 421 psychologists estimated the test's average accuracy at about 61%, a little better than chance.<ref name="usa">{{cite news
  | first      = Dan
  | last       = Vergano
  | date       = 9 September 2002
  | title      = Telling the truth about lie detectors
  | magazine   = USA Today
  | url        = https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-09-lie_x.htm
  | access-date = 9 May 2012
}}</ref> 
*{{anchor|Primal}} '''[[Primal therapy]]''' – sometimes presented as a science.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.primaltherapy.com/|title=Homepage|publisher=The Janov Primal Center|access-date=20 July 2018}}</ref> ''The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology'' (2001) states that: "The theoretical basis for the therapy is the supposition that prenatal experiences and birth trauma form people's primary impressions of life and that they subsequently influence the direction our lives take ... Truth be known, primal therapy cannot be defended on scientifically established principles. This is not surprising considering its questionable theoretical rationale."<ref name="Gale_Primal">{{cite news
 |last=Moore
 |first=Timothy
 |title=Primal Therapy
 |publisher=Gale Group
 |year=2001
 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0005/ai_2699000587
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627223232/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0005/ai_2699000587
 |archive-date=27 June 2008
}}</ref> Other sources have also questioned the scientific validity of primal therapy, some using the term "pseudoscience" (see {{format link|Primal therapy#Criticism}}).
*{{anchor|Psychoanalysis}} '''[[Psychoanalysis]]''' – body of ideas developed by Austrian physician [[Sigmund Freud]] and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior. Although psychoanalysis is a strong influence within [[psychiatry]],{{efn|''Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry'', 2007: "Psychoanalysis has existed before the turn of the 20th century and, in that span of years, has established itself as one of the fundamental disciplines within psychiatry. The science of psychoanalysis is the bedrock of psychodynamic understanding and forms the fundamental theoretical frame of reference for a variety of forms of therapeutic intervention, embracing not only psychoanalysis itself but also various forms of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy and related forms of therapy using psychodynamic concepts."<ref>Sadock, Benjamin J. and Sadock, Virginia A. ''Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry''. 10th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007, 190.</ref>}}{{efn|[[Robert Michels (physician)|Robert Michels]], 2009: "Psychoanalysis continues to be an important [[paradigm]] organizing the way many psychiatrists think about patients and treatment. However, its limitations are more widely recognized and it is assumed that many important advances in the future will come from other areas, particularly biologic psychiatry. As yet unresolved is the appropriate role of psychoanalytic thinking in organizing the treatment of patients and the training of psychiatrists after that biologic revolution has born fruit. Will treatments aimed at biologic defects or abnormalities become technical steps in a program organized in a psychoanalytic framework? Will psychoanalysis serve to explain and guide supportive intervention for individuals whose lives are deformed by biologic defect and therapeutic interventions, much as it now does for patients with chronic physical illness, with the psychoanalyst on the psychiatric dialysis program? Or will we look back on the role of psychoanalysis in the treatment of the seriously mentally ill as the last and most scientifically enlightened phase of the humanistic tradition in psychiatry, a tradition that became extinct when advances in biology allowed us to cure those we had so long only comforted?"<ref>[[Robert Michels (physician)|Michels, Robert]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090606094737/http://americanmentalhealthfoundation.org/a.php?id=24 "Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry: A Changing Relationship"], American Mental Health Foundation, archived 6 June 2009.</ref>}} it has been controversial ever since its inception. It is considered pseudoscience by some.<ref>{{Cite news
  | last       = Merkin
  | first      = Daphne
  | title      = Psychoanalysis: Is It Science or Is It Toast?
  | newspaper  = The New York Times
  | url        = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E5D9113EF936A3575AC0A9629C8B63
  | date       = 5 September 2004
  | access-date = 5 May 2012
}}</ref> [[Karl Popper]] characterized it as pseudoscience based on psychoanalysis failing the requirement for [[falsifiability]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last         = Cioffi
  | first        = Frank
  | author-link   = Frank Cioffi
  | contribution = Psychoanalysis, Pseudo-Science and Testability|editor1-last=Currie|editor1-first= Gregory| editor2-last=Musgrave|editor2-first= Alan
  | year         = 1985
  | title        = Popper and the Human Sciences
  | series       = Nijhoff International Philosophy Series
  | publisher    = SpringerVerlag
  | pages        = 13–44
  | isbn         = 978-9024729982
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last         = Popper
  | first        = K. R.
  | contribution = Science: Conjectures and Refutations| editor-last=Grim |editor-first=P
  | year         = 1990
  | title        = Philosophy of Science and the Occult
  | url         = https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie00grim
  | url-access   = registration
  | location     = Albany
  | pages        = [https://archive.org/details/philosophyofscie00grim/page/104 104–110]
| isbn = 978-0791402047
 }}</ref> [[Frank Cioffi]] argued that "though Popper is correct to say that psychoanalysis is pseudoscientific and correct to say that it is unfalsifiable, he is mistaken to suggest that it is pseudoscientific ''because'' it is unfalsifiable. [...] It is when [Freud] insists that he has confirmed (not just instantiated) [his empirical theses] that he is being pseudoscientific."<ref>{{Cite book
  | last         = Cioffi
  | first        = Frank
  | contribution = Psychoanalysis, Pseudo-Science and Testability
  | title        = Popper and the human sciences |editor1-last=Currie |editor1-first=Gregory |editor2-last=Musgrave |editor2-first=Alan
  | year         = 1985
  | isbn         = 978-9024729982
  | publisher    = Springer
}}. Reprinted in {{Cite book
  | last      = Cioffi
  | first      = Frank
  | title      = Freud and the question of pseudoscience
  | year      = 1998
  | isbn      = 978-0812693850
  | publisher      = Open Court
  | url      = https://archive.org/details/freudquestionof00ciof
  }}</ref>
*{{anchor|Sluggish}} '''[[Sluggish schizophrenia]]''' – a diagnosis used in some Communist nations to justify the involuntary commitment of political dissidents to mental institutions.<ref>Reich, Walter. The world of Soviet psychiatry. The New York Times. 30 January 1983 [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/30/magazine/the-world-of-soviet-psychiatry.html accessdate=1]</ref>
*{{anchor|Subliminal}} '''[[Subliminal stimuli#Consumption and television|Subliminal advertising]]''' – visual or auditory information discerned below the threshold of conscious awareness, which is claimed to have a powerful enduring effect on consuming habits. It went into disrepute in the late 1970s,<ref>{{cite web
  | title      = Business (Subliminal Advertising)
  | date = July 1999
 | publisher  = The [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]]
  | url        = http://www.snopes.com/business/hidden/popcorn.asp
  | access-date = 11 August 2006
}}</ref> but there has been renewed research interest recently.{{when|date=July 2023}}<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name="Westen 2006" /> The mainstream of accepted scientific opinion does not hold that [[subliminal perception]] has a powerful, enduring effect on human behaviour.<ref>{{Cite journal
  | doi     = 10.1002/mar.4220050405
  | title   = Recent perspectives on unconscious processing: Still no marketing applications
  | year    = 1988
  | last1   = Pratkanis
  | first1  = A. R.
  | last2   = Greenwald
  | first2  = A. G.
  | journal = Psychology and Marketing
  | volume  = 5
  | issue   = 4
  | pages   = 337–353
}}</ref>
*'''[[Voice stress analysis]]''' - [[junk science]] technology that is advertised to infer deception from stress measured in the voice, often used in a similar manner to a [[polygraph]] examination.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10420 |title=The Polygraph and Lie Detection |date=2003-01-22 |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-26392-4 |location=Washington, D.C.|doi=10.17226/10420 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lacerda |first=Francisco |date=2013 |title=Voice stress analyses : Science and pseudoscience. |url=https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4799435 |journal=Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics |volume=19|doi=10.1121/1.4799435 }}</ref>

=== Racial theories ===
{{See also|Historical race concepts}}
* '''[[Scientific racism]]''' – claim that scientific evidence shows the inferiority or superiority of certain races.<ref name="SciRac_Gould">{{Cite book
  | last       = Gould
  | first      = Stephen Jay
  | author-link = Stephen Jay Gould
  | title      = The Mismeasure of Man
  | publisher  = W W Norton and Co.
  | year       = 1981
  | isbn       = 978-0393014891
  | quote      = Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.
| title-link      = The Mismeasure of Man
  }}</ref><ref name="SciRac_CSI">{{cite journal
  | url         = http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-09/scientific-ethics.html
  | title       = Can the Sciences Help Us to Make Wise Ethical Judgments?
  | access-date  = 1 December 2007
  | last        = Kurtz
  | first       = Paul
  | author-link  = Paul Kurtz
  | date        = September 2004
  | journal     = Skeptical Inquirer
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123123232/http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-09/scientific-ethics.html
  | archive-date = 23 November 2007
  | quote       = There have been abundant illustrations of pseudoscientific theories-monocausal theories of human behavior that were hailed as "scientific"-that have been applied with disastrous results. Examples: [...] Many racists today point to IQ to justify a menial role for blacks in society and their opposition to affirmative action.
}}</ref>

:*'''[[Aryanism]]''' – the claim that there is a distinct "[[Aryan race]]" that is superior to other putative races<ref>Regal, Brian. 2009. Pseudoscience: a critical encyclopedia Greenwood Press. pp. 27–29</ref> was an important tenet of [[Nazism]] and "the basis of the German government policy of exterminating Jews, Gypsies, and other 'non-Aryans.'"<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'': [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37468/Aryan Aryan]. "This notion, which had been repudiated by anthropologists by the second quarter of the 20th century, was seized upon by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and made the basis of the German government policy of exterminating Jews, Gypsies, and other 'non-Aryans.'".</ref>
:* '''[[Drapetomania]]''' was a conjectural [[mental illness]] that, in 1851, American physician [[Samuel A. Cartwright]] hypothesized as the cause of [[Black slaves|enslaved Africans]] [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|fleeing captivity]].<ref name="White">{{cite book|last=White|first=Kevin|title=An introduction to the sociology of health and illness|year=2002|publisher=SAGE|isbn=0761964002|pages=41, 42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5bHxQBNWGHMC&pg=PA41}}</ref>{{rp|41}} It has since been debunked as pseudoscience<ref name="Caplan">{{cite book |last1=Caplan |first1=Arthur |last2=McCartney |first2=James |last3=Sisti |first3=Dominic |title=Health, disease, and illness: concepts in medicine |year=2004 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |isbn=1589010140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NmHCGb3GvJoC&pg=PA2}}</ref>{{rp|2}} and part of the edifice of [[scientific racism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/nov05.htm |title=Question of the Month: Drapetomania |access-date=2007-10-04 |author=Pilgrim, David |date=November 2005 |publisher=Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia |archive-date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614115746/http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/nov05.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
:* '''[[Melanin theory]]''' – belief founded in the distortion of known physical properties of melanin, a natural polymer, that posits the inherent superiority of dark-skinned people and the essential inhumanity and inferiority of light-skinned people.<ref>{{cite journal
  | first1   = B. R.
  | year    = 1993
  | title   = Afrocentricity, Melanin, and Pseudoscience
  | journal = Yearbook of Physical Anthropology
  | volume  = 36
  | pages   = 33–58
  | doi     = 10.1002/ajpa.1330360604
  | last1   = De Montellano
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
  | last      = Ortiz de Montellano
  | first     = Bernard R.
  | date      = 17 December 2006
  | title     = Afrocentric Pseudoscience: The Miseducation of African Americans
  | journal   = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
  | volume    = 775
  | issue     = 1 Phagocytes
  | pages     = 561–572
  | url       = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119242630/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130105081243/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119242630/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
  | url-status  = dead
  | archive-date = 5 January 2013
  | doi       = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb23174.x
  | bibcode   = 1996NYASA.775..561O
| s2cid = 84626939
 | url-access= subscription
  }}</ref>
:*'''[[Turkish History Thesis]]''' – the belief that Turks from Central Asia migrated and brought civilization to China, India, the Middle East, and Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks: Updated Edition|last=White|first=Jenny|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0691161921|page=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexiophiles.com/english/ataturks-sun-language-theory-or-how-all-languages-derive-from-turkish|title=Atatürk's sun language theory, or how all languages derive from Turkish – Lexiophiles|access-date=2019-01-14}}</ref>
* '''[[Eugenics]]''' – As a movement, eugenics was associated with pseudoscience including pseudoscientific journals and professional societies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nourse |first=Victoria |date=25 February 2016 |title=History of science: When eugenics became law |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=530 |issue=7591 |page=418 |doi=10.1038/530418a |bibcode=2016Natur.530..418N |s2cid=4448617 |issn=1476-4687 |quote="Eugenics is a well-known low point in the modern history of science. In the United States, from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s, credence was given to this pseudoscience focused on the notional 'improvement' of human populations by halting the reproduction of supposedly lesser genes."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-24 |title=The Gene: Science's Most Powerful—and Dangerous—Idea |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/gene-history-siddhartha-mukherjee-science-eugenics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225114701/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/gene-history-siddhartha-mukherjee-science-eugenics |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Science |language=en |quote=The gene is “one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in the history of science,” argues Siddhartha Mukherjee in The Gene: An Intimate History. Since its discovery by Gregor Mendel, an obscure Moravian monk, the gene has been both a force for good and ill. In the 1930s, the Nazis exploited the pseudoscience of eugenics as a prelude to the Holocaust.}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Black |first=Edwin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/268790346 |title=War against the weak : eugenics and America's campaign to create a master race |publisher=Dialog Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-914153-29-0 |edition=2nd |location=Washington, DC |at=Introduction |language=English |oclc=268790346 |quote=In America, this battle to wipe out whole ethnic groups was fought not by armies with guns nor by hate sects at the margins. Rather, this pernicious white-gloved war was prosecuted by esteemed professors, elite universities, wealthy industrialists and government officials colluding in a racist, pseudoscientific movement called eugenics. The purpose: create a superior Nordic race. To perpetuate the campaign, widespread academic fraud combined with almost unlimited corporate philanthropy to establish the biological rationales for persecution.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Saini |first=Angela |date=2020-02-19 |title=Eugenics refuses to die – and now Andrew Sabisky has put it back in the headlines |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/19/eugenics-andrew-sabisky-right-ideas-human-breeding |access-date=2023-02-20 |issn=0261-3077 |quote=This week, one old and discredited technological fix has reared its head: eugenics, the pseudoscientific belief that humans can be bred to “perfection” in the same way we breed cattle or domestic pets for particular traits. Developed by Charles Darwin’s cousin, Francis Galton, in the 19th century, it was promoted by politicians and intellectuals in Britain, before becoming the justification for millions of involuntary sterilisations globally, mainly of the poor and disabled, and the Nazis’ devastating programme of “racial hygiene” that culminated in the Holocaust.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Winfield |first=Ann Gibson |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70659989 |title=Eugenics and education in America : institutionalized racism and the implications of history, ideology, and memory |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-8204-8146-3 |location=New York |pages=XIX Introduction |oclc=70659989 |quote=The eugenics movement in America has impacted not only education, but also societal institutions in general. Myriad patterns of thought, policy considerations, forms of social dialogue, and multiple political, social, philosophical, and ideological trends within modern culture can be traced to the undercurrent of racialized scientism represented by eugenic ideology. Eugenics has been dangerously dismissed as an unfortunate, pseudo scientific blip in the grand expedition that is American Progress. This is an extremely dangerous stance for a number of reasons.}}</ref>

===Sociology===
* '''[[Alpha and beta male]]''' – pseudoscientific terms for [[men]] derived from [[Dominance hierarchy|alpha and beta animals]] in [[ethology]]. Often used by members of the "[[manosphere]]," these terms have been criticized by scientists and are often considered sexist.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-09 |title=The sexist pseudoscience of pick-up artists: the dangers of "alpha male" thinking |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2014/06/sexist-pseudoscience-pick-artists-dangers-alpha-male-thinking |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-09 |title=Alpha males don't actually exist |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male-a7724971.html |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The myth of the alpha male: A new look at dominance-related beliefs and behaviors among adolescent males and females |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247779752 |access-date=August 8, 2022 |website=ResearchGate}}</ref>
* '''[[Strauss–Howe generational theory]]''' – claims that history moves through four 20-year "turnings" that repeat sequentially in a fixed pattern approximately every 80 years.<ref name="Lind">{{Cite web|last=Lind|first=Michael|date=January 26, 1997|title=Generation Gaps|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/01/26/reviews/970126.26lindlt.html?_r=1|access-date=1 November 2010|publisher=[[New York Times Review of Books]]|quote=The idea that history moves in cycles tends to be viewed with suspicion by scholars. Although historians as respected as [[Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.]] and [[David Hackett Fischer]] have made cases for the existence of rhythms and waves in the stream of events, cyclical theories tend to end up in the Sargasso Sea of pseudoscience, circling endlessly (what else?). ''The Fourth Turning'' is no exception.}}</ref><ref name="Fernholz">{{cite news|last1=Fernholz|first1=Tim|date=27 May 2017|title=The pseudoscience that prepared America for Steve Bannon's apocalyptic message|work=Quartz|url=https://qz.com/970646/the-world-has-already-bought-into-steve-bannons-apocalyptic-ideology/|access-date=20 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="Greenberg">{{cite news|last1=Greenberg|first1=David|date=20 April 2017|title=The Crackpot Theories of Stephen Bannon's Favorite Authors|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/20/stephen-bannon-fourth-turning-generation-theory-215053/|access-date=20 March 2019}}</ref>
* '''[[Unilineal evolution]]''' – Before Darwin's work ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', some models incorporated [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideas of [[Social progress#The Enlightenment (1650–1800)|social progress]], and thus, according to [[philosopher of science]] [[Michael Ruse]], were pseudoscientific by current standards, and may have been viewed as such during the 18th century, as well as into the start of the 19th century (though the word pseudoscience may not have been used in reference to these early proposals). This pseudoscientific, and often political, incorporation of social progress with evolutionary thought continued for some 100 years following the publication of ''Origin of Species''.<ref name=Ruse>{{cite book
  | last      = Ruse
  | first     = Michael
  | title     = Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem
  | year      = 2013
  | publisher = University of Chicago Press
  | isbn      = 978-0226051826
  | pages     = 239–243
  | chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc4OAAAAQBAJ|editor-last=Pigliucci |editor-first=Massimo |editor-link1=Massimo Pigliucci |editor-last2=Boudry |editor-first2=Maarten |editor-link2=Maarten Boudry
  | chapter   = Evolution
  | quote     = For the first one hundred and fifty years evolution was – and was seen to be – a pseudoscience.
}}</ref><ref name=Pigliucci>{{cite web
  | last  = Pigliucci
  | first = Massimo
  | title = Evolution as pseudoscience?
  | url   = http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2011/04/evolution-as-pseudoscience.html
  | date  = April 2011
  | quote = Ruse's somewhat surprising yet intriguing claim is that "before Charles Darwin, evolution was an epiphenomenon of the ideology of [social] progress, a pseudoscience and seen as such..."
}}</ref>

== Paranormal and ufology ==
[[Paranormal]] subjects<ref name="Pollak2002"/><ref name="Beyerstein" /><ref name="russian">statement from the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]].[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010847/http://data.ufn.ru/ufn99/ufn99_5/ufn995h.pdf]</ref><ref name="astropacific">{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.astrosociety.org/edu/resources/pseudobib05.html#10
  | title      = The 'Great Moon Hoax': Did Astronauts Land on the Moon?
  | work       = Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List
  | publisher  = [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]]
  | first      = Andrew
  | last       = Fraknoi
  | date       = October 2009
  | access-date = 2 November 2011
}}</ref> have been critiqued from a wide range of sources including the following claims of paranormal significance:
* '''[[Cattle mutilation|Animal mutilations]]''' – cases of animals, primarily domestic livestock, with seemingly inexplicable wounds. These wounds have been said to be caused by extraterrestrials, cults, covert government organizations, or [[cryptid]]s such as ''[[Chupacabra|el chupacabra]]'', when in fact most such cases were found to be caused by natural predation.<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
* An '''[[Aura (paranormal)|aura]]''' or '''[[Energy (esotericism)|human energy field]]''' is, according to [[New Age]] beliefs, a colored emanation said to enclose a human body or any animal or object.<ref name= Hanegraafaura>{{cite book|last1=Hanegraaff|first1=Wouter J.|title=Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism|year=2006|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004152311|page=857}}</ref> In some esoteric positions, the aura is described as a [[subtle body]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hammer|first1=Olav|title=Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age|year=2001|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=900413638X|page=55}}</ref> [[Psychics]] and holistic medicine practitioners often claim to have the ability to see the size, color and type of vibration of an aura.<ref name = catsup/> In New Age alternative medicine, the human aura is seen as a hidden anatomy that affects the health of a client, and is often understood to be composed of centers of vital force called [[chakra]].<ref name=Hanegraafaura/> Such claims are not supported by [[scientific evidence]] and are pseudoscience.<ref name = catsup>{{cite book|last1=Hines|first1=Terence|title=Pseudoscience and the Paranormal|year=2002|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, New York|isbn=1573929794|edition=2nd}}</ref> When tested under [[Contrived experiment|controlled experiments]], the ability to see auras has not been shown to exist.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Scheiber|first1=Béla|last2=Selby|first2=Carla|title=Therapeutic Touch|date=2000|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, New York|isbn=1573928046|page=275}}</ref>
* '''[[Channelling (mediumistic)|Channeling]]''' – communication of information to or through a person allegedly from a spirit or other paranormal entity.<ref name="Pollak2002"/>
* '''[[Crop circles]]''' – geometric designs of crushed or knocked-over crops created in a field. Aside from skilled farmers or pranksters working through the night, explanations for their formation include UFOs and anomalous, tornado-like air currents.<ref name="astropacific" /> The study of crop circles has become known as "cerealogy".<ref>{{cite news
  | first      = Johathan
  | last       = Mann
  | date       = 30 August 2002
  | title      = They call it cerealogy
  | url        = http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/30/i_ins.01.html
  | publisher  = CNN
  | access-date = 4 December 2011
  | agency     = Insight
}}</ref>
* '''[[Cryptozoology]]''' – search for creatures that are considered not to exist by most biologists.<ref>{{Cite book
  | title     = Evolution
  | last1      = Prothero
  | first1     = Donald R.
  | first2    = Carl Dennis
  | last2     = Buell
  | year      = 2007
  | url       = https://archive.org/details/evolutionwhatfos00prot_0
  | url-access = registration
  | page      = [https://archive.org/details/evolutionwhatfos00prot_0/page/13 13]
  | publisher = Columbia University Press
  | location  = New York
  | isbn      = 978-0231139625
}}</ref> Well-known examples of creatures of interest to cryptozoologists include [[Bigfoot]], the [[Yeren]], the [[Yeti]], and the [[Loch Ness Monster]]. According to leading [[Scientific skepticism|skeptical]] authors [[Michael Shermer]] and [[Pat Linse]], "Cryptozoology ranges from pseudoscientific to useful and interesting, depending on how it is practiced."<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
* '''[[Dowsing]]''' refers to practices said to enable one to detect hidden water, metals, gemstones or other objects.<ref name=saf>{{Scientific American Frontiers |8|2|"Beyond Science"}}</ref><ref name="scientificamerican" />
* '''[[Electronic voice phenomenon]]''' – purported communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic devices.<ref name="ParapsychologyGlossaryEK">{{cite web
  | url        = http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#
  | title        = Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology
  | access-date        = 24 December 2006
  | url-status        = dead
  | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20110111023207/http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html
  | archive-date        = 11 January 2011  }}</ref><ref name="alcock1">{{cite web
 |last         = Alcock
 |first        = James E
 |author-link   = James Alcock
 |title        = Electronic Voice Phenomena:Voices of the Dead?
 |publisher    = Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
 |url          = http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/evp.html
 |access-date   = 8 March 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070409190220/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/evp.html
 |archive-date = 9 April 2007
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Carroll 2003">{{cite book
  | last       = Carroll
  | first      = Robert Todd
  | author-link = Robert Todd Carroll
  | title      = The Skeptic's Dictionary
  | year       = 2003
  | publisher  = Wiley Publishing Company
  | isbn       = 978-0471272427
| title-link      = The Skeptic's Dictionary
  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
  | last       = Shermer
  | first      = Michael
  | author-link = Michael Shermer
  | title      = Turn Me On, Dead Man
  | journal      = Scientific American
  | volume      = 292
  | issue      = 5
  | page      = 37
  | date       = May 2005
| bibcode      = 2005SciAm.292e..37S
  | doi      = 10.1038/scientificamerican0505-37
  | pmid      = 15882018
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first     = Terrence
 |last      = Hines
 |title     = Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: A Critical Examination of the Evidence
 |publisher = Prometheus Books
 |location  = Buffalo, NY
 |year      = 1988
 |isbn      = 978-0879754198
 |quote     = Thagard (1978) ''op cit'' 223 ''ff''
 |url       = https://archive.org/details/pseudosciencepar00hine
}}</ref>
* '''[[Extra-sensory perception]]''' – paranormal ability (independent of the five main [[sense]]s or deduction from previous experience) to acquire information by means such as [[telepathy]], [[clairvoyance]], [[precognition]], [[Psychometry (paranormal)|psychometry]], [[psychic]] abilities, and [[remote viewing]].<ref name="Pollak2002"/><ref name="ParapsychologyGlossaryEK" /><ref>{{cite book
  | url       = http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=extrasensory%20perception
  | title       = extrasensory perception
  | publisher       = Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
  | access-date       = 29 March 2007
  | archive-date       = 15 October 2007
  | archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015185851/http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=extrasensory%20perception
  | url-status       = dead
  }}</ref><ref name="ESP_NSF">{{Cite book
 |last         = National Science Foundation
 |author-link   = National Science Foundation
 |title        = Science and Engineering Indicators
 |publisher    = National Science Foundation
 |year         = 2002
 |location     = Arlington, VA
 |chapter      = ch. 7
 |chapter-url          = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |isbn         = 978-0160665790
 |quote        = Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread...At least half of the public believes in the existence of extrasensory perception (ESP).
 |access-date  = 6 April 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |archive-date = 16 June 2016
 |url-status     = dead}}</ref>
* '''[[Ghost hunting]]''' is the process of investigating [[List of reportedly haunted locations|locations]] that are reported to be haunted by [[ghost]]s. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of [[paranormal]] activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of electronic devices, including [[EMF meter]]s, digital [[thermometer]]s, both handheld and static [[Digital camera|digital]] [[video camera]]s, including [[Thermographic camera|thermographic]] and [[Night vision|night vision cameras]], as well as digital [[Dictation machine|audio recorders]]. Other more traditional techniques are also used, such as conducting [[interview]]s and [[research]]ing the [[history]] of allegedly haunted sites. Ghost hunters may also refer to themselves as "paranormal investigators."<ref name="MiamiHeraldghost">{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/pinecrest/story/1241173.html|title=Ghost hunters say Deering Estate is ground zero for lost spirits|last=Cohen|first=Howard|date=19 September 2009|newspaper=The Miami Herald|access-date=8 January 2010|archive-url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/10/21/1294115/ghost-hunters-say-deering-estate.html|archive-date=10 October 2010}}</ref> Ghost hunting has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the [[scientific method]]. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts.<ref name="ShadyScienceghost">{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/061027_ghost_hunters.html|title= The Shady Science of Ghost Hunting|last=Radford|first=Benjamin | author-link=Benjamin Radford | date=27 October 2006|publisher=LiveScience|access-date=15 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/study-no-scientific-basis-for-vampires-ghosts|title=Study: No Scientific Basis for Vampires, Ghosts|date=26 October 2006|publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|location=Washington}}</ref> The practice is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, science writers, and skeptics.<ref name="regalghost">[[Brian Regal|Regal, Brian]]. (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood. pp. 43; 75–77. {{ISBN|978-0313355073}}</ref><ref name="NSBattitudes" /><ref name="JenzenMunt2014ghost">{{cite book|author1=Dr Olu Jenzen|author2=Professor Sally R Munt|title=The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvuAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|date= 2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1472406125|pages=197–}}</ref><ref name=Hillghost>{{cite magazine|last1=Hill|first1=Sharon|author-link=Sharon A. Hill|title=Amateur Paranormal Research and Investigation Groups Doing 'Sciencey' Things|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/amateur_paranormal_research_and_investigation_groups_doing_sciencey_things|via=Csicop.org|magazine=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=36|issue=2|date=March–April 2012|access-date=26 February 2015|archive-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226201719/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/amateur_paranormal_research_and_investigation_groups_doing_sciencey_things|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Radford>{{cite web|last1=Radford|first1=Benjamin|title=Ghost-hunting mistakes: science and pseudoscience in ghost investigations|url=http://business.highbeam.com/5799/article-1G1-239813706/ghosthunting-mistakes-science-and-pseudoscience-ghost|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004100653/http://business.highbeam.com/5799/article-1G1-239813706/ghosthunting-mistakes-science-and-pseudoscience-ghost|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 October 2015|website=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=12 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hufington Post ghost">{{cite web|last1=Schmaltz|first1=Rodney|title=Battling Psychics and Ghosts: The Need for Scientific Skepticism|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rodney-schmaltz/battling-psychics-and-ghosts-the-need-for-scientific-skepticism_b_5207547.html|work=HuffPost|access-date=12 September 2015|date=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=Campbellghost>{{cite web|last1=Campbell|first1=Hank|title=Think Pseudoscience Isn't Dangerous? Ghost Hunter Looking For Ghost Train Killed By Real One|url=http://www.science20.com/science_20/blog/think_pseudoscience_isnt_dangerous_ghost_hunter_looking_ghost_train_killed_real_one-71052|website=Science 2.0|publisher=ION Publications|access-date=12 September 2015|date=27 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="Pottsghost">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wxqJDCwS0QUC&q=ghost+hunting&pg=PA211|title=Ghost Hunting in the Twenty-First Century (From Shaman to scientist: essays on humanity's search for spirits)|last=Potts|first=John|author2=James Houran|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow Press|access-date=15 December 2009|isbn=978-0810850545}}</ref> [[History of science|Science historian]] [[Brian Regal]] described ghost hunting as "an unorganized exercise in futility".<ref name="regalghost"/>
* '''[[Reptilian conspiracy theory|Lizard people]]''' – The idea of a reptilian reconquest was popularized by [[David Icke]], a conspiracy theorist who claims shape-shifting reptilian aliens control Earth by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate human societies. Icke has stated on multiple occasions that many world leaders are, or are possessed by, so-called reptilians.
* '''[[Metaphysical levitation|Levitation]]''' – act of rising up from the ground without any physical aids, usually by the power of thought.<ref>{{cite web
  | publisher = Skeptic's Dictionary
  | title     = Levitation
  | url       = http://www.skepdic.com/levitat.html
}}</ref>
* '''[[Palmistry]]''' – the belief that the future can be foretold through palm reading. Predictions are based on the shape, line, and mounts of the hands. Palmists use [[cold reading]] in order to appear psychic.<ref>{{cite book
  | first     = David
  | last      = Vernon
  | chapter   = Palmistry
  | title     = Skeptical – a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal|editor1-first=Donald|editor1-last=Laycock|editor1-link= Donald Laycock|editor2-first=David|editor2-last=Vernon|editor2-link= David Vernon (writer)|editor3-first=Colin |editor3-last=Groves|editor3-link= Colin Groves|editor4-first=Simon |editor4-last=Brown|editor4-link=Simon Brown (author)
  | publisher = Imagecraft
  | location  = Canberra
  | year      = 1989
  | isbn      = 978-0731657940
  | page      = 44
}}</ref>
* '''[[Parapsychology]]'''  – (see [[#Psychology|Psychology]] section above)
* '''[[Pseudoarchaeology]]''' – investigation of the ancient past using alleged paranormal or other means which have not been validated by mainstream science.<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
* '''[[Psychic surgery]]''' – a type of medical fraud, popular in [[Brazil]] and the [[Philippines]]. Practitioners use sleight of hand to make it appear as though they are reaching into a patient's body and extracting "tumors". Psychic surgery is usually explicit deception; i.e., the "practitioners" are ''aware'' that they are practicing fraud or "quackery".<ref>{{Cite book
  | last       = Randi
  | first      = James
  | author-link = James Randi
  | year       = 1989
  | title      = The Faith Healers
  | publisher  = Prometheus Books
  | isbn       = 978-0879755355
| title-link      = The Faith Healers
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | first     = David
  | last      = Vernon
  | title     = Skeptical – a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal|editor1-first=Donald|editor1-last=Laycock|editor1-link= Donald Laycock|editor2-first=David|editor2-last=Vernon|editor2-link= David Vernon (writer)|editor3-first=Colin |editor3-last=Groves|editor3-link= Colin Groves|editor4-first=Simon |editor4-last=Brown|editor4-link=Simon Brown (author)
  | publisher = Imagecraft
  | location  = Canberra
  | year      = 1989
  | isbn      = 978-0731657940
  | page      = 47
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
  | title      = Psychic surgery
  | volume     = 40
  | issue      = 3
  | journal    = CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
  | doi        = 10.3322/canjclin.40.3.184
  | pmid       = 2110023
  | year       = 1990
  | pages      = 184–188
| s2cid = 7523589
 | doi-access= free
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.skepdic.com/psurgery.html
  | title      = Psychic Surgery
  | access-date = 28 July 2007
  | work       = The Skeptic's Dictionary
  | last       = Carroll
  | first      = Robert Todd
  | author-link = Robert Todd Carroll
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | url   = http://www.filipinoreporter.com/archive/3327/headline03.htm
  | title = Psychic surgeon charged
  | date  = 17{{ndash }}23 June 2005 |access-date=28 July 2007 |publisher=The Filipino Reporter}}</ref>
* '''[[Psychokinesis]]''' – paranormal ability of the mind to influence matter or energy at a distance.<ref name="Vyse1997">{{cite book
  | title     = Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition
  | last      = Vyse
  | first     = Stuart A.
  | publisher = Oxford University Press US
  | isbn      = 978-0195136340
  | year      = 1997
  | page      = 129
  | quote     = [M]ost scientists, both psychologists and physicists, agree that it has yet to be convincingly demonstrated.
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web 
   |last=Carroll 
   |first=Robert Todd 
   |author-link=Robert Todd Carroll
   |title=Rumplogy for Dummies 
   |url=https://www.skepdic.com/essays/rumpology4dummies.html 
   |access-date=September 26, 2024 
   |publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary
}}</ref>
* '''[[Séance]]s''' – ritualized attempts to communicate with the dead.<ref name="Shermer2002"/>
* The '''[[Tunguska event]]''' was an actual large explosion, possibly caused by a [[meteoroid]] or [[comet]], in what is now [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], Russia in June 1908. Night skies as far away as London were markedly brighter for several evenings. Unsupported theories regarding the event include the impact of a miniature black hole or large body of [[antimatter]], [[ball lightning]], a test by [[Nikola Tesla]] of the apparatus at [[Wardenclyffe Tower]], and a [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] crash.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><!-- The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience supports black hole, antimatter, and ball lightning. --><ref name="Stableford2006">{{Cite book |last       = Stableford
 |first      = Brian M
 |title      = Science fact and science fiction: an encyclopedia
 |publisher  = Routledge
 |location   = New York
 |year       = 2006
 |isbn       = 978-0415974608
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/sciencefactscien0000stab
}}</ref><ref>[http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/tunguska_event_040812.html "Russian Alien Spaceship Claims Raise Eyebrows, Skepticism"], Robert Roy Britt, SPACE.com</ref> Another theory, not in itself pseudoscientific, is that the explosion was caused by a piece of [[Biela's Comet]] from 1883.<ref>{{cite magazine
  | title     = The Universe
  | series    = LIFE Science Library
  | year      = 1970
  | magazine = Life
}}</ref>
* '''[[Ufology]]''' – the study of [[unidentified flying object]]s (UFOs) that sometimes includes the belief that UFOs are evidence of [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] visitors.<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name=saf /><ref name="scientificamerican">{{cite web
  | url         = http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED460829&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b8006f304
  | title       = Scientific American
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091009020435/http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED460829&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b8006f304
  | archive-date = 9 October 2009
}}</ref><ref name="astropacific" /><ref name="iowa">{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.iacad.org/download/positionstatements/ias_statement_psudoscience.pdf
  | title       = Statement of the position of the Iowa Academy of Science on Pseudoscience
  | date        = July 1986
  | publisher   = [[Iowa Academy of Science]]
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070626233425/http://www.iacad.org/download/positionstatements/ias_statement_psudoscience.pdf
  | archive-date = 26 June 2007
}}</ref><ref name="UFO_NSF">{{Cite book
 |last         = National Science Foundation
 |title        = Science and Engineering Indicators
 |publisher    = National Science Foundation
 |year         = 2002
 |location     = Arlington, VA
 |chapter      = ch. 7
 |chapter-url          = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |isbn         = 978-0756723699
 |quote        = Belief in pseudoscience is relatively widespread... A sizable minority of the public believes in UFOs and that aliens have landed on Earth.
 |access-date  = 6 April 2018
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm
 |archive-date = 16 June 2016
 |url-status     = dead}}</ref>

== Numerology ==
* '''[[Numerology]]''' (including the numerology practices of [[Kabbalah#Linguistic mysticism of Hebrew|Kabbalah]]) – a set of beliefs in a divine, [[Mysticism|mystical]], or other special relationship between a [[number]] and [[Coincidence#Interpretation|coinciding]] events. Numerology is regarded as [[pseudomathematics]] or pseudoscience by modern [[scientist]]s.<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2001/may/numerol.htm
  | title       = Feminist Numerology
  | last        = Webb
  | first       = John
  | year        = 2001
  | publisher   = Science in Africa
  | access-date  = 27 May 2013
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121228213923/http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2001/may/numerol.htm
  | archive-date = 28 December 2012
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | title     = Numerology
  | url     = https://archive.org/details/numerologyorwhat0000dudl
  | url-access = registration
  | author    = Underwood Dudley
  | publisher = MAA
  | year      = 1997
  | isbn      = 978-0883855072
}}</ref><ref name="skepdic">{{cite web
  | author     = Carroll RT
  | author-link = Robert Todd Carroll
  | publisher  = [[The Skeptic's Dictionary]]
  | url        = http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html
  | title      = neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)
  | access-date = 2009-06-25
  | date       = 2009-02-23
}}</ref> It is often associated with the [[paranormal]], alongside [[astrology]] and similar [[Divination|divinatory]] arts.<ref>{{cite book
  | title      = The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal
  | author     = Lynne Kelly
  | author-link = Lynne Kelly (science writer)
  | publisher  = Allen & Unwin
  | year       = 2004
  | isbn       = 978-1741140590
}}</ref>
* '''[[Bible code|Scriptural codes]]''' – the belief that a book or fragment of [[holy scripture]] contains encoded messages that impart esoteric knowledge. One such decoding method involves identifying "equidistant letter sequences" that spell out such messages.<ref>{{cite book
  | last      = Edwin
  | first     = Sherman R.
  | title     = Bible Code Bombshell: Compelling Scientific Evidence That God Authored the Bible
  | publisher = New Leaf Press
  | date      = 2004
  | location  = Green Forest, AR
  | pages     = 95–109
  | isbn      = 978-1418493264
}}</ref>

== Religious and spiritual beliefs ==
Spiritual and religious practices and beliefs, according to astronomer [[Carl Sagan]], are normally not classified as pseudoscience.<ref name=sagan1996>{{cite magazine
  | first       = Carl
  | last        = Sagan
  | url         = http://www.godslasteraar.org/assets/ebooks/Sagan_Carl_Does_truth_matter_-_Science_pseudoscience_and_civilization_-_includes_related_articles.pdf
  | title       = Does Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization
  | magazine   = Skeptical Inquirer
  | year        = 1996
  | url-status     = dead
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140514065211/http://www.godslasteraar.org/assets/ebooks/Sagan_Carl_Does_truth_matter_-_Science_pseudoscience_and_civilization_-_includes_related_articles.pdf
  | archive-date = 14 May 2014
}}</ref> However, religion can sometimes nurture pseudoscience, and "at the extremes it is difficult to distinguish pseudoscience from rigid, doctrinaire religion", and some religions might be confused with pseudoscience, such as traditional meditation.<ref name=sagan1996 /> The following religious/spiritual items have been related to or classified as pseudoscience in some way:
* '''[[Affirmative prayer]]''' is a form of [[prayer]] or a [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] technique that is focused on a positive outcome, rather than a negative situation. For instance, a person who is experiencing some form of illness would focus the prayer on the desired state of perfect health and affirm this desired intention "as if already happened" rather than identifying the illness and then asking God for help to eliminate it. [[William James]] described affirmative prayer as an element of the American metaphysical healing movement that he called the "mind-cure"; he described it as the United States' "only decidedly original contribution to the systemic philosophy of life."<ref name= Zaleski>{{cite book |title=Prayer: A History |page=322 |first= Philip |last=Zaleski |author2=Carol Zaleski |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2006 |isbn=0618773606}}</ref> What sets affirmative prayer apart from secular [[Affirmations (New Age)|affirmations]] of the [[autosuggestion]] type taught by the 19th century [[self-help]] author [[Émile Coué]] (whose most famous affirmation was "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better") is that affirmative prayer addresses the practitioner to God, the Divine, the Creative Mind, emphasizing the seemingly practical aspects of religious belief.<ref name=Inge>{{cite book |title=Handbook of American Popular Culture |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofameric02inge |url-access=registration |first=M. Thomas |last=Inge |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1989 |page=1256 |isbn=0313254060}}</ref>
* '''[[Christian Science]]''' is generally considered a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[new religious movement]]; however, some have called it "pseudoscience"  because its founder, [[Mary Baker Eddy]], used "science" in its name, and because of its former stance against medical science.  Also, "Eddy used the term Metaphysical science to distinguish her system both from materialistic science and from occult science."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SG2qNXqdNHsC&dq=eddy+%22metaphysical+science%22&pg=PA223 Religious outsiders and the making of Americans] Robert Laurence Moore; Oxford University Press 1986, p. 223</ref> The church now accepts the use of medical science. Vaccinations were banned, but in 1901, Eddy, at the age of 80, advised her followers to submit to them.<ref>{{cite book
  | url       = https://archive.org/details/emergenceofchris00step
  | url-access = registration
  | quote     = eddy vaccination.
  | last      = Gottschalk
  | first     = S.
  | title     = The Emergence of Christian Science in American Religious Life
  | publisher = University of California Press
  | year      = 1973
  | page      = [https://archive.org/details/emergenceofchris00step/page/224 224]
| isbn      = 978-0520023086
  }}</ref><!--{{sfn|Till|1990}}-->
* '''[[Energy (esotericism)|Energy]]''' is used by writers and practitioners of various [[esoteric]] forms of [[spirituality]] and [[alternative medicine]] to refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena that defy measurement and thus can be distinguished from the [[energy|scientific form of energy]].<ref name="Stengerenergy">{{cite journal|last=Stenger|first=Victor J|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508003317/http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url=http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Medicine/Biofield.html |url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-05-08|title=Bioenergetic Fields |journal=The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine|volume=3|number=1|date=Spring–Summer 1999 |access-date=2017-04-20}}</ref><ref name="Smithenergy">{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Jonathan C.|title=Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit|date=2010|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Malden, Massachusetts|isbn=978-1405181228|pages=268–274}}</ref> There is no [[scientific evidence]] for the existence of such energy.<ref name="Stengerenergy"/><ref name="Smithenergy"/><ref name="energyenergy">{{cite web|url=http://skepdic.com/energy.html |title=energy – (according to New Age thinking) |publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary |date=2011-12-19 |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref> Therapies that purport to use, modify, or manipulate unknown energies are thus among the most contentious of all complementary and [[alternative medicine]]s. Claims related to energy therapies are most often [[Anecdotal evidence|anecdotal]] (from single stories), rather than being based on repeatable [[empirical]] evidence.<ref name="energyenergy"/><ref name=Barrettenergy>{{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/reich.html |title=Some Notes on Wilhelm Reich, M.D |publisher=Quackwatch.org |date=2002-02-15 |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref><ref name="Jarvisenergy">{{cite web|last1=Jarvis|first1=William T.|url=https://www.ncahf.org/articles/o-r/reiki.html|title=Reiki|publisher=National Council Against Health Fraud|date=2000-12-01|access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref>
* '''[[Exorcism]]''' (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ἐξορκισμός, ''exorkismós'' "binding by oath") is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting [[demon]]s or other spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be [[Demonic possession|possessed]]. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the [[exorcist]], this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate [[ritual]], or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.  Requested and performed exorcism began to decline in the United States by the 18th century and occurred rarely until the latter half of the 20th century, when the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms were getting. There was "a 50% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s".
* '''[[Islamic attitudes towards science|Koranic scientific foreknowledge]]''' (or '''Qur'anic science''' or '''Hadeeth science''') asserts that foundational Islamic religious texts made accurate statements about the world that science verified hundreds of years later.<ref name="LewisHammer2011">{{cite book |last1=Hammer |first1=Olav |last2=Lewis |first2=James R. |title=Handbook of religion and the authority of science |date=2011 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004187917 |pages=23–24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQOJJiyOyH8C |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> This belief is a common theme in [[Maurice Bucaille#Bucailleism|Bucailleism]].<ref name="Kuiper_2021">{{cite book |last1=Kuiper |first1=Matthew J. |title=Da'wa : A Global History of Islamic Missionary Thought and Practice |date=2021 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781474451550 |pages=238|quote="The idea that qur’anic verses anticipate the findings of modern science is known by academics as ‘Bucailleism’, because this line of thinking originated with the French medical doctor Maurice Bucaille (1920–98). In his 1976 book, ''La Bible, La Coran, et La Science'', translated into English as ''The Bible, the Qur’an and Science'' in 1978, Bucaille promoted the idea that the Qur’an conforms exactly to modern science and imparts knowledge that was unknown during the lifetime of the Prophet..."}}</ref><ref name="Hameed2019">{{cite journal | last1 = Hameed | first1 = Salman | title = Afterword | journal = Journal of Qur'anic Studies | date = October 2019 | volume = 21 | issue = 3 | pages = 145–158 | issn = 1465-3591 | eissn = 1755-1730 | doi = 10.3366/jqs.2019.0402 | pmid = | s2cid = 242343597 | url = |quote="This appeal of a western scientific authority also played a large role in the immense popularity of a 1976 book by French physician Maurice Bucaille (1920–1998), titled, ''The Bible, the Quran and Science''. In this, Bucaille found twentieth-century scientific ideas, like the expansion of the universe, in his interpretations of Qur’anic verses..."}}</ref> According to Turkish American physicist [[Taner Edis]], many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile science with their religious beliefs.<ref name="Edis2009ScienceEducation">{{cite journal |last1=Edis |first1=Taner |title=Modern Science and Conservative Islam: An Uneasy Relationship |journal=Science & Education |date=June 2009 |volume=18 |issue=6–7 |pages=885–903 |doi=10.1007/s11191-008-9165-3 |bibcode=2009Sc&Ed..18..885E |s2cid=145325024 |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-2779-5_12 |access-date=30 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="EdisFreeInquiry">{{cite journal |last1=Edis |first1=Taner |title=A False Quest for a True Islam |journal=Free Inquiry |date=Sep 2007 |pages=48–50 |url=https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2007/08/22160402/p48.pdf |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.<ref name=TanerEdis>{{cite web |url=http://castroller.com/podcasts/ReasonableDoubtsPodcast/1625411-rd09%20Islam,%20Science%20and%20Modernity%20Part%20One%20with%20Guest%20Taner%20Edis |title=Reasonable Doubts Podcast |publisher=CastRoller |date=2014-07-11 |access-date=2014-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523101850/http://castroller.com/podcasts/ReasonableDoubtsPodcast/1625411-rd09%20Islam,%20Science%20and%20Modernity%20Part%20One%20with%20Guest%20Taner%20Edis |archive-date=2013-05-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Quran is almost non-existent in the Muslim world, causing Muslims to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Quran.<ref name="TanerEdis"/>

=== Creation science ===
'''[[Creation science]]''' or '''scientific creationism''' is a branch of creationism that claims to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove or reexplain the scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about geology, cosmology, biological evolution, archaeology, history and linguistics.<ref>{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.astrosociety.org/edu/resources/pseudobib05.html#9
  | title      = Astronomical Aspects of Creationism and Intelligent Design
  | work       = Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List
  | publisher  = [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]]
  | first      = Andrew
  | last       = Fraknoi
  | date       = October 2009
  | access-date = 2 November 2011
}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2016}}<!--{{sfn|ICSU|2005}} -->
* '''[[Baraminology]]''' – taxonomic system that classifies animals into groups called "created kinds" or "baramins" according to the account of creation in the book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible.<ref>{{Cite journal
  | first   = J. D.
  | title   = Creationist Teaching in School Science: A UK Perspective
  | journal = Evolution: Education and Outreach
  | last    = Williams
  | volume  = 1
  | issue   = 1
  | pages   = 87–88
  | year    = 2007
  | doi     = 10.1007/s12052-007-0006-7
| doi-access= free
  }}</ref><!--{{sfn|Williams|2007}}-->
* '''[[Creation biology]]''' – subset of creation science that tries to explain biology without [[macroevolution]].<ref>{{cite book |title       = Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, 2nd edition
 |author      = National Academy of Science
 |publisher   = National Academy Press
 |year        = 1999
 |url         = https://archive.org/details/sciencecreationi0000unse
 |author-link = United States National Academy of Sciences
 |doi         = 10.17226/6024
 |pmid        = 25101403
 |isbn        = 978-0309064064
 |url-access  = registration
}}</ref><!--{{sfn|ICSU|2005}} -->
* '''[[Creationist cosmologies]]''' – cosmologies which, among other things, allow for a universe that is only thousands of years old.<!-- {{sfn|Skeptic|2010}} -->
* '''[[Flood geology]]''' – creationist form of geology that advocates most of the geologic features on Earth are explainable by a [[Deluge (mythology)|global flood]].<ref name="TalkOrigins Archive" /><ref name="Morton">Such as the existence of the [[geologic column]]; see {{cite web
  | first     = Glenn
  | last      = Morton
  | url       = http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/geocolumn/
  | title     = The Geologic Column and its Implications for the Flood
  | publisher = [[TalkOrigins Archive]]
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 |last=Young
 |first=Davis A.
 |title=The biblical Flood: a case study of the Church's response to extrabiblical evidence
 |publisher=Eerdmans
 |location=Grand Rapids, Mich
 |year=1995
 |page=340
 |isbn=978-0802807199
 |url=http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p82.htm
 |access-date=16 September 2008
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331124027/http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p82.htm
 |archive-date=31 March 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | url   = http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CD/CD750.html
  | title = Creationist claim CD750
  | first = Mark
  | last  = Isaak
  | year  = 2007
  | page  = 173
  | quote = Much geological evidence is incompatible with catastrophic plate tectonics.
}}</ref><!--{{sfn|Isaak|2007}}--->
** '''[[Searches for Noah's Ark]]''' – attempts to find the burial site of [[Noah's Ark]] which, according to the [[Genesis flood narrative]], is located somewhere in the alleged "[[Mountains of Ararat]]". There have been numerous expeditions with several false claims of success; the practice is widely regarded as pseudoscience, more specifically [[pseudoarchaeology]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last1      = Fagan
  | first1     = Brian M. |author1-link=Brian M. Fagan
  | last2      = Beck
  | first2     = Charlotte
  | year       = 1996
  | title      = The Oxford Companion to Archaeology
  | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=ystMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA582
  | location   = [[Oxford]]
  | publisher  = [[Oxford University Press]]
  | isbn       = 978-0195076189
  | access-date = 17 January 2014
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last       = Cline
  | first      = Eric H. |author1-link=Eric H. Cline
  | year       = 2009
  | title      = Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction
  | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=zwNIDHSPsSMC&pg=PA72
  | location   = [[Oxford]]
  | publisher  = [[Oxford University Press]]
  | isbn       = 978-0199741076
  | access-date = 17 January 2014
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | last       = Feder
  | first      = Kenneth L. |author1-link=Kenneth Feder
  | year       = 2010
  | title      = Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum
  | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=RlRz2symkAsC&pg=PA195
  | location   = [[Santa Barbara, California]]
  | publisher  = [[ABC-CLIO]]
  | isbn       = 978-0313379192
  | access-date = 17 January 2014
}}</ref><ref name="Rough Guides">{{cite book
  | last1     = Rickard
  | first1    = Bob
  | last2     = Michell
  | first2    = John |author1-link=Bob Rickard |author2-link=John Michell
  | year      = 2000
  | chapter   = Arkeology
  | title     = Unexplained Phenomena: A Rough Guide Special
  | chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=MO-TWKwyEh0C&pg=PA179
  | location  = London
  | publisher = [[Rough Guides]]
  | isbn      = 978-1858285894
  | pages     = 179–183
}}</ref><!--{{sfn|Laporte|2010}}-->
* '''[[Intelligent design]]''' – maintains that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection."<ref name="discovery.org">{{cite web
  | publisher = Discovery Institute, Center for Science and Culture.
  | quote     = The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.
  | url       = http://www.discovery.org/csc/topQuestions.php#questionsAboutIntelligentDesign
  | title     = Questions About Intelligent Design: What is the theory of intelligent design?
}}</ref> These features include:<ref name="council" /><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news
  | last  = Jones
  | first = John
  | year  = 2005
  | title = Ruling, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, Conclusion
  | quote = In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents.
| title-link = s:Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District/6:Curriculum, Conclusion#H. Conclusion
 }}</ref>
:* '''[[Irreducible complexity]]''' – claim that some biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler systems. It is used by proponents of intelligent design to argue that evolution by [[natural selection]] alone is incomplete or flawed, and that some additional mechanism (an "Intelligent Designer") is required to explain the origins of life.<ref name="dover_behe_ruling">{{cite book |quote=We therefore find that Professor Behe's claim for irreducible complexity has been refuted in peer-reviewed research papers and has been rejected by the scientific community at large. |title=Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District |author=Judge John E. Jones III |title-link=Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
  | first       = David
  | last        = Mu
  | title       = Trojan Horse or Legitimate Science: Deconstructing the Debate over Intelligent Design
  | journal     = Harvard Science Review
  | volume      = 19
  | issue       = 1
  | date        = Fall 2005
  | url         = http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsr/fall2005/mu.pdf
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070724203349/http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsr/fall2005/mu.pdf
  | archive-date = 2007-07-24
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last      = Shulman
 |first     = Seth
 |title     = Undermining science: suppression and distortion in the Bush Administration
 |publisher = University of California Press
 |location  = Berkeley
 |year      = 2006
 |page      = [https://archive.org/details/underminingscien00shul/page/13 13]
 |isbn      = 978-0520247024
 |quote     = True in this latest creationist variant, advocates of so-called intelligent design [...] use more slick, pseudoscientific language. They talk about things like 'irreducible complexity' [...] For most members of the mainstream scientific community, ID is not a scientific theory, but a creationist pseudoscience.
 |url       = https://archive.org/details/underminingscien00shul/page/13
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
  | last    = Perakh
  | first   = M
  | title   = Why Intelligent Design Isn't Intelligent – Review of: Unintelligent Design
  | journal = Cell Biol. Educ.
  | volume  = 4
  | issue   = 2
  | pages   = 121–122
  | date    = Summer 2005
  | doi     = 10.1187/cbe.05-02-0071
  | pmc     = 1103713
}}</ref><ref name="Decker">{{cite web
 |first=Mark D.
 |last=Decker.
 |publisher=College of Biological Sciences, General Biology Program, University of Minnesota
 |url=http://www.texscience.org/files/faqs.htm
 |title=Frequently Asked Questions About the Texas Science Textbook Adoption Controversy
 |quote=The Discovery Institute and ID proponents have a number of goals that they hope to achieve using disingenuous and mendacious methods of marketing, publicity, and political persuasion. They do not practice real science because that takes too long, but mainly because this method requires that one have actual evidence and logical reasons for one's conclusions, and the ID proponents just don't have those. If they had such resources, they would use them, and not the disreputable methods they actually use.
 |url-status=usurped
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930160317/http://texscience.org/files/faqs.htm
 |archive-date=30 September 2010
}}</ref>
:* '''[[Specified complexity]]''' – claim that when something is simultaneously complex and specified, one can infer that it was produced by an intelligent cause (i.e., that it was designed) rather than being the result of natural processes.<ref name="council" /><ref name="ReferenceA" /><!--{{sfn|ICSU|2005}} -->

=== Scientology ===
* '''[[Dianetics]]''', a therapeutic technique promoted by [[Scientology]], purports to treat a hypothetical [[reactive mind]]. There is no scientific evidence for the existence of an actual reactive mind,<ref>{{cite book
  | first      = Martin
  | last       = Gardner
  | author-link = Martin Gardner
  | title      = Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
  | chapter    = Chapter 22
  | publisher  = Dover Publications Inc.
  | year       = 1957
  | isbn       = 978-0486203942
| title-link       = Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
  }}</ref> apart from the [[Classical conditioning|stimulus response]] mechanisms documented in [[Behaviorism|behaviorist psychology]].
* '''[[Narconon]]''' and '''[[Purification Rundown]]''' are Scientology programs that purport to clean the human body of toxins and drugs respectively. Their method consists of very long saunas over many days, extremely large (possibly toxic) doses of vitamins including [[Niacin (substance)|niacin]], and Scientology 'training routines', sometimes including attempts at [[telekinesis]]. The programs have been described as "[[medically]] unsafe",<ref>{{cite news |title=Detox center seeks acceptance |first=Robert |last=Farley |newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=March 30, 2003 |pages=1B,5B |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=When Narconon opened its Chilocco facility in 1991, the Oklahoma Board of Mental Health issued a blistering assessment in denying its application for certification. "There is no credible evidence establishing the effectiveness of the Narconon program to its patients," the board concluded. It attacked the program as medically unsafe; dismissed the sauna program as unproven; and criticized Narconon for inappropriately taking some patients off prescribed psychiatric medication.}} ([https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/sources/media/sp300303.htm courtesy link])</ref> "[[quackery]]"<ref name="LA_Times_1">{{cite news
 |title        = Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science
 |url          = https://www.latimes.com/local/la-scientology062790-story.html
 |access-date  = 13 September 2012
 |newspaper    = [[Los Angeles Times]]
 |date         = 27 June 1990
 |author       = Robert W. Welkos
 |author2      = Joel Sappell
 |quote        = A fourth article did not mention Hubbard by name, but reported favorably on Narconon, his drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, which is run by Scientologists.
 |archive-date = 23 October 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023103359/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062790,0,884315,full.story
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="new_york_post">{{cite news
  | title     = Don't Be Tricked by $CI-FI Tom-Foolery
  | date      = 20 April 2007
  | author    = Kyle Smith
  | newspaper = [[New York Post]]
  | quote     = Those who want a tan from his celebrity glow will urge a fair hearing for his quackery. Obscure City Councilman Hiram Monserrate suddenly finds himself talked about after issuing a proclamation of huzzahs for L. Ron Hubbard. Three: The Ground Zero maladies are so baffling that workers will try anything. Anyone who feels better will credit any placebo at hand – whether Cruise or the Easter Bunny. In 1991, Time called Scientology's anti-drug program "Narconon" a "vehicle for drawing addicts into the cult" – which the magazine said "invented hundreds of goods and services for which members are urged to give up 'donations' " – such as $1,250 for advice on "moving swiftly up the Bridge" of enlightenment. That's New Age techno-gobbledygook for advice on buying swiftly up the Bridge of Brooklyn. Scientology fronts such as the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project – its Web site immediately recognizable as the work of Hubbardites by its logo, which looks like the cover of a Robert Heinlein paperback from 1971 – hint that their gimmicks might possibly interest anyone dreaming of weight loss, higher I.Q. or freedom from addiction. And you might be extra-specially interested if you've faced heart disease, cancer, Agent Orange or Chernobyl. As Mayor Bloomberg put it, Scientology "is not science." Nope. It's science fiction.
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
  | title     = 30 arrested in Paris crackdown on Scientologists
  | agency = Agence France-Presse
  | date      = 14 January 1992
  | quote = About 30 Scientologists were arrested – and 19 of them later indicted – between May and October 1990 on charges of fraud, conspiracy to defraud and the illegal practice of medicine following the 1988 suicide of a church member in Lyon, eastern France. [...] The sect has often found itself in trouble with officialdom the world over, accused of defrauding and brainwashing followers and, in France, of quackery at its illegal anti-drug clinics called "Narconon."
}}</ref> and "medical [[fraud]]",<ref name="healing_or_stealing">{{cite book
|last=Abgrall
|first=Jean-Marie
|title=Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age
|year=2001
|isbn=978-1892941510
|url=https://archive.org/details/healingorstealin00abgr/page/193
|access-date=24 September 2012
|page=[https://archive.org/details/healingorstealin00abgr/page/193 193]
|publisher=Algora
|quote=Narconon, a subsidiary of Scientology, and the association "Yes to Life, No to Drugs" have also made a specialty of the fight against drugs and treating drug addicts. [...] Drug addicts are just one of the Scientologists' targets for recruitment. The offer of care and healing through techniques derived from dianetics is only a come-on. The detoxification of the patient by means of "dianetics purification" is more a matter of manipulation, through the general weakening that it causes; it is a way of brainwashing the subject. Frequently convicted for illegal practice of medicine, violence, fraud and slander, the Scientologists have more and more trouble getting people to accept their techniques as effective health measures, as they like to claim. They recommend their purification processes to eliminate X-rays and nuclear radiation, and to treat goiter and warts, hypertension and psoriasis, hemorrhoids and myopia... why would anyone find that hard to swallow? Scientology has built a library of several hundreds of volumes of writings exalting the effects of purification, and its disciples spew propaganda based on irresponsible medical writings by doctors who are more interested in the support provided by Scientology than in their patients' well-being. On the other hand, responsible scientific reviews have long since "eliminated" dianetics and purification from the lists of therapies – relegating them to the great bazaar of medical fraud. [...] Medical charlatans do not base their claims on scientific proof but, quite to the contrary, on peremptory assertions – the kind of assertions that they challenge when they come out of the mouths of those who defend "real" medicine.
}}</ref> while academic and medical experts have dismissed Narconon's educational programme as containing "factual errors in basic concepts such as physical and mental effects, addiction and even spelling".<ref name="SF_Chronicle">{{cite news
  | last       = Asimov
  | first      = Nanette
  | title      = Church's drug program flunks S.F. test / Panel of experts finds Scientology's Narconon lectures outdated, inaccurate
  | access-date = 7 September 2012
  | newspaper  = San Francisco Chronicle
  | url        = http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Church-s-drug-program-flunks-S-F-2720851.php
  | date       = 2 October 2004
  | quote      = The program, Narconon Drug Prevention & Education, "often exemplifies the outdated, non-evidence-based and sometimes factually inaccurate approach, which has not served students well for decades," concluded Steve Heilig, director of health and education for the San Francisco Medical Society.  In his letter to Trish Bascom, director of health programs for the San Francisco Unified School District, Heilig said five independent experts in the field of drug abuse had helped him evaluate Narconon's curriculum.  [...] "One of our reviewers opined that 'this (curriculum) reads like a high school science paper pieced together from the Internet, and not very well at that,' " Heilig wrote Bascom. "Another wrote that 'my comments will be brief, as this proposal hardly merits detailed analysis.' Another stated, 'As a parent, I would not want my child to participate in this kind of 'education.' "  Heilig's team evaluated Narconon against a recent study by Rodney Skager, a professor emeritus at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, describing what good anti-drug programs should offer students.  "We concurred that [...] the Narconon materials focus on some topics of lesser importance to the exclusion of best knowledge and practices," Heilig wrote, and that the curriculum contained "factual errors in basic concepts such as physical and mental effects, addiction and even spelling."
}}</ref> In turn, Narconon has claimed that mainstream medicine is "biased" against it, and that "people who endorse so-called controlled drug use cannot be trusted to review a program advocating totally drug-free living."<ref>{{cite news
  | last      = Asimov
  | first     = Nanette
  | title     = Doctors back schools dropping flawed antidrug program
  | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle
  | date      = 27 March 2005
  | quote     = The California Medical Association has declared unanimous support for school districts that have dropped Narconon and other "factually inaccurate approaches" to antidrug instruction from their classrooms, and will urge the American Medical Association to do the same. Nearly 500 California doctors also endorsed "scientifically based drug education in California schools"
}}</ref> Narconon has said that criticism of its programmes is "bigoted",<ref name="nbc_rock_center">{{cite web
  | title      = Families question Scientology-linked drug rehab after recent deaths
  | publisher  = [[NBC]] [[Rock Center]]
  | date       = 16 August 2012
  | url        = http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/16/13312825-families-question-scientology-linked-drug-rehab-after-recent-deaths
  | access-date = 2012-09-03
}}</ref> and that its critics are "in favor of drug abuse [...] they are either using drugs or selling drugs".<ref name="welcomes_then_questions">{{cite news
  | title     = Town Welcomes, Then Questions a Drug Project
  | work      = [[The New York Times]]
  | page      = A13
  | date      = 1989-07-17
}}</ref>

=== Other ===
* '''[[Quantum mysticism]]''' – builds on a superficial similarity between certain [[New Age]] concepts and such seemingly counter-intuitive [[Quantum mechanics|quantum mechanical]] concepts as the [[uncertainty principle]], [[Quantum entanglement|entanglement]], and [[wave–particle duality]], while generally ignoring the limitations imposed by [[quantum decoherence]].<ref name="Shermer2002"/><ref name="Park2000p39">{{cite book
  | last  = Park
  | first = Robert L
  | year  = 2000
  | url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC&q=%22voodoo+science%22
  | title = p. 39
  | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | quote = [People] long to be told that modern science validates the teachings of some ancient scripture or New Age guru. The purveyors of pseudoscience have been quick to exploit their ambivalence.
  | isbn  = 978-0198604433
}}</ref><ref name="QMyst_Stenger">{{cite magazine
  | first       = Victor J.
  | last        = Stenger
  | title       = Quantum Quackery
  | date        = January 1997
  | magazine   = [[Skeptical Inquirer]]
  | url         = http://csicop.org/si/9701/quantum-quackery.html
  | access-date  = 7 February 2008
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080117122131/http://www.csicop.org/si/9701/quantum-quackery.html
  | archive-date = 17 January 2008
  | quote       = Capra's book was an inspiration for the New Age, and "quantum" became a buzzword used to buttress the trendy, pseudoscientific spirituality that characterizes this movement.
}}</ref><ref name="QMyst_Gell-Mann">{{Cite book
  | last       = Gell-Mann
  | first      = Murray
  | author-link = Murray Gell-Mann
  | title      = The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and Complex
  | publisher  = Macmillan
  | year       = 1995
  | page       = 168
  | isbn       = 978-0805072532
  | quote      = Then the conclusion has been drawn that quantum mechanics permits faster-than-light communication, and even that claimed "paranormal" phenomena like precognition are thereby made respectable! How can this have happened?
}}</ref><ref name="QMyst_PhysTod">{{Cite journal
  | first1       = Fred
  | last1        = Kuttner
  | first2      = Bruce
  | last2       = Rosenblum
  | title       = Teaching physics mysteries versus pseudoscience
  | date        = November 2006
  | url         = http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-59/iss-11/p14.html
  | journal     = Physics Today
  | access-date  = 8 February 2008
  | archive-url  = https://archive.today/20061207183916/http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-59/iss-11/p14.html
  | archive-date = 7 December 2006
  | quote       = We should not underestimate how persuasively physics can be invoked to buttress mystical notions. We physicists bear some responsibility for the way our discipline is exploited.
  | doi         = 10.1063/1.2435631
  | volume      = 59
  | issue       = 11
  | pages       = 14–16
  | bibcode     = 2006PhT....59k..14K
| doi-access= free
  | url-access= subscription
  }}</ref> One of the most abused ideas is [[Bell's theorem]], which proves the nonexistence of local hidden variables in quantum mechanics. Despite this, Bell himself rejected mystical interpretations of the theory.<ref name="QMyst_Bell">{{Cite book
  | last       = Bell
  | first      = J. S.
  | author-link = John Stewart Bell
  | title      = Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics
  | publisher  = Cambridge University Press
  | year       = 1988
  | page       = 170
  | isbn       = 978-0521523387
  | quote      = So I think it is not right to tell the public that a central role for conscious mind is integrated into modern atomic physics. Or that 'information' is the real stuff of physical theory. It seems to me irresponsible to suggest that technical features of contemporary theory were anticipated by the saints of ancient religions [...] by introspection.
}}</ref>
* '''[[Transcendental Meditation]]''' ('''TM''') refers to a specific form of silent [[mantra]] [[meditation]] and less commonly to the organizations that constitute the [[Transcendental Meditation movement]].<ref name="Britannica onlineTM">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/602436/Transcendental-Meditation |title=Transcendental Meditation |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |date=7 December 2023 }}</ref><ref name="SharpTM">{{Cite news|title=Sharp HealthCare announces an unorthodox, holistic institute|first=Rex |last=Dalton |work=The San Diego Union – Tribune|date=8 July 1993|page=B.4.5.1|quote=TM is a movement led by Maharishi Mehesh Yogi,&nbsp;...}}</ref> The [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] created and introduced the TM technique and TM movement in [[India]] in the mid-1950s. It is not possible to say whether meditation has any effect on health, as the research is of poor quality,<ref name=Cochrane06TM>{{Cite journal|last1 =Krisanaprakornkit | first1 = T.| last2 = Krisanaprakornkit | first2 = W. |last3 = Piyavhatkul | first3 = N. | last4 = Laopaiboon | first4 = M.| s2cid = 30878081|title=Meditation therapy for anxiety disorders |journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |issue=1|page=CD004998|year=2006 |pmid=16437509 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD004998.pub2 |quote=The small number of studies included in this review do not permit any conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of meditation therapy for anxiety disorders. Transcendental meditation is comparable with other kinds of relaxation therapies in reducing anxiety|editor1-last =Krisanaprakornkit|editor1-first =Thawatchai}}</ref><ref name="Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M, et al. 1–263">{{Cite journal|vauthors=Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M |title=Meditation practices for health: state of the research |journal=Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) |issue=155 |pages=1–263|date=June 2007 |pmid=17764203|quote=Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.|display-authors=etal |pmc=4780968}}</ref> and is marred by a high risk for [[bias]] due to the connection of researchers to the TM organization and by the selection of subjects with a favorable opinion of TM.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Canter PH, Ernst E |s2cid=22171451 |title=Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure: results of a systematic review of randomized clinical trials |journal=Journal of Hypertension |volume=22|issue=11|pages=2049–2054 |date=November 2004|pmid=15480084| quote = All the randomized clinical trials of TM for the control of blood pressure published to date have important methodological weaknesses and are potentially biased by the affiliation of authors to the TM organization.|doi=10.1097/00004872-200411000-00002}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Krisanaprakornkit T, Ngamjarus C, Witoonchart C, Piyavhatkul N |title=Meditation therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev|volume=6 |issue= 6|page=CD006507|year=2010 |pmid=20556767|pmc=6823216 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD006507.pub2 |quote =As a result of the limited number of included studies, the small sample sizes and the high risk of bias|veditors=Krisanaprakornkit T}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Canter PH, Ernst E |s2cid=20166373|title=The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function—a systematic review of randomised controlled trials|journal=Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. |volume=115 |issue=21–22 |pages=758–766|date=November 2003 |pmid=14743579 |doi= 10.1007/BF03040500|quote = All 4 positive trials recruited subjects from among people favourably predisposed towards TM, and used passive control procedures ... The association observed between positive outcome, subject selection procedure and control procedure suggests that the large positive effects reported in 4 trials result from an expectation effect. The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomized controlled trials.}}</ref>

== Idiosyncratic ideas ==
The following concepts have only a very small number of proponents, yet have become notable:
* '''[[Aquatic ape hypothesis]]''' – the idea that certain ancestors of modern humans were more aquatic than other great apes and even many modern humans and, as such, were habitual waders, swimmers and divers.<ref name="hawks">{{cite web|url=http://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/pseudoscience/aquatic_ape_theory.html|title=Why anthropologists don't accept the Aquatic Ape Theory|author-link=John D. Hawks|date=4 August 2009|type=Blog post|author=Hawks JD}}</ref>
* '''[[Lawsonomy]]''' – proposed philosophy and system of claims about physics made by baseball player and aviator Alfred William Lawson.<ref>{{Cite book |title     = Fads And Fallacies in the Name of Science
 |author    = Martin Gardner
 |pages     = [https://archive.org/details/fadsfallaciesint00gard/page/69 69–79]
 |isbn      = 978-0486203942
 |publisher = Dover Publications
 |year      = 1957
 |url       = https://archive.org/details/fadsfallaciesint00gard/page/69
}}</ref>
* '''[[Morphic resonance]]''' – The idea put forth by [[Rupert Sheldrake]] that "natural systems, such as termite colonies, or pigeons, or orchid plants, or insulin molecules, inherit a [[collective memory]] from all previous things of their kind". It is also claimed to be responsible for "mysterious telepathy-type interconnections between organisms".<ref>{{cite magazine
  | url        = http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ruperts-resonance
  | author     = Shermer, Michael
  | author-link = Michael Shermer
  | title      = Rupert's Resonance
  | magazine  = Scientific American
  | access-date = 13 July 2013
}}</ref>
* '''[[N rays]]''' – A hypothesized form of radiation described by [[Prosper-René Blondlot]] in 1903 that briefly inspired significant scientific interest, but were subsequently found to have been a result of [[confirmation bias]].<ref name = nye>
{{cite journal
  | last    = Nye
  | first   = M.J.
  | year    = 1980
  | title   = N-rays: An episode in the history and psychology of science
  | journal = Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
  | volume  = 11
  | issue   = 1
  | pages   = 125–156
  | doi     = 10.2307/27757473
| jstor   = 27757473
  }}</ref>
* '''[[Penta Water]]''' – the claimed acoustically-induced structural reorganization of liquid water into long-lived small clusters of five molecules each. Neither these clusters nor their asserted benefits to humans have been shown to exist.<ref name="Penta_Goldacre">{{Cite news
  | first      = Ben
  | last       = Goldacre
  | title      = Testing the water
  | date       = 27 January 2005
  | work       = The Guardian
  | publisher  = Guardian News and Media, Ltd.
  | url        = http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,1399100,00.html
  | access-date = 29 April 2008
  | location   = London
}}</ref><ref>[http://www.chem1.com/CQ/clusqk.html Water Cluster Quackery. The junk science of structure-altered waters], Stephen Lower</ref>
* '''[[Polywater]]''' – hypothetical [[polymer]]ized form of water proposed in the 1960s with a higher boiling point, lower freezing point, and much higher viscosity than ordinary water. It was later found not to exist, with the anomalous measurements being explained by biological contamination.<ref name="polywater_Rousseau">{{Cite journal
  | title      = Case Studies in Pathological Science
  | journal    = American Scientist
  | date       = January 1992
  | first      = Denis L.
  | last       = Rousseau
  | author-link = Denis Rousseau
  | volume     = 80
  | issue      = 1
  | pages      = 54–63
  | bibcode    = 1992AmSci..80...54R
}}</ref> Chains of molecules of varying length (depending on the temperature) tend to form in normal liquid water without changing the freezing or boiling point.<ref>{{cite book
  | last1      = Pang
  | first1     = Xiao-Feng
  | first2     = Yuan-Ping
  | last2      = Feng
  | title      = Quantum Mechanics in Nonlinear Systems
  | year  =  2005
  | publisher  = World Scientific
  | isbn       = 978-9812567789
  | page       = 579
  | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=T1F62KxH2lUC&pg=PA579
  | access-date = 25 March 2015
}}</ref>
* '''[[Time Cube]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scientiareview.org/pdfs/213.pdf|title=The Time Cube: Absolute Proof?|date=11 August 2022|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416232154/http://www.scientiareview.org/pdfs/213.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> – a website created by Gene Ray, in 1997, where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls ''Time Cube''. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong,<ref name="PCMag">{{cite magazine
 |url          = https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1420072,00.asp
 |title        = Don't Call Them Crackpots
 |magazine     = [[PC Magazine]]
 |first        = John C.
 |last         = Dvorak
 |date         = 22 December 2003
 |access-date  = 3 September 2017
 |archive-date = 23 August 2008
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080823205235/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1420072,00.asp
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> and his Time Cube model proposes that each day is really four separate days occurring simultaneously.<ref name=Swarthmore>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021220092124/http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/2002/2002-09-19/living/12178.php "Truth is cubic?"], by Kate Duffy,''The Phoenix'', [[Swarthmore College]], 19 September 2002. Archived by the [[Internet Archive]], archive copy retrieved 25 July 2010.</ref>
* '''Timewave zero''' – [[Numerology|numerological formula]] that was invented by [[psychonaut]] [[Terence McKenna]] with the help of the [[hallucinogen]]ic drug [[dimethyltryptamine]]. After experiencing 2012 doomsday predictions, he redesigned his formula to have a "zero-point" at the same date as the Mayan longcount calendar.<ref>[http://www.ralph-abraham.org/talks/transcripts/hyperspace.html Dynamics of Hyperspace]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hermetic.ch/frt/zerodate.html|title=The Timewave: The Zero Date|first=Peter|last=Meyer|year=2006|format=blog|access-date=20 July 2018}}</ref>
* '''[[Torsion field (pseudoscience)|Torsion field]]''' – hypothetical physical field responsible for [[extra-sensory perception]], [[Homeopathy|homeopathic cures]], [[Levitation (physics)|levitation]], [[telepathy]], [[clairvoyance]], [[telekinesis]], and other [[paranormal]] phenomena. Despite the several obvious contradictions with established physics along with associated statements by believers criticized as being "nonsensical" by reputable scientists,<ref name=tmyphs>{{Cite journal| last= Бялко| first= А. В. [A. V.] |title= Торсионные мифы| journal= Природа [Priroda]| issue= 9| pages= 93–102| volume= 1998| trans-title=Torsion Myths| language= ru}}</ref> torsion fields have been embraced as an explanation for claims of such paranormal phenomena.<ref>{{cite journal| url= http://www.phoenixsourcedistributors.com/940614.pdf |title= Quantum Mechanics and Some Surprises of Creation| journal= [[The Phoenix Project (newsletter)|The Phoenix Project]]| volume= 5| number= 12 |date= 14 June 1994| pages= 8–10}}</ref> The harnessing of torsion fields has been claimed to make everything possible from miracle cure devices (including devices that cure [[alcohol addiction]]<ref name=boyd>{{Cite journal| last= Boyd| first= R. N.| url= http://www.rialian.com/rnboyd/spinfield-effects.htm| title= Reduction of Physiological Effects of Alcohol Abuse By Substitution of a Harmless Alcohol Surrogate Created by Application of a Spin Field| journal= Application to NIH Alcohol Abuse Center| date= 27 May 2019| archive-date= 11 March 2007| access-date= 24 May 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070311122822/http://www.rialian.com/rnboyd/spinfield-effects.htm| url-status= dead}}</ref>) to working [[perpetual motion machines]], stargates,<ref>{{cite web| url= http://stardrive.org/Jack/algebra.pdf| last1= Sarfatti| first1= J.| last2= Sirag| first2= S.-P.| title= Star Gate Anholonomic Topology-Changing Post-Einstein Geometrodynamics| year= 2000| website= stardrive.org| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234752/http://stardrive.org/Jack/algebra.pdf| archive-date= 2007-09-26}}</ref> [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] propulsion analogs, and [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] (WMDs).<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.enterprisemission.com/Norway-Message.htm| title= A 'Nobel Torsion Message' Over Norway?| first= Richard C.| last= Hoagland| website= enterprisemission.com| access-date= 24 May 2019| archive-date= 15 December 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091215031901/http://www.enterprisemission.com/Norway-Message.htm| url-status= usurped}}</ref> Some such devices, in particular the miracle cure boxes, have been patented,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6548752-description.html| website=patentstorm.us| title=System and method for generating a torsion field – US Patent 6548752| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421180510/http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6548752-description.html| archive-date=2013-04-21}}</ref> manufactured and sold.

== See also ==
{{col div|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Blood type diet]]
* [[Blood type personality theory]]
* [[Cargo cult science]]
* [[Church of the SubGenius]]
* [[Denialism]]
* [[Fan death]]
* [[Fringe science]]
* [[Fringe science organizations]]
* [[List of books about skepticism]]
* [[List of cognitive biases]]
* [[List of common misconceptions]]
* [[List of conspiracy theories]]
* [[List of cryptids]]
* [[List of diagnoses characterized as pseudoscience]]
* [[List of memory biases]]
* [[List of patent medicines]]
* [[Observational error]]
* [[Occam's razor]]
* [[Paradigm shift]]
* [['Pataphysics]]
* [[Pathological science]]
* [[Philosophy of science]]
* [[Protoscience]]
* [[Pseudomathematics]]
* [[Pseudophilosophy]]
* [[Pyramidology]]
{{colend}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=mckie>{{cite news
|newspaper=The Observer
|first1=Robin
|last1=McKie
|first2=Laura
|last2=Hartmann
|date=29 April 2012
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/29/holistic-unit-tarnish-aberdeen-university-reputation
|title=Holistic unit will 'tarnish' Aberdeen University reputation}}</ref>
<ref name="thes-aberdeen">{{cite journal|last=Jump|first=Paul|date=11 May 2012|title=Aberdeen decides against alternative medicine chair|journal=Times Higher Education Supplement|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/419909.article}}</ref>
<ref name=seop>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Dan|last=Dugan|editor=Michael Shermer|title=Anthroposophy and Anthroposophical Medicine|encyclopedia=The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr4snwg7iaEC&pg=PA31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1576076538|pages=31–32|date=2002-01-01}}</ref>
<ref name="Zarka">{{cite journal|last1=Zarka|first1=Philippe|title=Astronomy and astrology|journal=Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union|volume=5|issue=S260|year=2011|pages=420–425|issn=1743-9213|doi=10.1017/S1743921311002602|bibcode=2011IAUS..260..420Z|url=https://zenodo.org/record/890932|doi-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="rubinetal2005">{{Cite journal
  | last1    = Rubin
  | first1   = G James
  | first2  = Jayati
  | last2   = Das Munshi
  | first3  = Simon
  | last3   = Wessely
  | s2cid = 13826364
 | title   = Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review of Provocation Studies
  | journal = [[Psychosomatic Medicine (journal)|Psychosomatic Medicine]]
  | volume  = 67
  | pages   = 224–232
  | year    = 2005
  | doi     = 10.1097/01.psy.0000155664.13300.64
  | pmid    = 15784787
  | issue   = 2
| citeseerx   = 10.1.1.543.1328
  }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Campion |first=EW |title=Why unconventional medicine? |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=328 |issue=4 |pages=282–283 |date=January 1993 |pmid=8418412 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199301283280413 |issn=0028-4793}}
* {{Cite book |author=Collins, Paul |title=Banvard's folly: thirteen tales of people who didn't change the world |publisher=Picador US |location=New York |year=2002 |isbn=978-0312300333 |url=https://archive.org/details/banvardsfolly00paul}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.astrosociety.org/edu/resources/pseudobib04.html#8 |title=Ancient Astronauts and Erich Von Daniken |work=Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List |publisher=[[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]] |first=Andrew |last=Fraknoi |date=October 2009 |access-date=2 November 2011}}
* {{Cite book |year=1957 |author=Gardner, Martin |author-link=Martin Gardner |title=Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science |edition=2nd, revised & expanded |place=Mineola, NY |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |isbn=978-0486203942 |url=https://archive.org/details/fadsfallaciesinn0000gard |url-access=registration |quote=fads and fallacies. |access-date=14 November 2010 |postscript=Originally published 1952 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, under the title ''In the Name of Science''}}
* {{Cite book |author=Gardner, Martin |title=Science – good, bad and bogus |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Buffalo, NY |year=1981 |isbn=978-0879751449}}
* {{Cite book |author=Goldacre, Ben |author-link=Ben Goldacre |title=Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks |publisher=[[Fourth Estate]] |year=2008 |page=338 |isbn=978-0007240197 |title-link=Bad Science (Goldacre book)}}
* {{cite web |first=Cameron |last=Hummels |url=http://cosmoquest.org/x/365daysofastronomy/2009/04/27/april-27th-will-the-world-end-in-2012/ |title=April 27th: Will the World End in 2012? |publisher=cosmoquest.org |date=27 April 2009 |access-date=22 September 2009 |format=Podcast}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/nyregion/10alone.html |title=Origin of the Species, From an Alien View |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |date=8 January 2010 |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 October 2010}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kruglyakov |first=Edward P. |title=Pseudoscience. How Does It Threaten Science and the Public? Report at a RAN Presidium meeting of 27 May 2003 |url=http://humanism.al.ru/en/articles.phtml?num=000010 |journal=Zdraviy Smysl}}
* {{cite news |title=2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal |work=Universe Today |year=2008 |first=Ian |last=O'Neill |url=http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/03/2012-no-geomagnetic-reversal/ |access-date=27 May 2009}}
* {{cite book |last=Park |first=Robert |title=Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195147100 |page=240 |title-link=Voodoo Science}}
* {{Cite book |author=Randi, James |author-link=James Randi |title=Flim-flam!: psychics, ESP, unicorns, and other delusions |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Buffalo, NY |year=1982 |isbn=978-0879751982}}
* {{cite web |first=Ron |last=Rosenbaum |title=2012: Tsunami of Stupidity: Why the latest apocalyptic cult is a silly scam |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2218841 |work=Slate |date=22 May 2009 |access-date=26 May 2009}}
* {{Cite book |author=Sagan, Carl |author-link=Carl Sagan |title=The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark |publisher=Ballantine Books |location=New York |year=1997 |isbn=978-0345409461 |title-link=The Demon-Haunted World}}
* {{Cite book |author=Shermer, Michael |author-link=Michael Shermer |title=Why people believe weird things: pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time |publisher=A.W.H. Freeman/Owl Book |location=New York |year=2002 |isbn=978-0805070897}}
* {{Cite book |author1=Singer, Barry |author2=Abell, George O. |title=Science and the paranormal: probing the existence of the supernatural |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |year=1983 |isbn=978-0684178202}}
* {{Cite book |author1=Vaughn, Lewis |author2=Schick, Theodore |title=How to think about weird things: critical thinking for a new age |publisher=Mayfield Pub |location=Mountain View, CA |year=1999 |isbn=978-0767400138 |url=https://archive.org/details/howtothinkaboutw00schi}}
* {{cite web |first=Christina |last=Wessely |title=Science Gone Wrong: Welteislehre |publisher=Der Wissenschaftsfonds |url=http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/public_relations/press/pv200801-en.html |date=20 August 2008 |access-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105184642/http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/public_relations/press/pv200801-en.html |archive-date=5 November 2013}}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/ 'The Reading room' by The Skeptics Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101106014704/http://www.scientificamerican.com/author.cfm?id=597 Stories by Michael Shermer] published in Scientific American Magazine.
* {{YouTube|id=eUB4j0n2UDU|title=Michael Shermer: Baloney Detection Kit}} – a set of questions to distinguish truth from bogus claims.

{{Pseudoscience|state=autocollapse}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pseudosciences And Pseudoscientific Concepts, List Of}}
[[Category:Pseudoscience|*]]
[[Category:Lists of topics|Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Scientific skepticism]]
[[Category:Science-related lists]]
[[Category:Glossaries of science|pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Wikipedia glossaries using unordered lists]]