Science vs. Pseudoscience

Understand key differences between the two

3 minute read

Pseudoscience has deep roots and is commonly used to describe a wide array of seemingly scientific claims or solutions. Common examples include astrology (connecting human traits and events to celestial patterns) and phrenology (quantifying mental ability by measuring bumps on the skull). However, pseudoscience is incredibly pervasive in everyday life so it’s important to understand the difference between science and pseudoscience.

There are many reasons why pseudoscience has persisted. Marketing often uses scientific terms and “expert” opinions to make the product or concept sound legitimate and mimic science. Unfortunately, disconnects between scientists and laypeople occur where scientists may identify pseudoscience more easily than a layperson. When cultural factors come into play, the situation is even more complicated. For example, pseudoscientific products are often marketed toward certain social groups and rely on group identity to convince people of their legitimacy. Confirmation bias is another huge contributor, and people may only look for studies that align with their preconceived ideas.

Like science itself, the definition of what makes something scientific is subject to change over time. This may seem contradictory, but science is a process that continuously improves with new information. Therefore, some scientific conclusions must be rejected over time, so the boundary between science and pseudoscience may also change. This core principle, along with the wide breadth of scientific disciplines, can make it difficult to come up with a universal way to define science. The demarcation problem describes the attempt to separate science from other non-scientific fields. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy outlines multiple criteria for this demarcation.

One of the main distinctions between science and pseudoscience from philosopher Karl Popper is falsifiability; science attempts to falsify while pseudoscience tries to verify. Scientific hypotheses must be able to be falsified by data because this makes them testable. Some pseudoscientific claims are so outrageous that they cannot be tested while others are driven by confirmation bias and seek out data that support the claim. However, this one criterion is not enough to distinguish between science and pseudoscience because some pseudoscientific claims are falsifiable. For example, astrological predictions can be disproven, so there must be other ways to differentiate science.