The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science

“There is, alas, no scientific claim so preposterous that a scientist cannot be found to vouch for it. And many such claims end up in a court of law after they have cost some gullible person or corporation a lot of money. How are juries to evaluate them?”

Here are Park’s warning signs:

1. The discoverer pitches the claim directly to the media.
2. The discoverer says that a powerful establishment is trying to suppress his or her work.
3. The scientific effect involved is always at the very limit of detection.
4. Evidence for a discovery is anecdotal.
5. The discoverer says a belief is credible because it has endured for centuries.
6. The discoverer has worked in isolation.
7. The discoverer must propose new laws of nature to explain an observation.

Robert L. Park

—The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus ScienceChronicle)

Park omits a very important sign: The discoverer has a tendency to shake his fist and shout, “Fools! I shall crush them all!”