Why is pseudoscience so popular?

Question

By pseudoscience I mean stuff like homeopathy, astrology and (I know I'm going to get angry answers about this) creationism.

Answer 1

They're simple and appeal to ingrained beliefs.

Answer 2

Because they give nice answers and allow "playing" at thinking. They are the intellectually easy route to take. Notice how many questions in the philosphy section are silly little non-questions like:

"Are fables true?"
"Does an all knowing God know nothing?"

To which the bald, boring, hard answer is "no" but you can be "deep" by thinking about them.

With a pseudo science you can ignore unpleasent counter-examples: you don't have to come up with a new theory, you just pass it off and dodge it.

Homeopathy - how to become a "doctor" without spending years in med school. How to avoid all those nasty side effects of normal drugs.

Astrology - become a "scientist" with one easy read. Feel safe in the knowledge that you know what's going to happen.

Creationism - you can't understand that science is a search for "how", whilst God gives the "why" and the concept of a "parable" (such as the creation story) goes over your head. How much easier to drop the complex philosophy of religion and just become a bigot!

No believing in global warming - Hell! I'm not going to tell the voters they'll have to cut back on fuel. Let's find the few remaining scientists who dispute it and make them Presidential advisors..

And the final reason is the fault of science itself, or rather the arrogance of the scientific community. Evolutionists who don't say "hey, at present the theory has more holes than a collander, its just the best we have so far". Doctors who act like God. Doctors and drug companies who supress knowledge of the side effects of drugs. The scientists who diliberately falsify evidence (on the toxicity of lead in petrol for example).

Answer 3

Different reasons. Creationism isn't really a pseudoscience as much as a belief system. Homeopathy is catching on, I think, because people are getting tired of pumping synthetic chemicals into their bodies and want to return to the ancient ways of healing. Some of it works quite well!! And astrology, I think, because people are born with an innate desire to believe in something greater than themselves having a part in their lives. When they reject the notion of God, they look to other avenues of having interaction with that force. Some turn to astrology, some to alternative religions, some to meditation, some to the harmonic resonance of crystals.

Answer 4

Ego centrism? Some people desire so much to believe that they are smarter than everyone else. THEY have the secret answers that everyone else wishes they had.
I get very tired of people saying, "In my expert opinion, the secret to health is to stay away from processed carbs." This from a person with a degree in elementary education who read the Adkins book. While there is some truth to the statement, it is the way it is phrased. (You? You're the expert? You don't even have a job. If you're so smart, why didn't you write the book and make a million dollars selling it to people instead of spending $18.50 to become 'enlightened.')

Other things I've heard:

"You've GOT to get into this foreclosure and real estate business." (Why must I? Because you do and I do not? Because you are smarter than me and everyone else who is not risking all their money?)

"I take my colon enzymes every day." (Why? And why are you so proud of it that you are telling me? What did you base your decision on? Of course you MUST be right, because if you were wrong you would be an idiot for throwing away all your money on worthless pills. This implies that you think I am stupid and wrong for not taking them.)

"No vaccinations for my baby." (Why not? You are smarter than the entire medical community? Wow, that's pretty smart.)

Answer 5

There is some truth to homeopathy, so don't knock it. But it certainly isn't the cure-all they claim.

Don't forget all the conspiracy theories, from who shot JFK to fake moon landings to US involvement in 9/11.

I think that it's due to the fact that people aren't taught critical thinking skills. They accept what seems possible without looking into the underlying story to see how ridiculous these things really are. How else would you explain the popularity of celebrities in the world of politics.

Answer 6

All of the subjects that you mentioned have been apaprt of our society for thousands of years. So even when it is scientifically proved that a topic is non-factual (ie:astrology) there is still a large portion of our socirty that believes them.

There is also the money factor. There are tens of billions, perhaps billions of dollars spent on horoscopes, tarot card readings, astrological symbols and other such objects. As a result there is a financial interest in perpetuating these myths.

Answer 7

i think of Dr. Phil is entirely a clever guy who has hardship-loose experience. And he can easily help people who don't have it. i do no longer think of he's pseudoscience, yet truthfully a properly-liked opinion besides as psychology.

Answer 8

Those are three completely different subjects, but the common
denominator might be to try to figure out what we are about.
Everybody would like that, but good luck - many others have
lived, wondered and died without finding out the answers.
Nothing wrong with that, just dont make stuff up or let others
influence you with stuff they made up.

Answer 9

Pseudoscience is popular because evolution is popular Evolution is terminally ill.

Answer 10

pseudosciences fulfill their curiosities by creating popular answers and they get some answers to their question which truly cannot be answered

Answer 11

One big reason, I think, is that so many people are looking for a "short-cut", a way to "explain" the universe and their place in it that doesn't require a lot of heavy lifting.