Pseudoscience is exactly what the name suggests: false science. In other words, it is an “investigation” supported by nonscientific evidence, that reaches conclusions that have not been reached through the scientific method, or that seeks to answer a question that science cannot answer, such as a question of faith. Pseudoscience claims can usually be identified by their sheer outrageousness. Science is a slow process, and scientists don't usually make sweeping claims that are completely different from accepted theory. For example, in 2013, a scientist claimed to have found evidence of alien life from microbial fossils on a meteorite. As this news spread like wildfire among the public, the scientific community was completely shocked by such an outrageous claim and quickly investigated it through the lens of skepticism. They found that the conclusion drawn by the scientist that alien life was not supported by evidence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Pseudoscience actually has roots in human biology. Indeed, it is precisely because of a product of evolution that humans succumb to pseudoscientific claims. Most life forms are evolutionarily predisposed to assume false positives in the environment, rather than to assume false negatives. For example, it is safer for a forest creature to always assume that the rustling in the bushes is a predator, rather than the wind (a possible false positive), than to assume that there is no predator and that it is simply the wind. create the sound: a possible false negative. The animal will, in most cases, become defensive as a reaction to the rustling in the bush. This makes sense, since if there was actually a predator in the bush, the animal may have just avoided becoming lunch. However, if there is no predator and the bush is simply rustling in the wind, there is no real harm in assuming otherwise. Likewise, humans will “reach” for the false positive statement provided by pseudoscience, rather than risk being wrong with the false negative. After all, isn't it simply safer to assume that aliens are attacking us, and prepare the bunkers and war machines, rather than take a chance and assume that these claims might simply be wrong? (Fig 1) (Shermer) The difference between pseudoscience and science is that pseudoscience seeks to make an unfalsifiable or untestable statement, while science seeks to create falsifiable and testable statements. The term falsifiable does not necessarily mean that the statement is false, but rather that it can be disproven. Scientific theories can be disproven by further evidence, while pseudoscientific claims are portrayed as absolute. The predictions of science are useful to society, while pseudoscientific claims do not actually advance its fields. The best way to distinguish between pseudoscientific claims and actual scientific claims is how they try to prove themselves. A pseudoscientific claim typically works with refutation. For example, a pseudoscientist might state “we have proven that the flying object in the sky is not a bird, a plane, a helicopter, or an optical illusion, so it must be a UFO.” This not only ignores many other cases that could explain the phenomenon, but can also only be true if the pseudoscientist assumes that UFOs exist, which is circular logic. A scientist would address thisproblem differently, working to gather data about the incident and trying to identify what the object was without assuming it was a UFO before starting. According to an article by a self-proclaimed ufologist, the term “flying saucer” was coined by a private pilot, who claimed to have seen “shiny crescent-shaped objects” traveling at over 1,600 miles per hour. This launched the “mania of flying saucers.” In 1949, a U.S. Air Force report on the phenomenon coined the term “UFO,” which stands for Unidentified Flying Object, to replace the term “flying object.” After that, UFO sightings typically occurred in waves every few years. These sightings correlate with news reports. Typically, a sighting would be reported locally, and as the news spread, reports of UFOs increased. In 1966, a book was published detailing the alleged abduction of the Hill couple by extraterrestrials. The Hills claimed they were abducted on a deserted road late at night while driving. While they claimed to have "wasted time" during the incident, Betty Hill claimed to have nightmares of a kidnapping experience. When they turned to a hypnotherapist for help, they were able to “remember” the event in a hypnotic state. This story began the transition from UFO sightings to reports of extraterrestrial abductions, a craze that continued into the 1990s, and appears to have a correlation with both entertainment and media. In the 1980s, a book published about the “Roswell Incident” – the alleged crash of an extraterrestrial spacecraft and subsequent government cover-up, in 1947 – brought the issue into popular culture. In fact, almost no UFO books mention Roswell prior to this publication. Through these reports, the idea that the government was behind a cover-up or conspiracy has become increasingly popular. Some even claimed that the government might be behind the UFOs themselves, or might be communicating with extraterrestrials! The fear and mystery of the topic have opened it up to exploitation by pseudoscientists. “UFOlogists,” the name given to those who “study” UFOs, use many arguments with varying levels of soundness. The most common argument, and probably the weakest, is that the number of people reporting UFOs is so large that they must exist. In fact, there are entire organizations that have dedicated themselves to tracking these UFO sightings. Websites are now available to map sightings near a location. Likewise, some people claim to have had personal encounters with UFOs and extraterrestrials. Like the Hill couple, some describe experiences of abduction by extraterrestrials in these UFOs. Some of these individuals have taken psychiatric and polygraph examinations to attempt to prove the legitimacy of their claims. UFO advocates also claim to have physical evidence. It's hard to go online these days without seeing a picture of a "REAL LIFE" UFO---NOT A HOAX. Although many images are considered hoaxes, some groups use their photos to claim the existence of UFOs. With modern technology, ufologists have created crowdsourced online “UFO sighting” maps (Image: UFO Stalker). Likewise, with the advent of the personal video camera, many groups claim to have captured video of these vessels. Some use videos from NASA's Space Shuttle missions to show the existence of these craft in space and even claim that the government could communicate or collaborate with these aliens from the Space Shuttle. This idea, which the government is aware of and is also working withextraterrestrials, is a common theme in ufology. The term Area 51 refers to a base in New Mexico where the US government is claimed to be capturing aliens and testing their technology. Testimonies from “government scientists” and anonymous sources claim that the government keeps aliens at this base, has clandestine negotiations with alien races (such as the claim that the government allows aliens to abduct humans as long as the aliens allow the government to study their technologies) and that the government is involved in a worldwide cover-up. Some ufologists argue that this is why it is so difficult to obtain physical data, because the government plays a role in scientific efforts, altering laboratory results to prevent the public from realizing the presence of UFOs. There is a small amount of non-photographic physical data evidence. A man claims to have found a fragment of a UFO and claims that laboratory analysis shows it is made of an extraterrestrial isotope. Others claim to have had “alien.implants” and many must undergo surgery to remove them. However, due to the unpredictable nature of UFOs, it is difficult to collect physical evidence of them. The scientific community, while not expressly against the existence of UFOs, is firmly against the methods used by "ufologists" to prove their claims. Ufologists rely heavily on the use of refutation to support their claims. In other words, ufologists spend their time attacking the claims of skeptics rather than supporting their own claims. Likewise, ufologists also ignore any evidence against their thesis, instead of acknowledging it. They also make heavy use of testimony. While testimonies can be used as evidence, ufologists ignore the fact that human memory can be deceived. To prove that a testimony is “true,” it is common for a psychologist to evaluate the “witness” for mental instability or insanity. However, a person does not have to be insane to suffer from a delusion. Perfectly normal people delude themselves every day. Likewise, polygraph tests are not helpful in this endeavor, as they only test whether or not a person is knowingly lying. If they truly believe in a false memory, they will pass this test. The biggest criticism of ufologists is their reliance on logical fallacy to prove their point. They usually use a type of reasoning called argument ad ignorantiam. It relies on refutation to counter an argument. For example, a magician might say that “no one can deny that I used magic to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Therefore, I must have used magic. Obviously this reasoning is wrong. Just because evidence to prove that magic was not involved in the triplet is not readily available does not automatically mean that the magician used magic. What a UFOlogist using this reasoning might say to prove his point is that "no scientist can think of a more reasonable explanation of the phenomenon, therefore UFOs must be responsible for the phenomenon." Another area where this logical fallacy is used is to say that “since no evidence has been found to disprove UFOs, UFOs must exist.” Just because a scientist hasn't found evidence to disprove something doesn't mean it's automatically true. Scientific investigations have so far been unable to find evidence for UFOs. A U.S. Air Force investigation called “Project Blue Book” worked for 22 years to find evidence of the existence of UFOs that “threatened national security.” In a report released at the end of the program, the Air Force stated that, of the UFO sightings?.