Junk science

From Issuepedia
Revision as of 03:06, 2 March 2014 by Woozle (talk | contribs) (linkdrop; smw)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

About

Junk science is any kind of scientific argument where the conclusions are driven more by a predetermined agenda (often of a political or economic nature) than by any genuine interest in uncovering the truth.

This page is a seed article. You can help Issuepedia water it: make a request to expand a given page and/or donate to help give us more writing-hours!

Note that a claim of "junk science" is itself a "junk argument" unless it is backed up by a reasoned, rational argument against the claimed "junk science".

Related Articles

  • the Chewbacca defense is often used in junk scientific arguments. Charts, tables of figures, and other complex sources are referenced as key parts of the argument in order to tire the argument's audience and deter further investigation.

Reference

Notes

  • See also Consensus science, "a phrase used to describe a position on an issue that is primarily supported using existing or purported scientific consensus as an appeal to authority or appeal to the majority. It can also refer to a use of scientific consensus in a logical argument as the primary means to demonstrate, establish, or promote a view based on scientific or statistical data which may or may not be part of some hypothesis or theory." Need articles about this and the invoked concepts and a mention of the fact that consensus (as opposed to taking a vote, or letting some "head scientist" make the decision) is an important part of the scientific process, especially in cases where agreement is not unanimous.
  • Should bogus scientific papers generated for the purpose of testing peer review processes also be classified as junk science? Or is another term needed?