Forms of Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience takes on many forms, whether it's the sources used, graphs showing information, or even the words that are used in different contexts. This list goes over the most common forms of pseudoscience that people should be aware of when being exposed to unchecked information. You'll find that many of these examples can be used both together or individually.
1. A claim that cannot be falsified.
In science, it is common, and okay to be wrong. All the time, scientists will make hypotheses and predictions about what they are researching, but end up being incorrect, and they will clarify that. Experiments depend on something being testable, and the potential of being proven wrong. That is falsifiability, and it is an important part of science. However, when claims are made in such a way that they cannot be tested or proven wrong, we call it unfalsifiable, which doesn't belong in science.
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Example 1: I have not been abducted by aliens since I started wearing a tinfoil hat, so it must work.
-In this example, there is no way to test or prove the statement to be wrong.
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Example 2:
-Person 1: There is a monster in Loch Ness.
-Person 2: Researchers did an entire sweep of the lake and found nothing.
-Person 3: Every time the researchers looked at one part of the lake, the monster moved to the other side.
-In this example, this conversation would turn into circular reasoning, since there are endless answers to each argument.
2. Jargon
Jargon is the use of scientific-sounding or words that are real but that the average person wouldn't know, in order to sound smart. This is commonly found on sites and advertisements that are trying to sell something. Usually, it is to either sound credible or to scare the viewer with made-up diseases and such. It is a problem that is reasonably common in sketchier advertisements and websites.
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Example: "Allicin C is strongly anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic. It has been scientifically proven in double-blind studies to reduce the number, severity, and duration of common colds. It fights all types of diseases caused by harmful microbes."
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-Taken from https://rense.com/products/ac1.htm while there are better examples of jargon, this website contains numerous examples of many forms of pseudoscience.
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3. The Confirmation Bias
When someone follows the confirmation bias, it simply means that they are only getting sources that support their view. This is noticeable when there aren't any sources or even sentences that have data on "the other side" of the argument. This can happen on almost any platform and to anyone and even happens on accident. This is definitely one to look out for, because the danger of committing this bias is that someone could be simply following a strain of people who are also wrong, and it will become a never-ending system. This one is pretty self-explanatory, so I didn't feel it necessary to include examples.
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4. Only using Anecdotal or Testimonial Evidence
Another obvious one that should be a flashing red warning against trusting this information. This one actually goes hand-in-hand with the confirmation bias, because a reason someone may only use testimonials is because using real sources would only contradict them.
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Examples:
https://rense.com/products/ac1.htm
http://www.stopabductions.com/testimonials.htm
-Both of these cites are excellent examples of only using anecdotes and testimonies and sources/evidence.