What makes something 鈥減seudoscientific鈥�? The answer to this question鈥攐f how to discriminate between genuine science and a wolf in science鈥檚 clothing鈥攃an be very complex, as it actually falls under the jurisdiction of philosophy. But even without wading into the waters of the philosophy of science, we can identify warning signs that one鈥檚 credulity might be taken for a ride.
Let鈥檚 focus on an interesting example.
There are, spread over Ontario, a dozen Correactology庐 Health Care Centres. If I suffered from a debilitating and degenerative disease and weren鈥檛 a scientist, I could conceivably be tempted by their offer of 鈥渁 method of treating people who are sick or in pain by changing the density of the body鈥檚 cellular network.鈥� It sounds scientific, and the is both soothing and academic looking.
But is Correactology庐 a genuine science? It is, after all, referred to as such on their : 鈥淚t is a natural science, unique and distinct because it is focused on the understanding of the correlation between physical pain and malfunction.鈥�
Here are some of the hallmarks of pseudosciences. Let鈥檚 see if they apply to Correactology庐.
1. Every disease has a single cause and they鈥檝e got the cure-all
In the real world, diseases often have distinct causes. What gives you skin cancer is not the same thing that gives you diabetes. It then follows that medical treatments must be tailored to the disease, which is why doctors don鈥檛 have a panacea and must resort to an assortment of drugs, surgery, radiation therapy, and lifestyle modifications to treat conditions.
In the world of pseudosciences, however, gurus believe that every disease is due to one thing. They have also, quite luckily for their bank account, discovered the one treatment to cure everything.
Correactology庐鈥檚 boogeyman is density. Density is how much matter there is in a particular space. Practitioners of Correactology庐 are concerned with the density of the body鈥檚 network of cells and how it changes.
Disease happens when there鈥檚 a specific shift in density, we are told. Practitioners intervene to restore proper density, so that health can return.
Sounds simple, right? That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 wrong. In trying to find the one cause of all diseases, pseudoscientists end up overly simplifying anatomy, physiology and molecular biology. One of the founders of Correactology庐, Allan Lapointe, that the body was divided into eight segments. A from a patient explains that each of these segments is 鈥渁 distinct family of cells鈥�. Based on their , every cell found in the left side of the head, neck, shoulder, chest, abdomen, and arm is the same type, and is different from the cell type found in the corresponding right side. Any sane pathologist would laugh at that statement. This is simply not how our bodies are built at the cellular level.
And the treatment for these alleged disturbances in cellular density lacks scientific plausibility. To permanently alter how many cells are present in a section of your body, a Correactology庐 practitioner will use rapid hand movements. If it were this easy to get rid of diseases, hugs would carry medical potency and Care Bears would run hospitals.
So how exactly do these practitioners explain that their hand movements work?
2. Mechanisms of action are often drawn from new, evolving sciences
New scientific advances are fertile ground for catch-all explanations of unexplained phenomena. Just like they end up giving Peter Parker his Spider-Man abilities, whatever is new, exciting and slightly terrifying can be used to make questions quickly disappear.
Quantum mechanics is a popular go-to for the quacks. The fact that light is both a particle and a wave is freaky: might it not be, then, that such confusing physics explain away ? ? a that harnesses your dog鈥檚 bio-energetic field to create a frequency barrier against insects?
The nascent field of epigenetics鈥攚hich studies how the expression of genes can be changed without altering the genetic sequence itself鈥攊s a newer example of the abracadabra power of shiny science. If you don鈥檛 know how something affects your health, say it鈥檚 epigenetic! It sounds cool and it鈥檚 all the rage these days!
Sure enough, Correactology庐 wraps itself in the comfort of both of these blankets. To become a practitioner, you must follow a course in , 鈥渁llowing a greater scientific understanding of how a momentum correction can physically alter the body and facilitate healing.鈥� Of course, the kind of hand movements used by Correactology庐 practitioners (or their close cousins, the chiropractors, for that matter) has nothing to do with the weirdness of subatomic particle physics. But if you don鈥檛 buy into 鈥渜uantum healing鈥�, maybe you鈥檒l be interested in epigenetics? Their explains that these hand movements can also 鈥渋nfluence genetic expression鈥� in order to restore health! Indeed, when Jay Novella, of the skeptical podcast , spoke to a Correactology庐 practitioner, he was told that 鈥渋t鈥檚 based on epigenetics. You gotta come in and we鈥檒l see if it works for you.鈥�
And some people, of course, say that it 鈥渨orked鈥� for them.
3. Their best argument is testimonials
We are storytelling machines, which is why we respond much more deeply to testimonials than to scientific data.
Pseudoscientists bank on the appeal to personal experience to convince you that the magic dust they are selling actually works. Sure enough, the Canadian Institute of Correactology庐鈥檚 website has a whole section dedicated to. We hear from people with low back pain, headaches and scoliosis, but also from others with allergies, autoimmune diseases affecting children, and even diabetes. Of course, the Institute isn鈥檛 claiming it can cure these diseases. They are merely providing a platform for other people to make these claims on their behalf.
So how are simplistic explanations, pseudoscientific hand-waving, and personal anecdotes allowed to resist scientific inquiry?
4. A closed system prevents outside criticism and academic growth
A defining feature of science is that criticism is encouraged. Anyone who鈥檚 submitted a paper to a scientific journal is intimately familiar with this core value: scientists love criticizing each other鈥檚 work. It鈥檚 what improves the state of our knowledge. Since pseudoscience can鈥檛 stand up to scrutiny, its adherents tend to work in closed systems, away from peer review, to shield themselves from critical inquiry.
Correactology庐 has its own (incorporated as a federal not-for-profit teaching facility in 2008). It has its own association (similarly incorporated). Its practitioners are part of a Health Care Group (Inc.!). PubMed and MEDLINE, searchable databases of biomedical scientific papers, show a grand total of 0 publications related to the term 鈥渃orreactology鈥�.
And something slightly more insidious can be seen when one takes the time to read their . The prospective student is told that they may 鈥渃onceive, develop or contribute鈥� Correactology庐-related material during their studies. Certainly, when I was a graduate student, I did generate knowledge. That was the whole point. The student is warned, however, that any of this will be the proprietary property of the Canadian Institute of Correactology庐. This is not the hallmark of a scientific enterprise; rather, it has all the trappings of a business.
A classic pseudoscience
There are other boxes Correactology庐 checks on the list of pseudoscience hallmarks, as if it were eagerly collecting them:
* Disingenuous appeal to patient empowerment: 鈥淲e encourage our patients to be empowered 鈥� to take charge of their health and to consequently regain the quality of life they deserve.鈥� (From their page)
* Demonization of the medical profession: 鈥淭hese lectures, if applied will ultimately empower you with the knowledge to navigate your way through, and survive the collapse of the national disaster we call our health care system.鈥� (From their )
* Rebranding of debunked practices: 鈥淎 dichotomous muscle reflex test that yields information to the location of the cellular segments that are not in their proper tension environment,鈥� which is no different from applied kinesiology, a pseudoscience most recently used on . (From their page)
* Focus on the body healing itself: 鈥淸鈥 the human body has an innate capacity to recover as long as its cellular segments are at their Optimum Operating Density (OOD).鈥� (From their page)
In short, Correactology庐 has all the hallmarks of a pseudoscience. Its inventors claim to have discovered a universal boogeyman and its accompanying panacea; it drops in words from newer, shiny sciences poorly understood by the public in an attempt to explain away its magical claims; it relies heavily on anecdotes to attract customers; and it is a closed system whose ideas have not been peer reviewed by scientists and medical doctors.
Buyer beware.
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