8 Ways Companies Use Pseudoscience To Sell You Stuff

8. €œClinically Proven€

Science adventure time
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Red flag #1 should be a scientist (particularly a pretendy TV one) dealing in absolutes.

The term "proven" is almost never used in science. You can have evidence to support your hypothesis and you can "strongly suggest" something - but somehow that probably wouldn't sound convincing enough you get you to drop £50 on a pot of moisturiser.

Apart from anything else, finishing your paper with "Yes, we have proven it, case closed", leaves noroom for further research, which is just not how science operates. Proper scientific research almost always includes at least a paragraph outlining unknowns, possible errors and causes for further study. You will almost never find a pseudoscientist discussing what they don't know.

What's that quote? "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."

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