What’s this site about?
There’s a lot of pseudoscience being passed off as scientific these days. That’s always been true, but since the birth of the internet, information spreads like wildfire.
Those who are skeptical of such pseudoscience sometimes use the blanket phrase “woo-woo” to refer to these far-out, pseudoscientific practices, and that phrase now is more often shortened to just “woo.”
There’s a real danger with some of this information. Most of us, once we’ve finished school, have forgotten most of the science we once learned. And unless you’re in a career field that required a lot of scientific knowledge, you likely never learned much more than the basics anyway.
Why is pseudoscience dangerous?
Since most of us aren’t science experts, it’s easy for charlatans to use scientific-sounding words and phrases that convince us that the ideas they’re peddling have merit. At best, that leads to spending money on products that do nothing at all or adopting beliefs that have no basis in reality. At worst, the products or ideas can cause real physical, emotional, or financial harm.
It’s not all bad
Here’s the thing… A lot of these pseudoscientific ideas—maybe even most of them—do have kernels of truth. Some of it might even be useful.
We don’t want to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
The goal of this site is to explore pseudoscientific nonsense in hopes of finding the valuable bits while exposing the garbage for what it is. As well, I’m looking to find the good stuff that might have the appearance of being “woo”… the crazy ideas that just happen to have merit.
Will I always be successful? Probably not.
Will I get everything right? Definitely not.
Let’s learn together
I’m always learning. If you have an open mind—but not so open that your brain fell out—maybe you’ll enjoy learning along with me.
If you catch a mistake I made, and you have real data to show me, I want to hear from you. I don’t mind being proven wrong. It means I don’t have to keep being wrong.
But, if you’re going to defend pseudoscience with more pseudoscience, I’m not interested.
If you’re going to defend it with baseless claims, I’m not interested.
If you’re a conspiracy-theorist who buys into every tinfoil-hat idea… if you think Earth is flat… if you think we’re being controlled by lizard people… if your idea of evidence is, “There’s no other explanation,” I’m definitely not interested.
Who am I?
First, I’m not a scientist. I don’t claim to have any special knowledge. But I do love to learn. I love science. And I hate charlatans.
I’m doing this for those reasons, above all.
I am a middle-aged guy living in Southern California. I’m a freelance writer. I’m a recreational cyclist. I’m a bit of a foodie. I’m a beer and whiskey lover. I’m passionate about coffee. I love music—indie rock is what I listen to most but it’s far from the only music I like. I’m a stand-up comedy fan. I’m kind of a nerd.
So, welcome. I look forward to us learning together.