This started with an Orkut notice from a friend in Brazil, who has been researching crackpot texts. I dug a bit deep and came up with material that is intriguing to say the least. From the perspective of a fiction writer and one who is interested in realities that are not immediately discernible, Pseudoscience is just another expression of the unconscious mind. And being so it has some intrinsic value, to folks like us.
Alternatively, to a man of science, pseudo-science (be it astrology, theories of lunar-effects and the possibility of levitation) and all such `crackpot stuff', that sometimes have a huge fan-following, is only a step back into the darkness. John Carlos Baez, an American mathematician (he is a cousin of Joan Baez) at the Univeristy of California has devised this somewhat humorous, Crackpot index. It is a test for rating scientific claims and the person/s who make them. Not entirely frivolous this set of simple questions have been used to test quirky theories about prime numbers and to my mind can be well used to challenge and weed out false prophets and dangerous beliefs that threaten the fabric of this nation. Really the scope and applicability of this index are enormous and it's potential remains untapped.
A few of the criteria used in the Crackpot Index (the higher the score the more plausible that the theory is devised by a crackpot):
5 points for using a thought experiment that contradicts the results of a widely accepted real experiment.
5 points for each word in all capital letters (except for those with defective keyboards). 3 points for every statement that is logically inconsistent. 10 points for each new term you invent and use without properly defining it. 20 points for suggesting that you deserve a Nobel prize. 40 points for comparing those who argue against your ideas to Nazis, stormtroopers, or brownshirts ... You can find the index here.
And these are some crackpot theories/ideas that the index is originally meant for.
- Drilling a hole in a person's head will release excess pressure and elevate him to a higher level of consciousness. (This is known as trepanation - see image)
- Creation biology (That tries to explain biology without evolution)
The Internet is bristling with examples. Good examples are at the wikipedia entry on pseudoscience and at this forum. Have your fill of cranky ideas but who knows how some of these may become inspiration for future science.
(The image accompanying this post is from the King's College, London website)
A few of the criteria used in the Crackpot Index (the higher the score the more plausible that the theory is devised by a crackpot):
5 points for using a thought experiment that contradicts the results of a widely accepted real experiment.
5 points for each word in all capital letters (except for those with defective keyboards). 3 points for every statement that is logically inconsistent. 10 points for each new term you invent and use without properly defining it. 20 points for suggesting that you deserve a Nobel prize. 40 points for comparing those who argue against your ideas to Nazis, stormtroopers, or brownshirts ... You can find the index here.
And these are some crackpot theories/ideas that the index is originally meant for.
- Drilling a hole in a person's head will release excess pressure and elevate him to a higher level of consciousness. (This is known as trepanation - see image)
- Creation biology (That tries to explain biology without evolution)
The Internet is bristling with examples. Good examples are at the wikipedia entry on pseudoscience and at this forum. Have your fill of cranky ideas but who knows how some of these may become inspiration for future science.
(The image accompanying this post is from the King's College, London website)
