Merged Is ufology a pseudoscience?

[TjW]

Yeah, sure, as long as we're willfully ignoring carlitos's post just above. So more evidence comes to light that would suggest you're not even reading the replies here. Maybe for "ufology" ignorance is bliss.

Perhaps not bliss, but a necessity for the construction of argument.

 

[TjW]

I'm betting if any of us went to the Roswell festival we would find countless examples of pseudo scientific material and pseudo scientists spouting nonsense about proof of alien flying saucers crashing.


Sorry to disappoint my friends here, it turns out I'm a UFOlogist

[qimg]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg117/ThePsychoClown/Baker-Aliens.jpg[/qimg]

Is that you on the left?

 

[Marduk]

If I said I never wear silver, that narrows it down a bit.

dude, tasteful sherrifs badge

 

[gambling_cruiser]

All you meanies have burnt the bridges to USI!!!
Now the JREF is doomed, without bridges to USI we will never find out the TRUTH!!!
Espacially the truth outside of reality, we won't be able to find the truth of fantasy and delusion, boohoo I will cry me eyes out now.
Maybe some mystics will save us or someone will show us the truth of the bible.
But be careful now, this bridges to mystery or religion might be fragile too!
Maybe a psychic can tell us how to avoid complete desaster.

 

[Access Denied]

Sorry to disappoint my friends here, it turns out I'm a UFOlogist

“I went to Roswell and all I got is this stinking hair on my pe…”

Oh wait, those are dudes…

[backs away slowly]

That’s a different kind of ménage à trios.

 

[Marduk]

Maybe some mystics will save us or someone will show us the truth of the bible.

showing people the truth of the Enuma Elish is much more fun
its heavier and comes in a handy seven tablet form with sharp edges

 

[Stray Cat]

All you people ridiculing my photo are burning your bridges I hope you know.

 

[Marduk]

All you people ridiculing my photo are burning your bridges I hope you know.

don't worry
the south will rise again

 

[Agatha]

I checked the online version of the OED. It does include "ufology:"

Apologies for unintentional misleading statement; I have a concise paper copy next to my laptop.

 

[Stray Cat]

don't worry
the south will rise again

I hope not, I live in Yorkshire.

 

[tsig]

We've been through that already ... it's not a perfect name, but the usage has become such that it encompases the subject matter in general. If you wanted to narrow it down you could say "Ufology Studies", and then some portion of that might contain pseudoscience, but non-scientific ufology books for mass market public ( non-scientific ) consumption are a fact of life. I have hundreds of them. They are real and can be weighed and measured and their existence proven scientifically ... but somehow I think you don't really need that level of proof to know what I'm saying is true. Similarly it is plain and obvious that there is such a thing as ufology culture, not only in movies, but also celebrations like the Roswell UFO Festival ... so just do the right thing as a skeptic and admit that if you want to do any good exposing pseudoscience in ufology, that your focus on the whole field is wrong ... that is unless you want to call someone parading down Main Street Roswell in a grey alien costume pseudoscience.



j.r.

That's idiotology which is a subset of UFOlogy.

 

[tsig]

In other words, your answer to RoboTimbo's question is that you consider yourself to be ufology's №1 pseudospokesman and if those other guys don't agree with you then they aren't true ufologists.





Not pseudoscience because it's not ufology.

He's the psuedopope of UFOlogy.

 

[tsig]

The above is not correct and demonstrates prejudice and bias. First the definition of pseudoscience requires that the investigation be presented as scientific, so an informal investigation based on opinion and speculation is not pseudoscience. Therefore the idea that "any investigation" counts is false. Secondly, it is entirely possible that genuine science can come to an erroneous conclusion, without it being pseudoscience. So the entire statement is false and demonstrates an overconfident bias in favor of the idea that science is never wrong. Oh yes ... and typing in upper case doesn't make the point valid either.

j.r.

Typical pronouncement by a psuedoscientist.

 

[tsig]

All you people ridiculing my photo are burning your bridges I hope you know.

Retreating armies always burn bridges.

 

[Lucian]

Apologies for unintentional misleading statement; I have a concise paper copy next to my laptop.

I didn't mean my comment to suggest any criticism of you: I assumed that any version of the OED someone had right next to them would have to be concise or that headache-inducing compact version. I also figured that the online version would be the most up to date.

 

[carlitos]

bump for ufology

Suppose you stop running away for a minute and answer the question. Give an example of something that you do consider to be a pseudoscience.

ufology, can you name a pseudoscience? We'd all like to see you not engage in special pleading so can you be honest?

ufology, you've still not overcome your error in using the fallacy of special pleading. Can you name a pseudoscience?

Using your definition, what would qualify as an actual pseudoscience?

Again, ufology, using your definition of pseudoscience, please name one or more pseudosciences. Otherwise, we'll be left thinking that you made that definition up yourself specifically so as to exclude your own personal thing.

Are you completely unable to see that this is special pleading, despite having it pointed out to you every time you do it?

Hell, would ufology please name any pseudoscience?
...
ufology, in order to see whether you are being honest or employing special pleading, would you please name at least one pseudoscience that fits your definition? Thank you.

Wouldn't answering this simple question be easier than finding other threads in which to argue semantics?

 

[RoboTimbo]

Is brave Sir Robin ufology running away? Brave, brave Sir Robin ufology.

When logic reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.

Pseudoscience paved the way,
So gallantly he ran away.

 

[carlitos]

To save others the pain of the last several hundred posts:

ufology: I wrote this definition of pseudoscience.

others: Oh, cool, what are some examples that fit your definition so we can see how it works?

ufology:

 

[MarkCorrigan]

To save others the pain of the last several hundred posts:

ufology: I wrote this definition of pseudoscience.

others: Oh, cool, what are some examples that fit your definition so we can see how it works?

ufology:

That isn't accurate at all!

It's more like:


ufology: I wrote this definition of pseudoscience.

others: Oh, cool, does that mean [insert other pseudoscience here] is a pseudoscience? How is that different from UFOlogy?

ufology: I'm not here to talk about [named pseudoscience] so I'm going to ignore you.

 

[John Albert]

Like his redefinition of "critical thinking," his redefinition of "pseudoscience" failed to define anything much. He basically stated that nothing except academic fraud in the sciences can qualify as pseudoscience.

His redefinition of "truth" sums up his entire position pretty succinctly.