# kb

id: salutogenesis-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutogenesis-3.md
category: reference
title: Salutogenesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutogenesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:07.244127+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: salutogenesis-20260505-0
summary:
=== Sense of National Coherence (SONC) === The concept of Sense of National Coherence (SONC), as introduced by Sagy, is a salutogenic model applied at the national level, reflecting the tendency of a national group to perceive itself as comprehensible, meaningful, and manageable. This concept extends the individual-level 'sense of coherence' (SOC) to a collective dimension, integrating national identity and group experiences into its framework. SONC applied to understanding how national identity influences individual and collective well-being and attitudes, particularly in conflict situations. This concept has been particularly insightful in conflict studies, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where it's observed that a strong SONC can correlate with reduced openness to opposing narratives and can act as a barrier to reconciliation processes. Research indicates that heightened SONC, particularly in times of conflict or stress, can reinforce national narratives and decrease the willingness to legitimize the perspectives of "out-groups." This tendency has profound implications for conflict resolution and peace building efforts, highlighting the need for strategies that balance national coherence with openness and empathy towards different narratives. The role of SONC is not limited to political conflicts but also extends to social-political situations like pandemics, where it relates to trust in government


id: salutogenesis-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutogenesis-4.md
category: reference
title: Salutogenesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutogenesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:07.244127+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: salutogenesis-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == Becker, C. M.; Glascoff, M. A.; Felts, W. M. (2010). "Salutogenesis 30 Years Later: Where do we go from here?" (PDF). International Electronic Journal of Health Education. 13: 25–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2013. Studying Health vs. Studying Disease - Aaron Antonovsky. Lecture at the Congress for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Berlin, 19 February 1990. Coping with Existential Threats and the Inevitability of Asking for Meaningfulness - Peter Novak. A philosophical perspective Start making sense - Start Making Sense; Applying a salutogenic model to architectural design for psychiatric care - Jan Golembiewski. A method of applying salutogenic theory. Salutogenesis Bengt Lindström, "Salutogenesis – an introduction" Golembiewski, J. (2012). "Salutogenic design: The neural basis for health promoting environments." World Health Design Scientific Review 5(4): 62–68.https://www.academia.edu/2456916/Salutogenic_design_The_neural_basis_for_health_promoting_environments Mayer, C.-H. & Krause, C. (Eds.)(2012): Exploring Mental Health: Theoretical and Empirical Discourses on Salutogenesis. Pabst Science Publishers. Mayer, C.-H. & Hausner, s. (Eds.) (2015): Salutogene Aufstellungen. Beiträge zur Gesundheitsförderung in der systemischen Arbeit. - Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Mittelmark, M.B., Sagy, S., Eriksson, M., Bauer, G., Pelikan, J.M., Lindström, B., Espnes, G.A. (Eds.) (2016): The Handbook of Salutogenesis Comprehensive overview of salutogenesis and its


id: sanpaku-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanpaku-0.md
category: reference
title: Sanpaku
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanpaku
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:08.425652+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sanpaku-20260505-0
summary:
Sanpaku (三白; lit. 'three whites') or sanpaku gan (三白眼; Chinese: 三白眼; pinyin: Sānbáiyǎn; lit. 'three-white eyes') is a Japanese term referring to a person with visible sclera on three sides of their irises: the normal left and right, plus above or below. The term is most often used in English to refer to a folk belief whereby it functions as an omen or symptom in alternative medicine. It was introduced into English in the mid-1960s by George Ohsawa as a condition supposedly cured by his macrobiotic method. In manga iconography, sanpaku eyes are used to make a character seem dangerous or threatening. == History == According to traditional Chinese and Japanese face reading, the eye is composed of two parts, the yin (black, iris and pupil) and the yang (white, sclera). The visibility of the sclera beneath the iris is said to represent physical imbalance in the body, and is claimed to be present in alcoholics, drug addicts, and people who over-consume sugar or grain. Conversely, the visibility of the upper sclera is said to be an indication of mental imbalance in people such as psychotics, murderers, and anyone rageful. In either condition, it is believed that these people attract


id: sars-conspiracy-theory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS_conspiracy_theory-0.md
category: reference
title: SARS conspiracy theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS_conspiracy_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:09.609989+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sars-conspiracy-theory-20260505-0
summary:
The SARS conspiracy theory began to emerge during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China in the spring of 2003, when Sergei Kolesnikov, a Russian scientist and a member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, first publicized his claim that the SARS coronavirus is a synthesis of measles and mumps. According to Kolesnikov, this combination cannot be formed in the natural world and thus the SARS virus must have been produced under laboratory conditions. Another Russian scientist, Nikolai Filatov, head of Moscow's epidemiological services, had earlier commented that the SARS virus was probably man-made. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the SARS virus crossed over to humans from Asian palm civets ("civet cats"), a type of animal that is often killed and eaten in Guangdong, where SARS was first discovered. Tong Zeng, an activist with no medical background, authored the book The Last Defense Line: Concerns About the Loss of Chinese Genes, published in 2003. In the book, Zeng suggested researchers from the United States may have created SARS as an anti-Chinese bioweapon after taking blood samples in China for a longevity study in the 1990s. The book's hypothesis was a front-page report in the Guangzhou newspaper Southern Metropolis


id: schumann-resonances-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schumann_resonances_conspiracy_theories-0.md
category: reference
title: Schumann resonances conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schumann_resonances_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:10.750756+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: schumann-resonances-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
Schumann Resonance conspiracy theories are a family of claims that misrepresent the physics of Schumann resonances - natural, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic resonances of the Earth–ionosphere cavity - as evidence that "time is speeding up," that a 24-hour day now "feels like" or has become ~16 hours, or that fluctuations near ~7.83 Hz directly entrain or transform human biology and consciousness. These narratives spread in New Age, wellness and conspiracy communities from the mid-2010s onward, often citing online spectrograms to claim that "whiteouts" or "blackouts" mark global energetic events. Science writers and fact-checking outlets describe these interpretations as unfounded: Schumann resonances are chiefly driven by lightning and ionospheric conditions, and measured changes in the length of day are milliseconds, not hours. == Background == Schumann resonances are global electromagnetic resonances that form because the conductive Earth’s surface and the ionosphere act as a spherical waveguide. Lightning discharges continuously excite standing waves with a fundamental frequency near 7.83 Hz and higher harmonics (approximately 14, 20, 26 Hz, etc.) whose exact values vary with ionospheric conditions and global thunderstorm activity. Since the mid-20th century, researchers have used Schumann resonances to study lightning climatology and ionospheric variability, and similar cavity resonances are modeled for


id: science-of-creative-intelligence-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Creative_Intelligence-0.md
category: reference
title: Science of Creative Intelligence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Creative_Intelligence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:11.917526+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-of-creative-intelligence-20260505-0
summary:
The Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as an effort to integrate modern physics, such as unified field theory, with ancient Vedic beliefs and scripture, ultimately proposing that pure consciousness (including creativity and intelligence) underlies the universe and a person can connect to that consciousness through Transcendental Meditation (TM). SCI has been criticized as a pseudoscience. == Overview == In 1961, the Maharishi created the "International Meditation Society for the Science of Creative Intelligence" and, in 1971, inaugurated "Maharishi's Year of Science of Creative Intelligence," describing SCI as a link between "modern science with ancient Vedic science." Between 1970-1973, various SCI symposiums were held in places such as Humboldt State University and University of Massachusetts, attended by international scientists. In 1974, the Maharishi created a "World Plan" to spread SCI across the world. === Education === SCI has been integrated into the curriculum of various universities across the world, including Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa, The Maharishi College of Natural Law in Odisha, India, and the Maharishi Institute of Management with various campuses all across India. For a time, a 33-lesson video course on SCI was available at universities such as Stanford, Yale,


id: science-of-survival-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Survival-0.md
category: reference
title: Science of Survival
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Survival
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:13.143076+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-of-survival-20260505-0
summary:
Science of Survival is a 1951 pseudoscientific book by L. Ron Hubbard which continues to be published by the Church of Scientology as part of Scientology's canon. According to Jon Atack, the title Science of Survival was chosen "to appeal to readers of Korzybski's highly popular Science and Sanity", and Hubbard even acknowledged Korzybski in the book. Its original subtitle was "simplified, faster dianetic techniques", although later editions were subtitled "Prediction of human behavior". The book set out what Hubbard called the "dynamics of behavior" and provided descriptions of new techniques of Dianetics processing that Hubbard described as being faster and simpler than those that he had advanced previously. In the book, Hubbard introduced two concepts that were later to become key elements of Scientology—theta and the tone scale—and also endorsed the concept of past lives. The book has been criticized for its inhumane suggestions that target some classes of the population. == Publication history == The book was published in August 1951 and dedicated to his daughter Alexis Valerie Hubbard (whom he later disowned). It was dictated on SoundScriber discs in Havana, Cuba, where Hubbard took refuge when his marriage to his second wife Sara Northrup Hubbard broke down.


id: science-of-survival-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Survival-1.md
category: reference
title: Science of Survival
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_Survival
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:13.143076+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-of-survival-20260505-0
summary:
The body is normally sweet-smelling down to 2.0 but begins to exude chronically certain unpleasant effluvia from 2.0 down. Individuals from 2.0 down commonly have bad breath. Their feet may have a considerable odour. The musk glands are very active. The sweat has a peculiar smell. Sexual organs emit a repelling odour. And various body exhaust functions are not under very good control. The person may have to urinate or defecate under slight stresses or may weep easily for no apparent cause. This column has not been added to this chart because it has not been thoroughly explored but is only known in a general way. Any slightly or greatly repulsive physical odour from an individual does, however, indicate a tone scale position below 2.0. It is amusing to note that in the Orient wives are commonly selected by the sweetness of their perspiration. This is a very reliable test for position on the tone scale. People who have bad breath as they are processed lose it when they are above 2.0 on the tone scale. People who are temporarily suppressed below 2.0 commonly have bad breath. == Controversy == One passage in particular in Chapter 27 of Science of


id: scientific-racism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscientific belief that the human species is divided into biologically distinct taxa called "races", and that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racial discrimination, racial inferiority, or racial superiority. Before the mid-20th century, scientific racism was accepted throughout the scientific community, but it is no longer considered scientific. The division of humankind into biologically separate groups, along with the assignment of particular physical and mental characteristics to these groups through constructing and applying corresponding explanatory models, is referred to as racialism, racial realism, race realism, or race science by those who support these ideas. Modern scientific consensus rejects this view as being irreconcilable with modern genetic research. Scientific racism misapplies, misconstrues, or distorts anthropology (notably physical anthropology), craniometry, evolutionary biology, and other disciplines or pseudo-disciplines through proposing anthropological typologies to classify human populations into physically discrete human races, some of which may be asserted to be superior or inferior to others. == History == Scientific racism was common during the period from the 1600s to the end of World War II, and was particularly prominent in European and American academic writings from the mid-19th century through the early-20th century. Since the


id: scientific-racism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-1.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
The first race included populations from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, south-east Asia, and the Americas The second race consisted of the sub-Saharan Africans The third race consisted of the east and northeast Asians The fourth race consisted of Sámi people. A product of French salon culture, the essay placed an emphasis on different kinds of female beauty. Bernier emphasized that his novel classification was based on his personal experience as a traveler in different parts of the world. Bernier offered a distinction between essential genetic differences and accidental ones that depended on environmental factors. He also suggested that the latter criterion might be relevant to distinguish sub-types. His biological classification of racial types never sought to go beyond physical traits, and he also accepted the role of climate and diet in explaining degrees of human diversity. Bernier had been the first to extend the concept of "species of man" to racially classify the entirety of humanity, but he did not establish a cultural hierarchy between the so-called "races" that he had conceived. On the other hand, he clearly placed white Europeans as the norm from which other "races" deviated. The qualities which he attributed to each race


id: scientific-racism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-2.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
The Americanus: red, choleric, upright; black, straight, thick hair; nostrils flared; face freckled; beardless chin; stubborn, zealous, free; painting themself with red lines; governed by habit. The Europeanus: white, sanguine, muscular; with yellowish, long hair; blue eyes; gentle, acute, inventive; covered with close vestments; governed by customs. The Asiaticus: yellow, melancholic, stiff; black hair, dark eyes; austere, haughty, greedy; covered with loose clothing; governed by beliefs. The Afer or Africanus: black, phlegmatic, relaxed; black, frizzled hair; silky skin, flat nose, tumid lips; females with elongated labia; mammary glands give milk abundantly; sly, lazy, negligent; anoints themself with grease; governed by caprice. The Monstrosus were mythologic humans which did not appear in the first editions of Systema Naturae. The sub-species included: the "four-footed, mute, hairy" Homo feralis (Feral man); the animal-reared Juvenis lupinus hessensis (Hessian wolf boy); the Juvenis hannoveranus (Hannoverian boy); the Puella campanica (Wild-girl of Champagne); the agile, but faint-hearted Homo monstrosus (Monstrous man); the Patagonian giant; the Dwarf of the Alps; and the monorchid Khoikhoi (Hottentot). In Amoenitates academicae (1763), Linnaeus presented the mythologic Homo anthropomorpha (Anthropomorphic man), or humanoid creatures, such as the troglodyte, the satyr, the hydra, and the phoenix, incorrectly identified as simian creatures. There


id: scientific-racism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-3.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
The French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788) and the German anatomist Johann Blumenbach (1752–1840) were proponents of monogenism, the concept that all races have a single origin. Buffon and Blumenbach believed a "degeneration theory" of the origins of racial difference. Both asserted that Adam and Eve were white, and that other races came about by degeneration owing to environmental factors, such as climate, disease, and diet. According to this model, Negroid pigmentation arose because of the heat of the tropical sun; that cold wind caused the tawny colour of the Eskimos; and that the Chinese had fairer skins than the Tartars, because the former kept mostly in towns, and were protected from environmental factors. Environmental factors, poverty, and hybridization could make races "degenerate", and differentiate them from the original white race by a process of "raciation". Interestingly, both Buffon and Blumenbach believed that the degeneration could be reversed if proper environmental control was taken, and that all contemporary forms of man could revert to the original white race. According to Blumenbach, there are five races, all belonging to a single species: Caucasian, Mongolian, Negroid, American, and the Malay race. Blumenbach stated: "I have allotted the first place to


id: scientific-racism-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-4.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
==== Thomas Jefferson ==== Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was an American politician, scientist, and slave owner. His contributions to scientific racism have been noted by many historians, scientists, and scholars. According to an article published in the McGill Journal of Medicine: "One of the most influential pre-Darwinian racial theorists, Jefferson's call for science to determine the obvious 'inferiority' of African Americans is an extremely important stage in the evolution of scientific racism". Writing for The New York Times, historian Paul Finkelman described how as "a scientist, Jefferson nevertheless speculated that blackness might come 'from the color of the blood,' and concluded that blacks were 'inferior to the whites in the endowments of body and mind'". In his "Notes on the State of Virginia", Jefferson described black people as follows: They seem to require less sleep. A black, after hard labor through the day, will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the morning. They are at least as brave, and more adventuresome. But, this may perhaps proceed from a want of forethought, which prevents their seeing a danger till it be present. When present,


id: scientific-racism-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-5.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
The highest civilization and culture, apart from the ancient Hindus and Egyptians, are found exclusively among the white races; and even with many dark peoples, the ruling caste, or race, is fairer in colour than the rest, and has, therefore, evidently immigrated, for example, the Brahmins, the Inca, and the rulers of the South Sea Islands. All this is due to the fact that necessity is the mother of invention, because those tribes that emigrated early to the north, and there gradually became white, had to develop all their intellectual powers, and invent and perfect all the arts in their struggle with need, want, and misery, which, in their many forms, were brought about by the climate. This they had to do to make up for the parsimony of nature, and out of it all came their high civilization. == Racial theories in physical anthropology (1850–1918) == The scientific classification established by Carl Linnaeus is requisite to any human racial classification scheme. In the 19th century, unilineal evolution, or classical social evolution, was a conflation of competing sociologic and anthropologic theories proposing that Western European culture was the acme of human socio-cultural evolution. The Christian Bible was interpreted to sanction


id: scientific-racism-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-6.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
Although Darwinism was not the primary source of the belligerent ideology and dogmatic racism of the late nineteenth century, it did become a new instrument in the hands of the theorists of race and struggle... The Darwinist mood sustained the belief in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority which obsessed many American thinkers in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The measure of world domination already achieved by the 'race' seemed to prove it the fittest. According to the historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, "The subtitle of [The Origin of Species] made a convenient motto for racists: 'The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.' Darwin, of course, took 'races' to mean varieties or species; but it was no violation of his meaning to extend it to human races.... Darwin himself, in spite of his aversion to slavery, was not averse to the idea that some races were more fit than others". On the other hand, Robert Bannister defended Darwin on the issue of race, writing that "Upon closer inspection, the case against Darwin himself quickly unravels. An ardent opponent of slavery, he consistently opposed the oppression of nonwhites... Although by modern standards The Descent of Man is frustratingly inconclusive on the


id: scientific-racism-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-7.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
In Morton's Crania Americana, his claims were based on craniometry data, that the Caucasians had the biggest brains, averaging 87 cubic inches, Native Americans were in the middle with an average of 82 cubic inches and Negroes had the smallest brains with an average of 78 cubic inches. In The Mismeasure of Man (1981), the evolutionary biologist and historian of science Stephen Jay Gould argued that Samuel Morton had falsified the craniometric data, perhaps inadvertently over-packing some skulls, to so produce results that would legitimize the racist presumptions he was attempting to prove. A subsequent study by the anthropologist John Michael found Morton's original data to be more accurate than Gould describes, concluding that "[c]ontrary to Gould's interpretation... Morton's research was conducted with integrity". Jason Lewis and colleagues reached similar conclusions as Michael in their reanalysis of Morton's skull collection; however, they depart from Morton's racist conclusions by adding that "studies have demonstrated that modern human variation is generally continuous, rather than discrete or "racial", and that most variation in modern humans is within, rather than between, populations". In 1873, Paul Broca, founder of the Anthropological Society of Paris (1859), found the same pattern of measures—that Crania Americana reported—by weighing


id: scientific-racism-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-8.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Nordicism === Joseph Deniker's contribution to racist theory was La Race nordique (the Nordic race), a generic, racial-stock descriptor, which the American eugenicist Madison Grant (1865–1937) presented as the white racial engine of world civilization. Having adopted Ripley's three-race European populace model, but disliking the Teuton race name, he transliterated la race nordique into 'the Nordic race', the acme of the concocted racial hierarchy, based upon his racial classification theory, popular in the 1910s and 1920s. The State Institute for Racial Biology (Swedish: Statens Institut för Rasbiologi) and its director Herman Lundborg in Sweden were active in racist research. Furthermore, much of early research on Ural-Altaic languages was coloured by attempts at justifying the view that European peoples east of Sweden were Asian and thus of an inferior race, justifying colonialism, eugenics and racial hygiene. The book The Passing of the Great Race (Or, The Racial Basis of European History) by American eugenicist, lawyer, and amateur anthropologist Madison Grant was published in 1916. Though influential, the book was largely ignored when it first appeared, and it went through several revisions and editions. Nevertheless, the book was used by people who advocated restricted immigration as justification for what became known


id: scientific-racism-20260505-9
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-9.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific racism played a role in establishing apartheid in South Africa. In South Africa, white scientists, like Dudly Kidd, who published The essential Kafir in 1904, sought to "understand the African mind". They believed that the cultural differences between whites and blacks in South Africa might be caused by physiological differences in the brain. Rather than suggesting that Africans were "overgrown children", as early white explorers had, Kidd believed that Africans were "misgrown with a vengeance". He described Africans as at once "hopelessly deficient", yet "very shrewd". The Carnegie Commission on the Poor White Problem in South Africa played a key role in establishing apartheid in South Africa. According to one memorandum sent to Frederick Keppel, then president of the Carnegie Corporation, there was "little doubt that if the natives were given full economic opportunity, the more competent among them would soon outstrip the less competent whites". Keppel's support for the project of creating the report was motivated by his concern with the maintenance of existing racial boundaries. The preoccupation of the Carnegie Corporation with the so-called poor white problem in South Africa was at least in part the outcome of similar misgivings about the state of poor whites in


id: scientific-racism-20260505-10
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-10.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Early intelligence testing and the Immigration Act of 1924 === Before the 1920s, social scientists agreed that whites were superior to blacks, but they needed a way to prove this to back social policy in favor of whites. They felt the best way to gauge this was through testing intelligence. By interpreting the tests to show favor to whites these test makers' research results portrayed all minority groups very negatively. In 1908, Henry Goddard translated the Binet intelligence test from French and in 1912 began to apply the test to incoming immigrants on Ellis Island. A 1981 study claims that in a study of immigrants Goddard reached the conclusion that 87% of Russians, 83% of Jews, 80% of Hungarians, and 79% of Italians were feeble-minded and had a mental age less than 12. Some have also claimed that this information was taken as "evidence" by lawmakers and thus it affected social policy for years. Bernard Davis has pointed out that, in the first sentence of his paper, Goddard wrote that the subjects of the study were not typical members of their groups but were selected because of their suspected sub-normal intelligence. Davis has further noted that Goddard argued that


id: scientific-racism-20260505-11
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-11.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
The Nazi Party and its sympathizers published many books on scientific racism, seizing on the eugenicist and antisemitic ideas with which they were widely associated, although these ideas had been in circulation since the 19th century. Books such as Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("Racial Science of the German People") by Hans Günther (first published in 1922) and Rasse und Seele ("Race and Soul") by Ludwig Ferdinand Clauß (published under different titles between 1926 and 1934) attempted to scientifically identify differences between the German, Nordic, or Aryan people and other, supposedly inferior, groups. German schools used these books as texts during the Nazi era. In the early 1930s, the Nazis used racialized scientific rhetoric based on social Darwinism to push its restrictive and discriminatory social policies. During World War II, Nazi racialist beliefs became anathema in the United States, and Boasians such as Ruth Benedict consolidated their institutional power. After the war, discovery of the Holocaust and Nazi abuses of scientific research (such as Josef Mengele's ethical violations and other war crimes revealed at the Nuremberg Trials) led most of the scientific community to repudiate scientific support for racism. Propaganda for the Nazi eugenics program began with propaganda for eugenic sterilization.


id: scientific-racism-20260505-12
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-12.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
== After 1945 == By 1954, 58 years after the Plessy v. Ferguson upholding of racial segregation in the United States, American popular and scholarly opinions of scientific racism and its sociologic practice had evolved. In 1960, the journal Mankind Quarterly was founded, which is commonly described as a venue for scientific racism and white supremacy, and as lacking a legitimate scholarly purpose. The journal was founded in 1960, partly in response to the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education which desegregated the American public school system. In April 1966, Alex Haley interviewed American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell for Playboy. Rockwell justified his belief that blacks were inferior to whites by citing a long-discredited 1916 study by G. O. Ferguson which claimed to show that the intellectual performance of black students was correlated with their percentage of white ancestry, stating "pure negroes, negroes three-fourths pure, mulattoes and quadroons have, roughly, 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent, respectively, of white intellectual efficiency". Playboy later published the interview with an editorial note claiming the study was a "discredited ... pseudoscientific rationale for racism". International bodies such as UNESCO attempted to draft resolutions that would summarize the state of


id: scientific-racism-20260505-13
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-13.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
Psychologist Richard Lynn has published multiple papers and a book supporting theories of scientific racism. In IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Lynn claims that national GDP is determined largely by national average IQ. He draws this conclusion from the correlation between average IQ and GDP and argues low intelligence in African nations is the cause of their low levels of growth. Lynn's theory has been criticized for attributing causal relationship between correlated statistics. Lynn supports scientific racism more directly in his 2002 paper "Skin Color and Intelligence in African Americans", where he proposes "the level of intelligence in African Americans is significantly determined by the proportion of Caucasian genes". As with IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Lynn's methodology is flawed, and he purports a causal relationship from what is simply correlation. Nicholas Wade's book (A Troublesome Inheritance) faced strong backlash from the scientific community, with 142 geneticists and biologists signing a letter describing Wade's work as "misappropriation of research from our field to support arguments about differences among human societies". On June 17, 2020, Elsevier announced it was retracting an article that J. Philippe Rushton and Donald Templer had published in 2012 in the Elsevier journal Personality and


id: scientific-racism-20260505-14
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism-14.md
category: reference
title: Scientific racism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:14.388711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-racism-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == Alexander, Nathan G. (2019). Race in a Godless World: Atheism, Race, and Civilization, 1850–1914. New York/Manchester: New York University Press/Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1526142375. Ball, Philip (June 9, 2021). "The unwelcome revival of 'race science': 20 years after the human genome was first sequenced, dangerous gene myths abound". The Guardian. Condit, Celeste M. (2010). Rhetorical Engagements in the Scientist's Process of Remaking Race as Genetic. The University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1299241091. Fredrickson, George M. (2002). Racism: A Short History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00899-8. Scientific racism, history of at Encyclopedia.com (Cengage) Gardner, Dan. "Race Science: When Racial Categories Make No Sense". The Globe and Mail, October 27, 1995. "Race, Evolution and the Science of Human Origins" by Allison Hopper, Scientific American (July 5, 2021). Purves D; Augustine GJ; Fitzpatrick D; et al., eds. (2001). "Box D. Brain Size and Intelligence". Neuroscience (2nd ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. Redman, Samuel J. (2016). Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674660410. Saini, Angela (2019). Superior: The Return of Race Science. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0008341008. Spiro, Jonathan P. (2009). Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison


id: scientology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices created by the American author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard initially presented his ideas in 1950 as a form of talk therapy called Dianetics. He later expanded and reframed those ideas as a religion, which he named Scientology. In 1953, he founded the Church of Scientology, which, by one 2014 estimate, had around 30,000 members. A core Scientology belief is that traumatic events cause subconscious command-like recordings in the mind, which may have occurred in past lives, and which can only be relieved through an activity called "auditing". Auditing and training to audit are the two primary activities in a Scientology organization and are outlined in a structured progression chart called The Bridge to Total Freedom, with the two main achievement levels being the status of "Clear" (the goal of the original Dianetics) and "Operating Thetan" (Scientology's version of spiritual freedom). Fees are charged for auditing and training. The upper‑level teachings of the Operating Thetan levels are considered confidential and are only revealed to Scientologists when they reach each level. The texts, which involve a past life cosmology narrative, have been leaked and publicized, despite the Church of Scientology litigating to keep them


id: scientology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-1.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
Hubbard established an organization to promote his ideas about the mind, which he called Dianetics, in 1950. The organization went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. His ideas were rejected by the scientific community. As the 1950s developed, Hubbard saw the advantages of having his Scientology movement legally recognized as a religion. In an April 1953 letter to Helen O'Brien, his US business manager, he proposed that Scientology should be transformed into a religion: "We don't want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name...It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle". In reaction to a series of arrests of his followers, and the prosecution of Hubbard's Dianetics foundation for teaching medicine without a license, in December 1953 Hubbard incorporated three organizations – Church of American Science, Church of Scientology, and Church of Spiritual Engineering. By 1954, Hubbard had regained the rights to Dianetics. In 1959, Hubbard purchased Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, United Kingdom, which became the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology and his personal residence. With the organization often under heavy criticism, it adopted strong measures of attack


id: scientology-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-2.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
Scientology is vehemently opposed to psychiatry and psychology, and wants to replace them with its own methods. The clinical and academic psychiatry community rejected Hubbard's theories in the early 1950s. Hubbard and his early Dianetics organization were prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license in the early 1950s. Hubbard taught that psychiatrists were responsible for a great many wrongs in the world, saying that psychiatry has at various times offered itself as a tool of political suppression and that psychiatry was responsible for the ideology of Hitler, for turning the Nazis into mass murderers, and the Holocaust. The Scientology organization operates the anti-psychiatry group Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which operates Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, an anti-psychiatry museum. Though Hubbard had stated psychosis was not something Scientology dealt with, after noticing many Scientologists were suffering breakdowns after using his techniques he created the Introspection Rundown, a brutal and inhumane method to allegedly solve psychotic episodes. The rundown came under public scrutiny when in 1995 Scientologist Lisa McPherson suffered a mental breakdown and was removed from the hospital and held in isolation at a Church of Scientology for 17 days before she died. === Views on Hubbard === Scientologists


id: scientology-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-3.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
The Sea Org is the organization's primary management unit, containing the highest ranks in its hierarchy. Its members are often recruited from the children of existing Scientologists, and sign up to a "billion-year contract" to serve the organization. Kent described that for adult Sea Org members with minor children, their work obligations took priority, damaged parent-child relations, and has led to cases of severe child neglect and endangerment. The Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) is the Church of Scientology's disciplinary program, where Sea Org members deemed to have seriously deviated from its teachings are placed. They will often face a hearing, the "Committee of Evidence", which determines if they will be sent to the RPF. The RPF operates out of several locations. It involves a daily regimen of five hours of auditing or studying, eight hours of work, often physical labor, such as building renovation, and at least seven hours of sleep. Journalists have condemned RPF practices for violating human rights; and criticized the Scientology organization for placing children as young as twelve into the RPF, engaging them in forced labor and denying access to their parents, violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The RPF has contributed


id: scientology-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-4.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
The Scientology organization regards itself as the victim of media and governmental persecution, and the scholar of religion Douglas Cowan observed that "claims to systematic persecution and harassment" are part of the internal culture. In turn, Urban noted the organization has "tended to respond very aggressively to its critics, mounting numerous lawsuits and at times using extralegal means to respond to those who threaten it." The organization has often responded to criticism by ad hominem attacks. Its approach to targeting critics has often generated more negative attention for their organization, with Lewis commenting that it "has proven to be its own worst enemy" in this regard. It has a reputation for litigiousness stemming from its involvement in a large number of legal conflicts. Barrett characterized the organization as "one of the most litigious religions in the world". It has conducted lawsuits against governments, organizations, and individuals, both to counter criticisms made against it and to gain legal recognition as a religion. J.P. Kumar, who studied the litigation, argued that victory was not always important to the organization; what was important was depleting the resources and energies of its critics. === Suppressive persons and fair game === Those deemed hostile to


id: scientology-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-5.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
Criminal behavior by members of the organization, including the infiltration of the US Government. Organized harassment of people perceived as enemies of the Church of Scientology. Scientology's disconnection policy, in which some members are required to shun friends or family members who are "antagonistic" to the organization. The death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson while in the care of the organization. Robert Minton sponsored the multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Scientology for the death of McPherson. In May 2004, McPherson's estate and the Church of Scientology reached a confidential settlement. Attempts to legally force search engines to censor information critical of the Scientology organization. Allegations the organization's leader David Miscavige beats and demoralizes staff, and that physical violence by superiors towards staff working for them is a common occurrence in the organization. Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis denied these claims and provided witnesses to rebut them. Stephen A. Kent, a professor of sociology, has said that "Scientologists see themselves as possessors of doctrines and skills that can save the world, if not the galaxy." As stated in Scientology doctrine: "The whole agonized future of this planet, every man, woman and child on it, and your own destiny for the next endless trillions of years


id: scientology-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-6.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
Scientology has historically engaged in hostile action toward its critics; executives within the organization have proclaimed that Scientology is "not a turn-the-other-cheek religion". Since the 1960s, Journalists, politicians, former Scientologists and various anti-cult groups have said that Scientology followers have engaged in organized hostility, harassment and threats, and Scientology has targeted these critics–almost without exception–for retaliation, in the form of lawsuits and public counter-accusations of personal wrongdoing. Many of Scientology's critics have also reported they were subject to threats and harassment in their private lives. According to a 1990 Los Angeles Times article, the Scientology organization had largely switched from using members to using private investigators, including former and current Los Angeles police officers, as this gives the organization a layer of protection in case investigators use tactics which might cause the organization embarrassment. In one case, the organization described their tactics as "LAPD sanctioned", which was energetically disputed by Police Chief Daryl Gates. The officer involved in this particular case of surveillance and harassment was suspended for six months. Journalist John Sweeney reported that "While making our BBC Panorama film Scientology and Me I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel invaded at midnight, denounced as a


id: scientology-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-7.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
In March 2009 a former Scientologist reported that women who worked at Scientology's headquarters were forced to have abortions, or faced being declared a "suppressive person" by the organization's management. In March 2010, former Scientologist Janette Lang stated that at age 20 she became pregnant by her boyfriend while in the organization, and her boyfriend's Scientology supervisors "coerced them into terminating the pregnancy". "We fought for a week, I was devastated, I felt abused, I was lost and eventually I gave in. It was my baby, my body and my choice, and all of that was taken away from me by Scientology", said Lang. Australian Senator Nick Xenophon gave a speech to the Australian Parliament in November 2009, about statements he had received from former Scientologists. He said that he had been told members of the organization had coerced pregnant female employees to have abortions. "I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," said Senator Xenophon, and he requested that the Australian Senate begin an investigation into Scientology. According to the letters presented by Senator Xenophon, the organization was involved in "ordering" its members to have abortions. Former Scientologist Aaron Saxton


id: scientology-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology-8.md
category: reference
title: Scientology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:15.565462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-20260505-0
summary:
The Church of Scientology also began filing lawsuits against those who posted copyrighted texts on the newsgroup and the World Wide Web, lobbied for tighter restrictions on copyrights in general, and supported the controversial Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act as well as the even more controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Beginning in the middle of 1996 and ensuing for several years, the newsgroup was attacked by anonymous parties using a tactic dubbed sporgery by some, in the form of hundreds of thousands of forged spam messages posted on the group. Some investigators said that some spam had been traced to members of the Church of Scientology. Former Scientologist Tory Christman later asserted that the Office of Special Affairs had undertaken a concerted effort to destroy alt.religion.scientology through these means; the effort failed. On January 14, 2008, a video produced by the Scientology organization featuring an interview with Tom Cruise was leaked to the Internet and uploaded to YouTube. The Church of Scientology issued a copyright violation claim against YouTube requesting the removal of the video. Calling the action by the Church of Scientology a form of Internet censorship, participants of Anonymous coordinated Project Chanology, consisting of a series


id: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientology: A History of Man
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:16.748270+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-0
summary:
Scientology: A History of Man is a book by L. Ron Hubbard, first published in 1952 under the title What to Audit by the Scientific Press of Phoenix. According to the author, it provides "a coldblooded and factual account of your last sixty trillion years." It has gone through many editions since its first publication and is a key text of the Church of Scientology. The book has been ridiculed by scholars, journalists and critics of Scientology for its unusual writing style and pseudoscientific claims; it has been described as "a slim pretense at scientific method ... blended with a strange amalgam of psychotherapy, mysticism and pure science fiction; mainly the latter." == Publication history == According to Christopher Evans, the book reportedly originated in Scientology auditing sessions held in Wichita, Kansas in early 1952, involving Hubbard and his personal auditor, Perry Chapdelaine. Chapdelaine said that Hubbard would "settle himself on a couch with a tape recorder handy and an 'auditor' who would be expected to provide appropriate feedback. In no time a flow of introspection - like the free association characteristic of a psychoanalytic session - would begin." In a different account, Hubbard's son, L. Ron Hubbard Jr. (otherwise


id: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man-1.md
category: reference
title: Scientology: A History of Man
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:16.748270+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-0
summary:
The Atom, "complete with electronic rings". According to Hubbard: "There seems to be a 'hole in space' immediately ahead of the Atom", which generates a particular state of mind in a person. The Cosmic Impact, based on the premise that "As physicists tell us, cosmic rays enter the body in large numbers and occasionally explode in the body. Very early on the track the impact of a cosmic ray and its explosion is very destructive to the existing organism". The Photon Converter: essentially an early photosynthetic organism such as an alga or plankton. Hubbard deemed the Photon Converter to be responsible for fears of "light and dark, the storms of the sea, the fight to keep from rolling into the surf". The Helper, an incident of mitosis (cell division) in some unnamed organism which was "a confusing area for the [genetic entity] which therein has much cause for misidentification". The Clam, one of a number of incidents between The Helper and The Weeper. The others include seaweed and "jellyfish incidents [which] are quite remarkable for their occasional aberrative force". Encounters between jellyfish and cave walls are held to be responsible for the emergence of "a shell as in the clam".


id: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man-2.md
category: reference
title: Scientology: A History of Man
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:16.748270+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-0
summary:
He goes on to warn the reader that "your discussion of these incidents with the uninitiated in Scientology can cause havoc. Should you describe the "clam" to someone, you may restimulate it in him to the extent of causing severe jaw pain. One such victim, after hearing about a clam death, could not use his jaws for three days". The Weeper/Boohoo incident deals with a mollusk that rolled in the surf for half a million years, pumping sea water from its shell as it breathed. Weepers had 'trillions of misadventures', whereof the principal was the anxiety of inhalation before the next wave. 'The inability of a pre-clear to cry,' Hubbard explained, 'is partly a hang-up in the Weeper. He is about to be hit by a wave, has his eyes full of sand or is frightened about opening his shell because he may be hit.' The Volcanoes occurred at several points: violent volcanic eruptions which choked the genetic entity's host organism with sulphurous smoke. Hubbard suggests that these eruptions hastened the progress of evolution, "for there is a lack of real reason why this evolution should not be continuing on even today." Volcanoes, believed by Scientologists to be used by


id: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man-3.md
category: reference
title: Scientology: A History of Man
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology:_A_History_of_Man
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:16.748270+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientology-a-history-of-man-20260505-0
summary:
== Critical views == A History of Man has attracted a good deal of comment from critical reviewers and analysts of Scientology. As Marco Frenschkowski notes, it is a "very strange book easily ridiculed". The author Jon Atack describes it as "among the most bizarre of Hubbard's works, [which] deserves the cult status that some truly dreadful science fiction movies have achieved". The Anderson Report of 1965 comments that "To say it is an astonishing document does not adequately convey the peculiar qualities or contents of "The History of Man ... For compressed nonsense and fantasy it must surpass anything theretofore written." Hubbard's biographer Russell Miller describes it in similar terms as "one of Hubbard's most bizarre works and possibly the most absurd book ever written", which "invited the derision which was inevitably forthcoming." Bent Corydon, a former Scientologist, criticises A History of Man by pointing out that Hubbard's "imaginings, opinions, or observations" are presented as established facts - in effect, instructing the Scientologist in what he should remember, rather than letting him find out for himself. Apart from the unusual style of narration, which Miller describes as having "wobbled uncertainly between schoolboy fiction and a pseudo-scientific medical paper", many


id: scriptural-geologist-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist-0.md
category: reference
title: Scriptural geologist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:17.941253+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scriptural-geologist-20260505-0
summary:
Scriptural geologists (or Mosaic geologists) were a heterogeneous group of writers in the early nineteenth century, who claimed "the primacy of literalistic biblical exegesis" and a short Young Earth time-scale. Their views were marginalised and ignored by the scientific community of their time. They "had much the same relationship to 'philosophical' (or scientific) geologists as their indirect descendants, the twentieth-century creationists." Paul Wood describes them as "mostly Anglican evangelicals" with "no institutional focus and little sense of commonality". They generally lacked any background in geology, and had little influence even in church circles. == Background == === Reason for appearance === Up until the end of the 18th century Classical British scholarship was theologically based, using the Bible as a basic source for world history and chronology. Early work in the developing science of geology sought "theories of the Earth" combining mechanical physical laws in the natural philosophy of René Descartes with belief in the global flood as described in Genesis 6-8. The flood narrative in Genesis was given serious consideration as a basis for explaining geological data, and though by 1800 naturalists accepted an old-earth cosmology, this was not an inevitable conclusion among the educated. Amateur and popular geologists


id: scriptural-geologist-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist-1.md
category: reference
title: Scriptural geologist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:17.941253+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scriptural-geologist-20260505-0
summary:
=== Geological competence === Professor of intellectual history David N. Livingstone states that scriptural geologists "were not, as it turns out, geologists at all", concluding that "while it may be proper to speak of Scriptural Geology, it is not really accurate to speak of Scriptural Geologists." L. Piccardi and W. Bruce Masse state that "[a]part from George Young, none of these scriptural geologists had any geological competence". David Clifford states that they were "not themselves geologists" but rather "keen but biased amateurs" and that one of them, James Mellor Brown, "felt that no scientific expertise was required when examining scientific matters." Taking a more positive view, Milton Millhauser states that the leaders of the party were "by no means ignorant of the science [they] assailed." O'Connor argues that terminology in the 21st century is a stumbling-block to modern analysis of geologic competence of the scriptural geologists because science today is understood in the language of Lyell and Charles Darwin rather than that of Penn and Fairholme. Scriptural geologists saw themselves as 'geologists' (in the early 19th-century understanding of the term) and valued geologic fieldwork. For the educated of the early 19th century the Bible was itself valuable evidence. Evidence does


id: scriptural-geologist-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist-2.md
category: reference
title: Scriptural geologist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:17.941253+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scriptural-geologist-20260505-0
summary:
Andrew Ure Andrew Ure, M.A. in 1799, M.D. in 1801 in Glasgow, was a scientist and physician. He served briefly as an army surgeon then in 1803 became a member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow as Professor of Natural Philosophy (specializing in chemistry and physics) at the Andersonian Institution (now the University of Strathclyde). He was probably the first consulting chemist in Britain and highly esteemed by contemporary scientists. He wrote A Dictionary of Chemistry (1821), Elements of the Art of Dyeing (1824), and A New System of Geology (1829). The leading University of Cambridge geologist Adam Sedgwick, a Church of England clergyman, condemned A New System of Geology pulling "it to pieces without mercy" and calling it a "monument of folly". Gillispie chastised Andrew Ure as of the "men of the lunatic fringe" who produced clerical "fulminations against science in general and all its works". Ure was not a cleric. George Fairholme George Fairholme was a wealthy banker and landowner, self-taught naturalist. He was not opposed to studying geology; rather, he did battle with the new theories which were, in his view, inconsistent with Scripture and scientific facts. Genesis did not teach science or geology,


id: scriptural-geologist-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist-3.md
category: reference
title: Scriptural geologist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptural_geologist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:17.941253+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scriptural-geologist-20260505-0
summary:
== References == Books Brooke, John Hedley; Cantor, G. N. (2000). Reconstructing nature: the engagement of science and religion. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513706-X. Clark, John (1970). The Life and Letters of the Reverend Adam Sedgwick. Westmead: Gregg International Publishers. p. 362. ISBN 0-576-29117-X. Clifford, David (2006). Repositioning Victorian Sciences: Shifting Centres in Nineteenth-Century Thinking. City: Anthem Press. ISBN 1-84331-212-3. Cole, Henry (1834). Popular Geology Subversive of Divine Revelation. pp. 52, 113. Gillispie, C. C. (1996). Genesis and Geology. London: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-34481-2. Khun, Thomas S. (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. p. 76. Livingstone, David; Hart, Darryl G.; Noll, Mark A. (1999). Evangelicals and Science in Historical Perspective. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511557-0. McCalla, A. (2006). The creationist debate: the encounter between the Bible and the historical mind. T & T Clark International. p. 65. ISBN 0-8264-6447-5. Piccardi, L.; Masse, W. Bruce (2007). Myth and Geology. London: Geological Society. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-86239-216-8. Rudwick, Martin J. S. (1988). The Great Devonian Controversy. Springer. pp. 42–44. ISBN 0-226-73102-2. Rupke, Nicolaas (1983). The Great Chain of History. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 42–50. ISBN 0-19-822907-0. Young, Davis A. (1995). The Biblical Flood: a case study of the Church's response to


id: scrying-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying-0.md
category: reference
title: Scrying
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:19.233598+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scrying-20260505-0
summary:
Scrying, also referred to as "seeing" or "peeping," is a practice rooted in divination and fortune-telling. It involves gazing into a medium, hoping to receive significant messages or visions that could offer personal guidance, prophecy, revelation, or inspiration. The practice lacks a definitive distinction from other forms of clairvoyance or divination but generally relies on visions within the chosen medium. Unlike augury, which interprets observable events, or divination, which follows standardized rituals, scrying's impressions arise within the medium itself. The terminology and methods of scrying are diverse and lack a standardized structure. Practitioners coin terms such as "crystallomancy," "spheromancy," or "catoptromancy," naming practices based on the medium or technique employed. These practices have been reinvented throughout history, spanning cultures and regions. Scrying media encompasses reflective, refractive, or luminescent surfaces like crystals, mirrors, water, fire, or smoke. Some practitioners even close their eyes, engaging in "eyelid scrying." Methods of scrying often include self-induced trances, using media like crystal balls or even modern technology like smartphones. Practitioners enter a focused state that reduces mental clutter, enabling the emergence of visual images. These initial images, however trivial, are amplified during the trance. Some scryers report that they hear their voice affirming what they


id: scrying-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying-1.md
category: reference
title: Scrying
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrying
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:19.233598+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scrying-20260505-0
summary:
The Shahnameh, a 10th-century epic work narrating historical and mythological past of Persia, gives a description of what was called the Cup of Jamshid (Jaam-e Jam), which was used by the ancient (mythological) Persian kings for observing all of the seven layers of the universe. The cup was said to contain an elixir of immortality, but without cogent explanation for any relevance of the elixir to the scrying function. === Latter Day Saint movement === In the late 1820s, Joseph Smith founded the Latter Day Saint movement based in part on insights gained from the reflections of seer stones. Smith had at least three separate stones which he used initially in treasure-hunting expeditions. Subsequently, he took to placing his favorite stone inside his hat to read what he said were miraculous reflections from the stone. Smith also said he possessed a pair of spectacles manufactured from seer stones, which he called the Urim and Thummim and which he said enabled him to translate the golden plates that are the stated source of the Book of Mormon. == In folklore == Rituals that involve many acts similar to scrying in ceremonial magic are retained in the form of folklore and superstition.


id: the-secret-life-of-plants-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Plants-0.md
category: reference
title: The Secret Life of Plants
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Plants
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:20.427432+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-secret-life-of-plants-20260505-0
summary:
The Secret Life of Plants (1973) is a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, which documents controversial experiments that claim to reveal unusual phenomena associated with plants, such as plant sentience and the ability of plants to communicate with other creatures, including humans. The book goes on to discuss philosophies and progressive farming methods based on these "findings". It was heavily criticized by scientists for promoting pseudoscientific claims. Later editions were published with the subtitle A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man. == Authors == Christopher Bird [de] (1928–1996) was a best-selling author who also wrote The Divining Hand: The 500-Year-Old Mystery of Dowsing. Peter Tompkins worked as a journalist, as well as a US military intelligence officer for the OSS in Italy during World War II. The original book cover design was created by underground comix illustrator Gail Burwen. == Summary == The book includes summaries of the life and work of 20th century scientists Jagadish Chandra Bose and Corentin Louis Kervran as well as 19th century scientist George Washington Carver. The book includes experiments on plant stimuli using a polygraph, a method which was pioneered by Cleve Backster. Parts of


id: see-clearly-method-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_Clearly_Method-0.md
category: reference
title: See Clearly Method
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_Clearly_Method
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:21.615149+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: see-clearly-method-20260505-0
summary:
The See Clearly Method was an eye-exercise program that was marketed as an alternative to the use of glasses, contact lenses, and eye surgery to improve vision. Sales were halted by legal action in 2006. The method is not supported by basic science, and no research studies were conducted prior to marketing. The program is based in part on the Bates method, an alternative therapy devised in the early 20th century, which lacks clinical evidence to support the claim that it can improve eyesight. == History == The See Clearly Method was created by four individuals who called themselves the "American Vision Institute": optometrist David W. Muris, optometrist Merrill J. Allen, psychologist Francis A. Young, and nuclear chemist Steven Beresford. In 1996, they authored a book titled Improve Your Vision Without Glasses or Contact Lenses: A New Program of Therapeutic Eye Exercises, on which the later system was based. When Fairfield, Iowa, businessman Cliff Rose saw the book, he asked that the authors develop the program. Along with attorney David Sykes, Rose created Vision Improvement Technologies, which owned and marketed the See Clearly Method, which was heavily advertised on radio and television from 2001 to 2006, with the endorsement of


id: shrink-ray-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray-0.md
category: reference
title: Shrink ray
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:22.806339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: shrink-ray-20260505-0
summary:
In science fiction, a shrink ray is any device which uses energy to reduce the physical size of matter. Many are also capable of enlarging items as well. A growth ray typically only has the ability to enlarge. == Scientific == Science fiction writer and polymath Isaac Asimov wrote: Miniaturization doesn't actually make sense unless you miniaturize the very atoms which build up matter. Otherwise a tiny brain in a human the size of an insect, composed of normal atoms, is composed of too few atoms for the miniaturized human to be any more intelligent than the insect. Also, miniaturizing atoms is impossible according to the rules of quantum mechanics. Depending on how those atoms were supposed to have been miniaturized, a miniature human may or may not weigh as much as they originally did, which is an observation that has been used for various effects over the years in fictions such as comic books. However, the problems of a miniature human don't stop there. Basic geometry governs parameters such as relationships between cross-sectional area, volume, and surface area. It may be impossible for a one-inch high human to kill themselves in a fall of any conceivable height, but they


id: shrink-ray-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray-1.md
category: reference
title: Shrink ray
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:22.806339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: shrink-ray-20260505-0
summary:
=== Films and television === Dr. Cyclops from the 1940 horror film of that name shrank his victims by locking them inside an "atomic generator". In the 1958 movie Attack of the Puppet People, a scientist captures people and shrinks them to 6 inches in height with an ultrasonic wave device, so he can keep them as company. (He keeps them sealed inside special suspended animation canisters between "puppet shows".) The 1966 science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage (written by Harry Kleiner, novelization by Isaac Asimov) is plotted around such a device, allowing the miniaturized submarine Proteus to carry a crew inside a stricken scientist in an attempt to save his life. They have one hour to cure him before they expand back to normal size. Dr. Shrinker was a segment that aired 16 episodes as part of the ABC network's The Krofft Supershow in 1976. Dr. Shrinker (Jay Robinson) is an evil scientist with a lab on an uncharted island. When teenagers Brad, B.J., and Gordie are stranded on the island, Dr. Shrinker subjects them to his shrinker machine. They manage to escape the lab in miniature form; the series follows their adventures as they try to evade the clutches of


id: shrink-ray-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray-2.md
category: reference
title: Shrink ray
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:22.806339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: shrink-ray-20260505-0
summary:
In "Experiment-a-palooza", Shrink grows Stitch into a giant; the latter goes on a rampage—as he has also reverted to his former destructive programming thanks to the abilities of Experiment 210/Retro—until Yuna manages to calm him down. In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Unremarkable Voyage", Frylock builds a shrink ray (which can also enlarge items). Master Shake quickly gains control of the machine and proceeds to abuse its power for his own benefit. The shrink ray turns out to be faulty, however, as shrunken items return to normal size after a period of time. A shrink ray is a recurring device shown in Venture Brothers, although it never seems to actually work properly. In Despicable Me, Gru used a shrink ray to shrink the Moon and pocket it. The effects of the shrink ray are only temporary, however, and the bigger the mass of an object, the quicker the effect wears off; this is called the "Nefario Principle" (coined after Gru's scientist assistant Dr. Nefario). Vector returns the Moon to satellite orbit before it returns to normal size using his escape pod, but the Moon expands before he could do so in time and his escape pod is consequently destroyed,


id: shrink-ray-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray-3.md
category: reference
title: Shrink ray
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_ray
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:22.806339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: shrink-ray-20260505-0
summary:
=== Radio === The "Pertwee System of Infinite Acceleration" in the Dimension X episode "The Professor Was a Thief" was a shrink ray (November 5, 1950). === Literature === Cold War in a Country Garden (Lindsay Gutteridge, Pocket 1973) concerns the adventures of miniaturized spies. Small World (Tabitha King, 1982) is about a dollhouse enthusiast who gains a device that will shrink anything, and takes it too far. The Atom, Ant-Man, The Wasp, and Doll Man are but a few of the comic book characters who had as a primary power the ability to shrink (usually by technological means). === Video games === Duke Nukem 3D and Duke Nukem Forever have a shrink ray capable of shrinking an enemy, which allows the player character Duke Nukem to step on the shrunken foe, instantly killing it. A similar weapon dubbed the G.L.O.P.P. Ray appears in Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. Engineers in World of Warcraft are capable of crafting a Gnomish shrink ray. The Eiffel Tower is reduced in size, then stolen, in the game Evil Genius. In Men in Black: The Series – Crashdown, Agent J uses a shrink ray to shrink himself and battle a group of insectoid aliens. Pandemonium!


id: signature-in-the-cell-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_in_the_Cell-0.md
category: reference
title: Signature in the Cell
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_in_the_Cell
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:24.255967+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: signature-in-the-cell-20260505-0
summary:
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design is a 2009 book about intelligent design by philosopher and intelligent design advocate Stephen C. Meyer. The book was well received by some within the conservative, intelligent design and evangelical communities, but several other reviewers were critical and wrote that Meyer's claims are incorrect. == Summary == According to Meyer, historical sciences seek to establish past causes of events using three criteria: (1) that a proposed cause was present, (2) that independent evidence establishes that the proposed cause can indeed produce that event, and (3) that there is an absence of evidence of other possible causes. In his view, the first form of life would have been a functioning, self-replicating, and protein-synthesizing system of DNA and proteins, and as such an information-rich system. Meyer believes that chemical evolution, chance, and chemical necessity have not been proven capable of producing information-rich systems, and that intelligent design is therefore the best explanation for the emergence of life on this planet. He argues that definitions of science that would preclude intelligent design from being a science also preclude many other fields, already established as science, from being science. Meyer believes the designing


id: silva-method-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silva_Method-0.md
category: reference
title: Silva Method
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silva_Method
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:25.454293+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: silva-method-20260505-0
summary:
The Silva Method is a self-help and meditation program developed by José Silva. It claims to increase an individual's abilities through relaxation, improve the intelligence quotient, use the mind to heal the body, develop higher brain functions, and psychic abilities such as clairvoyance. It has been variously classified as a self-religion, a new religious movement, and a cult, and has been criticised as pseudoscience. == Biography of José Silva == José Silva (August 11, 1914- February 7, 1999), an American electronics repairman, grew up in Laredo, Texas. He developed an interest in psychology to see if it could help him increase his children's IQ. After experimenting and being convinced of his daughter's sudden clairvoyance, Silva decided to learn more about the development of psychic abilities. In 1944 Silva began developing his method, formerly known as Silva Mind Control. He used it on his family members and friends before launching it commercially in the 1960s. Silva was the subject of a 1990 biography. == Technique == The technique aims to reach and sustain a state of mental functioning, called alpha state, where brainwave frequency is seven to fourteen Hz.:p19-20 Daydreaming and the transition to sleeping are alpha states.:p19-20 Silva claimed to


id: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver-0.md
category: reference
title: Medical uses of silver
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:26.599044+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-0
summary:
The medical uses of silver include its use in wound dressings, creams, and as an antibiotic coating on medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials may be used to treat external infections. The limited evidence available shows that silver coatings on endotracheal breathing tubes may reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. There is tentative evidence that using silver-alloy indwelling catheters for short-term catheterizing will reduce the risk of catheter-acquired urinary tract infections. Silver generally has low toxicity, and minimal risk is expected when silver is used in approved medical applications. Alternative medicine products such as colloidal silver are controversial. == Mechanism of action == Silver and most silver compounds have an oligodynamic effect and are toxic for bacteria, algae, and fungi in vitro. The antibacterial action of silver is dependent on the silver ion. The effectiveness of silver compounds as an antiseptic is based on the ability of the biologically active silver ion (Ag+) to irreversibly damage key enzyme systems in the cell membranes of pathogens. The antibacterial action of silver has long been known to be enhanced by the presence of an electric field. Applying an electric current across silver electrodes enhances antibiotic action at the


id: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver-1.md
category: reference
title: Medical uses of silver
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:26.599044+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-0
summary:
=== Conjugations with existing drugs === Research in 2018 into the treatment of central nervous system infections caused by free-living amoebae such as Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba castellanii, tested the effectiveness of existing drugs as well as the effectiveness of the same drugs when they were conjugated with silver nanoparticles. In vitro tests demonstrated more potent amoebicidal effects for the drugs when conjugated with silver nanoparticles as compared to the same drugs when used alone. They also found that conjugating the drugs with silver nanoparticles enhanced their anti-acanthamoebic activity. === X-ray film === Silver-halide imaging plates used with X-ray imaging were the standard before digital techniques arrived; these function essentially the same as other silver-halide photographic films, although for x-ray use the developing process is very simple and takes only a few minutes. Silver x-ray film remains popular for its accuracy, and cost effectiveness, particularly in developing countries, where digital X-ray technology is usually not available. === Other uses === Silver compounds have been used in external preparations as antiseptics, including both silver nitrate and silver proteinate. Before the development of antibiotics, Credé's prophylaxis used a 2% solution of silver nitrate to prevent neonatal conjunctivitis, which used to account for


id: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver-2.md
category: reference
title: Medical uses of silver
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:26.599044+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medical-uses-of-silver-20260505-0
summary:
Colloidal silver (a colloid consisting of silver nanoparticles suspended in liquid) and formulations containing silver salts were used by physicians in the early 20th century, but their use was largely discontinued in the 1940s following the development of modern antibiotics. Since about 1990, there has been a resurgence of the promotion of colloidal silver as a dietary supplement (used internally), marketed with claims of its being an essential mineral supplement, or that it can prevent or treat numerous diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, herpes, and tuberculosis. No medical evidence supports the effectiveness of colloidal silver for any of these claimed indications. Silver is not an essential mineral in humans; there is no dietary requirement for silver, and hence, no such thing as a silver "deficiency". There is no evidence that colloidal silver treats or prevents any medical condition, and it can cause serious and potentially irreversible side effects, such as argyria. In August 1999, the U.S. FDA banned colloidal silver sellers from claiming any therapeutic or preventive value for the product, although silver-containing products continue to be promoted as dietary supplements in the U.S. under the looser regulatory standards applied to supplements. The FDA has issued numerous warning


id: sinodonty-and-sundadonty-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinodonty_and_Sundadonty-0.md
category: reference
title: Sinodonty and Sundadonty
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinodonty_and_Sundadonty
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:27.772349+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sinodonty-and-sundadonty-20260505-0
summary:
In anthropology, Sinodonty and Sundadonty are two patterns of features widely found in the dentitions of the populations of East Asia and Southeast Asia respectively. These two patterns were identified by anthropologist Christy G. Turner II as being within the greater "Mongoloid dental complex". The combining forms Sino- and Sunda- refer to China and Sundaland, respectively, while -dont refers to teeth. == Proto-sundadonty hypothesis == Tsunehiko Hanihara (1993) believed that the dental features of Aboriginal Australians have the characteristic of high frequencies of "evolutionarily conservative characteristics," which he called the "proto-sundadont" pattern, as he believed that the dental pattern of Aboriginal Australians was ancestral to that of Southeast Asians. C.G Turner II, in his 2016 analysis, that sundadonty is the proto-East Eurasian dental morphology and is not connected to the Australian dental morphology, rendering the term "proto-sundadont" inaccurate for the Australian dental morphology. He also shows that sinodonty is predominant in Native Americans. == Super-Sinodont == Analysis on the Sinodonty and Sundadonty of New world groups by G.R. Sott et al. (2016) shows the distinction among East Asians is not nearly as dramatic as the difference between all Asians and all New World groups. Other researchers, such a Stojanowski et


id: sleep-learning-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-learning-0.md
category: reference
title: Sleep-learning
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-learning
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:28.924790+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sleep-learning-20260505-0
summary:
Sleep-learning or sleep-teaching (also known as hypnopædia or hypnopedia) is an attempt to convey information to a sleeping person, typically by playing a sound recording to them while they sleep. Although sleep is considered an important period for memory consolidation, scientific research has concluded that sleep-learning is not possible. Once a concept explored in the early history of psychology, sleep-learning appears frequently in fiction and parapsychology, and is widely considered to be pseudoscience. == History == In 1927, Alois Benjamin Saliger invented the "Psycho-Phone" or "Psychophone", a specialized version of Thomas Edison's phonograph, for sleep learning, stating: "It has been proven that natural sleep is identical with hypnotic sleep and that during natural sleep the unconscious mind is most receptive to suggestions." Saliger patented the device in 1932 as the "automatic time-controlled suggestion machine". Since the electroencephalography studies by Charles W. Simon and William H. Emmons in 1956, learning by sleep has not been taken seriously. The researchers concluded that learning during sleep was "impractical and probably impossible". They reported that stimulus material presented during sleep was not recalled later when the subject awoke, unless alpha wave activity occurred at the same time the stimulus material was given. == In


id: sleep-learning-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-learning-1.md
category: reference
title: Sleep-learning
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep-learning
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:28.924790+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sleep-learning-20260505-0
summary:
In Hugo Gernsback's 1911 story Ralph 124C 41+, one finds the Hypnobioscope, a sleep learning device. In Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World, it is used for the conditioning of children into the novel's fictional future culture. In the novel, sleep-learning was discovered by accident when a Polish boy named Reuben Rabinovitch was able to recite an entire radio broadcast in English after a radio receiver was left on in his sleep. The boy was unable to comprehend what he had heard via hypnopædia, but it was soon realized that hypnopædia could be used to effectively make suggestions about morality. In Robert Heinlein's 1948 novel Space Cadet, the character Matt Dodson is taught to speak Venutian (the language of the planet Venus) while under drug-aided hypnosis. He surprises his Venus-born friend Oscar by spontaneously reproving him when Oscar utters a curse in Venutian. (Later in the novel, Matt appears to have forgotten what he learned and relies on Oscar for translation.) In the BBC Radio series Journey into Space (1953–1958), during the second and third parts of the trilogy, there were said to be Martians abducting people from the Earth and conditioning them to obey instructions or to make


id: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia-0.md
category: reference
title: Sluggish schizophrenia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:30.155436+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-0
summary:
Sluggish schizophrenia or slow progressive schizophrenia (Russian: вялотеку́щая шизофрени́я, romanized: vyalotekushchaya shizofreniya) was a diagnostic category used in the Soviet Union to describe what was claimed to be a form of schizophrenia characterized by a slowly progressive course; it was diagnosed even in patients who showed no symptoms of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, on the assumption that these symptoms would appear later. It was developed in the 1960s by Soviet psychiatrist Andrei Snezhnevsky and his colleagues, and was used exclusively in the USSR and several Eastern Bloc countries, until the fall of Communism starting in 1989. The diagnosis has long been discredited because of its scientific inadequacy and its use as a means of confining dissenters. It has never been used or recognized outside of the Eastern Bloc, or by international organizations such as the World Health Organization. It is considered a prime example of the political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union. Sluggish schizophrenia was the most infamous of diagnoses used by Soviet psychiatrists, due to its usage against political dissidents. After being discharged from a hospital, persons diagnosed with sluggish schizophrenia were deprived of their civic rights, credibility and employability. The usage of this diagnosis has


id: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia-1.md
category: reference
title: Sluggish schizophrenia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:30.155436+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-0
summary:
== Popularity of diagnosis == Because of diagnoses of sluggish schizophrenia, Russia in 1974 had 5–7 cases of schizophrenia per 1,000 population, compared to 3–4 per 1,000 in the United Kingdom. In the 1980s, Russia had three times as many schizophrenic patients per capita as the US, twice as many schizophrenic patients as West Germany, Austria and Japan, and more schizophrenic patients than any Western country. The city with the highest diagnosed prevalence of schizophrenia in the world was Moscow. Along with paranoia, sluggish schizophrenia was the diagnosis most frequently used for the psychiatric incarceration of dissenters. Darrel Regier of the National Institute of Mental Health, one of the U.S. experts who visited Soviet psychiatric hospitals in 1989, testified that a "substantial number" of political dissenters had been recognized as mentally sick on the basis of such symptoms as "anti-Soviet thoughts" or "delusions of reformism". According to Moscow psychiatrist Alexander Danilin, the nosological approach in the Moscow psychiatric school established by Andrei Snezhnevsky (whom Danilin considered a state criminal) boiled down to the ability to diagnose schizophrenia. == Systematics by Snezhnevsky == The Soviet model of schizophrenia is based on the hypothesis that a fundamental characteristic (by which schizophrenia spectrum


id: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia-2.md
category: reference
title: Sluggish schizophrenia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:30.155436+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-0
summary:
Only specially instructed psychiatrists could recognize sluggish schizophrenia to indefinitely treat dissenters in a "Special Psychiatric Hospital" with heavy doses of antipsychotic medication. Convinced of the immortality of the totalitarian USSR, Soviet psychiatrists, especially in Moscow, did not hesitate to form "scientific" articles and defend dissertations by using the cases of dissidents. For example, Snezhnevsky diagnosed dissident Vladimir Bukovsky as schizophrenic on 5 July 1962 and on 12 November 1971 wrote to writer Viktor Nekrasov that the characteristics of Bukovsky's mental disease were included in the dissertation by Snezhnevsky's colleague. All the paper products were available in medical libraries. As Semyon Gluzman recollects, when he returned to Kiev in 1982 after his absence of ten years, he was amazed to see all this "scientific" literature in open storage at the Kiev medical library and was even more amazed to read all the "ridiculous stuff" hardly put into scientific psychiatric terminology. In their papers and dissertations on treatment for litigiousness and reformism, Kosachyov and other Soviet psychiatrists recommended compulsory treatment for persons with litigiousness and reformism, in the same psychiatric hospitals used for murderers: Compulsory treatment in psychiatric hospitals of special type is to be recommended in cases of brutal murders


id: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia-3.md
category: reference
title: Sluggish schizophrenia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:30.155436+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sluggish-schizophrenia-20260505-0
summary:
== Recurrence in post-Soviet countries == In 2010, Yuri Savenko, the president of the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia, warned that Professor Anatoly Smulevich, author of the monographs Problema Paranoyi (The Problem of Paranoia) (1972) and Maloprogredientnaya Shizofreniya (Continuous Sluggish Schizophrenia) (1987), which had contributed to the hyperdiagnosis of sluggish schizophrenia, had again begun to play the same role. Under his influence, therapists have begun to widely use antidepressants and antipsychotics but often in inadequate cases and in inappropriate doses, without consulting psychiatrists. This situation has opened up a huge new market for pharmaceutical firms, and the flow of the mentally ill to internists. In their joint book Sociodinamicheskaya Psikhiatriya (Sociodynamic Psychiatry), Doctor of Medical Sciences professor of psychiatry Caesar Korolenko and Doctor of Psychological Sciences Nina Dmitrieva note that Smulevich's clinical description of sluggish schizophrenia is extremely elusive and includes almost all possible changes in mental status and conditions that occur in a person without psychopathology: euphoria, hyperactivity, unfounded optimism, irritability, explosiveness, sensitivity, inadequacy and emotional deficit, hysterical reactions with conversive and dissociative symptoms, infantilism, obsessive-phobic states and stubbornness. At present, the hyperdiagnosis of schizophrenia becomes especially negative due to a large number of schizophreniform psychoses caused by the


id: social-darwinism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-0.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
Social Darwinism is a body of pseudoscientific theories and societal practices that claim to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics. Social Darwinists believe that the strong should see their wealth and power increase, while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. Social Darwinist definitions of the strong and the weak vary, and differ on the precise mechanisms that reward strength and punish weakness. Many such views stress competition between individuals in laissez-faire capitalism, while others, emphasizing struggle between national or racial groups, support eugenics, racism, imperialism and/or fascism. Today, scientists generally consider social Darwinism to be discredited as a theoretical framework, but it persists within popular culture. Scholars debate the extent to which the various social Darwinist ideologies reflect Charles Darwin's own views on human social and economic issues. References to social Darwinism since have usually been pejorative. Some groups, including creationists such as William Jennings Bryan, argued social Darwinism is a logical consequence of Darwinism. Academics such as Steven Pinker have argued this is a fallacy of appeal to nature. While most scholars recognize historical links between the popularisation of Darwin's theory and forms of social Darwinism,


id: social-darwinism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-1.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Usage === Social Darwinism has many definitions, not all of which are compatible with one another. As such, social Darwinism has been criticized for being an inconsistent philosophy, which does not lead to any clear political conclusions. For example, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics states:Part of the difficulty in establishing sensible and consistent usage is that commitment to the biology of natural selection and to 'survival of the fittest' entailed nothing uniform either for sociological method or for political doctrine. A 'social Darwinist' could just as well be a defender of laissez-faire as a defender of state socialism, just as much an imperialist as a domestic eugenist. The term social Darwinism has rarely been used by advocates of the supposed ideologies or ideas; instead it has almost always been used pejoratively by its opponents. The term draws upon the common meaning of Darwinism, which includes a range of evolutionary views, but in the late 19th century was applied more specifically to natural selection as first advanced by Darwin to explain speciation in populations of organisms. The process includes competition between individuals for limited resources, popularly but inaccurately described by the phrase "survival of the fittest", a term coined


id: social-darwinism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-2.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
In Galton's view, social institutions such as welfare and insane asylums were allowing inferior humans to survive and reproduce at levels faster than the more "superior" humans in respectable society, and if corrections were not soon taken, society would be awash with "inferiors". Darwin read his cousin's work with interest, and devoted sections of Descent of Man to discussion of Galton's theories. Neither Galton nor Darwin, though, advocated any eugenic policies restricting reproduction, due to their Whiggish distrust of government. Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy addressed the question of artificial selection, yet Nietzsche's principles did not concur with Darwinian theories of natural selection. Nietzsche's point of view on sickness and health, in particular, opposed him to the concept of biological adaptation as forged by Spencer's "fitness". Nietzsche criticized Haeckel, Spencer, and Darwin, sometimes under the same banner by maintaining that in specific cases, sickness was necessary and even helpful. Thus, he wrote: Wherever progress is to ensue, deviating natures are of greatest importance. Every progress of the whole must be preceded by a partial weakening. The strongest natures retain the type, the weaker ones help to advance it. Something similar also happens in the individual. There is rarely a degeneration, a truncation,


id: social-darwinism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-3.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
Nazi Germany's justification for its aggression was regularly promoted in Nazi propaganda films depicting scenes such as beetles fighting in a lab setting to demonstrate the principles of 'survival of the fittest' as depicted in Alles Leben ist Kampf (English translation: All Life is Struggle). Hitler often refused to intervene in the promotion of officers and staff members, preferring instead to have them fight amongst themselves to force the "stronger" person to prevail—"strength" referring to those social forces void of virtue or principle. One key proponent was Alfred Rosenberg, who was hanged later at Nuremberg. Such ideas also helped to advance mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Germany, especially Aktion T4, which targeted mentally ill and disabled people in Germany. The argument that Nazi ideology was strongly influenced by social Darwinist ideas is often found in historical and social science literature. For example, the philosopher and historian Hannah Arendt analysed the historical development via social Darwinist ethics to racist ideology. Another example is recent scholarship that portrays Ernst Haeckel's Monist League as a mystical progenitor of the Völkisch movement and, ultimately, of the Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler. Scholars opposed to this interpretation, however, have pointed out that the Monists


id: social-darwinism-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-4.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
=== China === Social Darwinism was formally introduced to China through the translation by Yan Fu of Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, in the course of an extensive series of translations of influential Western thought. Yan's translation strongly impacted Chinese scholars because he added national elements not found in the original. Yan Fu criticized Huxley from the perspective of Spencerian social Darwinism in his own annotations to the translation. He understood Spencer's sociology as "not merely analytical and descriptive, but prescriptive as well", and saw Spencer building on Darwin, whom Yan summarized thus: Peoples and living things struggle for survival. At first, species struggle with species; as they [people] gradually progress, there is a struggle between one social group and another. The weak invariably become the prey of the strong, the stupid invariably become subservient to the clever. By the 1920s, social Darwinism found expression in the promotion of eugenics by the Chinese sociologist Pan Guangdan. When Chiang Kai-shek started the New Life Movement in 1934, he "... harked back to theories of Social Darwinism", writing that "only those who readapt themselves to new conditions, day by day, can live properly. When the life of a people is going through this


id: social-darwinism-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-5.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
Social Darwinism was predominantly found in laissez-faire societies where the prevailing view was that of an individualist order to society. A different form of social Darwinism was part of the ideological foundations of Nazism and other fascist movements. This form did not envision survival of the fittest within an individualist order of society, but rather advocated a type of racial and national struggle where the state directed human breeding through eugenics. Names such as "Darwinian collectivism" or "Reform Darwinism" have been suggested to describe these views to differentiate them from the individualist type of social Darwinism. As mentioned above, social Darwinism has often been linked to nationalism and imperialism. During the age of New Imperialism, the concepts of evolution justified the exploitation of "lesser breeds without the law" by "superior races". To elitists, strong nations were composed of white people who were successful at expanding their empires, and as such, these strong nations would survive in the struggle for dominance. With this attitude, Europeans, except for Christian missionaries, seldom adopted the customs and languages of local people under their empires. === Peter Kropotkin and mutual aid === Peter Kropotkin argued in his 1902 book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution


id: social-darwinism-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism-6.md
category: reference
title: Social Darwinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Darwinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:31.343708+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-darwinism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Secondary sources === Bannister, Robert C. (1989), Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought, ISBN 9780877225669. Bannister, Robert C. (1987), Sociology and Scientism: The American Quest for Objectivity, 1880–1940, ISBN 9780807817339. Bernardini, J.-M. (1997), Le darwinisme social en France (1859–1918). Fascination et rejet d'une idéologie, CNRS Edition, ISBN 9782271054838. Boller, Paul F., Jr. (1969), American Thought in Transition: The Impact of Evolutionary Naturalism, 1865–1900, OCLC 12715, archived from the original on 4 June 2011{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link). Bowler, Peter J. (2003), Evolution: The History of an Idea (3rd ed.), University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520236936. Crook, Paul (1994), Darwinism, War and History : The Debate over the Biology of War from the 'Origin of Species' to the First World War, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521444651. Crook, Paul (1997), Social Darwinism in European and American Thought, 1860–1945, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511558481, ISBN 9780511558481, archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Crook, Paul (2007), Darwin's Coat-Tails: Essays on Social Darwinism, Peter Lang, ISBN 9780820481388. Degler, Carl N. (1992), In Search of Human Nature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195063806. Desmond, Adrian; Moore, James (1991), Darwin, London: Michael Joseph,


id: socionics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics-0.md
category: reference
title: Socionics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:32.583410+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: socionics-20260505-0
summary:
In psychology and sociology, socionics is a pseudoscientific theory of information processing and personality types. It incorporates Carl Jung's work on Psychological Types with Antoni Kępiński's theory of information metabolism. In contrast to the generally accepted views in personality psychology on age-related variability of the human psyche, socionics distinguishes 16 psychophysiological types (sociotypes) which it claims go unchanged throughout a person's life. The existence of personality types is extremely controversial in modern personality psychology. Socionics was developed in the 1970s and 1980s, primarily by the Lithuanian researcher Aušra Augustinavičiūtė. The name "socionics" is derived from the word "society", because Augustinavičiūtė believed that each sociotype has a distinct purpose in society. The central idea of socionics is that information is intuitively divisible into eight categories, called information elements, which a person's psyche processes using eight psychological functions. Each sociotype has a different correspondence between functions and information elements, which it posits results in different ways of handling information and distinct thinking patterns. One prevalent idea in socionics is the theory of intertype relations, which is based on the interaction of these functions between types. Independent authors point to the insufficient empirical validity of socionics both in its basis and in its


id: socionics-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics-1.md
category: reference
title: Socionics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:32.583410+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: socionics-20260505-0
summary:
=== Socionics as an academic discipline === Through the work of the International Institute of Socionics and other schools of socionics, there are four scientific peer-reviewed journals (on the practical application of the methods of socionics in management, consulting, psychology, pedagogy, education, psychotherapy, and humanities) and an annual International conference on socionics. The Institute gives "popularization and proliferation of socionic knowledge" as one of its goals. Svetlana V. Ivanova claims that socionics is taught in more than 150 universities in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS and European Union countries. Areas of research include educational socionics, sociological socionics, aviation socionics, library socionics, technical socionics, linguistic socionics, penitentiary socionics, and socionics in other subject areas. Socionics is used in education, not only as a tool for teachers to manage the learning process, but also as a basis for the development and improvement of education and training. Bogdanova claim that a teacher holding socionic knowledge and technologies can consciously collaborate with others and improve professional efficiency. Targeted use of intertype relations helps intensify the didactic process, increase the motivation of students. Socionics is also used to assess the individual psychological and personal qualities to forecast the success of employee career. Izmailova and Kiseleva


id: socionics-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics-2.md
category: reference
title: Socionics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:32.583410+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: socionics-20260505-0
summary:
== The 16 types == Augustinavičiūtė usually used names like sensory-logical introvert (SLI) to refer to the types. In SLI the leading function is introverted sensation and the creative function is extraverted logic. She also introduced the practice of referring to types by the name of a famous person of the type (although types of these persons are not universally agreed upon, with the old name Napoleon for the SEE being replaced by Caesar after being deemed an inaccurate type assignment). For example, she called the SLI Gabin and the SEI Dumas. Also sometimes names such as Craftsman or Mediator are used to express the social role of the type—a convention introduced by socionist Viktor Gulenko in 1995. Given the formal similarities present between Socionics and the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) abbreviations frequently used in English, some prefer to distinguish socionic type names from Myers–Briggs' names by writing the last letter (J or P) in lower case (for example, ENTp, ESFj)—a practice introduced by Sergei Ganin. This is because the relationship between socionics and Myers–Briggs and Keirseyan types is controversial. Dmitri Lytov and Marianna Lytova state that "main spheres of application of socionics are almost the same as for the


id: somatic-psychology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_psychology-0.md
category: reference
title: Somatic psychology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_psychology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:33.819990+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: somatic-psychology-20260505-0
summary:
Somatic psychology or, more precisely, somatic clinical psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on somatic experience, including therapeutic and holistic approaches to the body. It seeks to explore and heal mental and physical injury and trauma through body awareness and movement. Wilhelm Reich was first to try to develop a clear psychodynamic approach that included the body. Several types of body-oriented psychotherapies trace their origins back to Reich, though there have been many subsequent developments and other influences on body psychotherapy, and somatic psychology is of particular interest in trauma work. Trauma describes a long-lasting distressing experience that can be subconsciously stored and bear upon bodily health. Somatic psychology seeks to describe, explain and understand the nature of embodied consciousness and bridge the philosophical mind-body problem. == Origins == The word soma comes from σῶμα, the Ancient Greek word for body; psyche (ψυχή) evolved from a word for breath to mean life or spirit; and -logy (-λογία) means “study of”. Studying the relationship between the body and the psyche, meaning mind, soul or spirit, is an ancient practice. In the West, systematic study and debate about the body-mind relationship intensified with the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution within


id: somatic-psychology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_psychology-1.md
category: reference
title: Somatic psychology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_psychology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:33.819990+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: somatic-psychology-20260505-0
summary:
== Efficiency/positivism == The effectiveness of somatic psychology and experiencing is still unclear. There are studies that show beneficial data points of somatic experiencing on PTSD-associated symptoms and depression. Somatic experiencing also showed positive impacts on affective and somatic symptoms, and general well-being outside of PTSD-treatment. Different limitations are encountered within studies that show positive results, such as small samples and not following rigorous methodological criteria. Insufficient research has been done to evaluate and compare the differential impacts of various modalities, despite the results of those modalities being relatively similar. The data is encouraging, but more objective studies are required to completely comprehend the efficacy of somatic psychology and experiencing, and improving the method-specific factors. == East Asian examples of somatic psychology == == Criticism == Few studies have shown the beneficial effects of implementing somatic psychology into PTSD treatment, but the conclusion on the effectiveness of somatic therapy has yet to be established. Assessing the efficacy of that method, requires a broader examination of scientific research on body-oriented psychotherapy. Another problem regarding the subject is an increased potential for re-traumatization of a patient. While somatic experiencing can be healing, it is also accessing trauma stored deeply in the body.


id: somatotype-and-constitutional-psychology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype_and_constitutional_psychology-0.md
category: reference
title: Somatotype and constitutional psychology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype_and_constitutional_psychology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:34.991640+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: somatotype-and-constitutional-psychology-20260505-0
summary:
Somatotype is a theory proposed in the 1940s by the American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon to categorize the human physique according to the relative contribution of three fundamental elements which he termed somatotypes, classified by him as ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic. He created these terms borrowing from the three germ layers of embryonic development: The endoderm (which develops into the digestive tract), the mesoderm (which becomes muscle, heart, and blood vessels) and the ectoderm (which forms the skin and nervous system). Later variations of these categories, developed by his original research assistant Barbara Heath, and later by Lindsay Carter and Rob Rempel, are used by academics today. Constitutional psychology is a theory developed by Sheldon in the 1940s, which attempted to associate his somatotype classifications with human temperament types. The foundation of these ideas originated with Francis Galton and eugenics. Sheldon and Earnest Hooton were seen as leaders of a school of thought, popular in anthropology at the time, which held that the size and shape of a person's body indicated intelligence, moral worth and future achievement. In his 1954 book, Atlas of Men, Sheldon categorized all possible body types according to a scale ranging from 1 to 7 for


id: space-animal-hypothesis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_animal_hypothesis-0.md
category: reference
title: Space animal hypothesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_animal_hypothesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:36.123565+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: space-animal-hypothesis-20260505-0
summary:
The space animal hypothesis proposes that reports of flying saucers or UFOs might be caused not by technological alien spacecraft or mass hysteria, but rather by animal lifeforms ("space critters") that are indigenous to Earth's atmosphere or interplanetary space. == Proponents == Multiple authors independently suggested the space animal hypothesis. In 1923, paranormal author Charles Fort mused, "It seems no more incredible that up in the seemingly unoccupied sky there should be hosts of living things than that the seeming blank of the ocean should swarm with life." During the 1947 flying disc craze, a fan of Fort's writings named John Philip Bessor became the first modern proponent of the hypothesis when he authored a letter to the Air Force suggesting that discs might be "animals bearing very little likeness to human beings". In 1949, he wrote to the Saturday Evening Post to suggest that the discs might be "more like octopuses, in mentality, than humans". In 1957, a saucer group's newsletter credited Bessor with the "space animal" idea, and in 1978 he was called the "grand-daddy" of the "space critter" hypothesis. In 1948, the Saturday Evening Post quoted Luis Walter Alvarez's opinion that the "gizmos" appeared to be "alive".


id: specified-complexity-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity-0.md
category: reference
title: Specified complexity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:37.337579+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: specified-complexity-20260505-0
summary:
Specified complexity is a creationist intelligent design argument introduced by William Dembski. According to Dembski, the concept can formalize a property that singles out patterns that are both specified and complex, where in Dembski's terminology, a specified pattern is one that admits short descriptions, whereas a complex pattern is one that is unlikely to occur by chance. An example cited by Dembski is a poker hand, where for example the repeated appearance of a royal flush will raise suspicion of cheating. Proponents of intelligent design use specified complexity as one of their two main arguments, along with irreducible complexity. Dembski argues that it is impossible for specified complexity to exist in patterns displayed by configurations formed by unguided processes. Therefore, Dembski argues, the fact that specified complex patterns can be found in living things indicates some kind of guidance in their formation, which is indicative of intelligence. Dembski further argues that one can show by applying no-free-lunch theorems the inability of evolutionary algorithms to select or generate configurations of high specified complexity. Dembski states that specified complexity is a reliable marker of design by an intelligent agent—a central tenet to intelligent design, which Dembski argues for in opposition to modern


id: specified-complexity-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity-1.md
category: reference
title: Specified complexity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:37.337579+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: specified-complexity-20260505-0
summary:
=== Dembski's definition === Whereas Orgel used the term for biological features which are considered in science to have arisen through a process of evolution, Dembski says that it describes features which cannot form through "undirected" evolution—and concludes that it allows one to infer intelligent design. While Orgel employed the concept in a qualitative way, Dembski's use is intended to be quantitative. Dembski's use of the concept dates to his 1998 monograph The Design Inference. Specified complexity is fundamental to his approach to intelligent design, and each of his subsequent books has also dealt significantly with the concept. He has stated that, in his opinion, "if there is a way to detect design, specified complexity is it". Dembski asserts that specified complexity is present in a configuration when it can be described by a pattern that displays a large amount of independently specified information and is also complex, which he defines as having a low probability of occurrence. He provides the following examples to demonstrate the concept: "A single letter of the alphabet is specified without being complex. A long sentence of random letters is complex without being specified. A Shakespearean sonnet is both complex and specified." In his earlier


id: specified-complexity-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity-2.md
category: reference
title: Specified complexity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:37.337579+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: specified-complexity-20260505-0
summary:
where P(T) is the probability of observing the pattern T, R is the number of "replicational resources" available "to witnessing agents". R corresponds roughly to repeated attempts to create and discern a pattern. Dembski then asserts that R can be bounded by 10120. This number is supposedly justified by a result of Seth Lloyd in which he determines that the number of elementary logic operations that can have been performed in the universe over its entire history cannot exceed 10120 operations on 1090 bits. Dembski's main claim is that the following test can be used to infer design for a configuration: There is a target pattern T that applies to the configuration and whose specified complexity exceeds 1. This condition can be restated as the inequality 10 120 × φ ( T ) × P ⁡ ( T ) < 1 2 . {\displaystyle 10^{120}\times \varphi (T)\times \operatorname {P} (T)<{\frac {1}{2}}.} === Dembski's explanation of specified complexity === Dembski's expression σ is unrelated to any known concept in information theory, though he claims he can justify its relevance as follows: An intelligent agent S witnesses an event E and assigns it to some reference class of events Ω and within


id: specified-complexity-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity-3.md
category: reference
title: Specified complexity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specified_complexity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:37.337579+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: specified-complexity-20260505-0
summary:
The soundness of Dembski's concept of specified complexity and the validity of arguments based on this concept are widely disputed. A frequent criticism (see Elsberry and Shallit) is that Dembski has used the terms "complexity", "information" and "improbability" interchangeably. These numbers measure properties of things of different types: Complexity measures how hard it is to describe an object (such as a bitstring), information is how much the uncertainty about the state of an object is reduced by knowing the state of another object or system, and improbability measures how unlikely an event is given a probability distribution. On page 150 of No Free Lunch Dembski claims he can demonstrate his thesis mathematically: "In this section I will present an in-principle mathematical argument for why natural causes are incapable of generating complex specified information." When Tellgren investigated Dembski's "Law of Conservation of Information" using a more formal approach, he concluded it is mathematically unsubstantiated. Dembski responded in part that he is not "in the business of offering a strict mathematical proof for the inability of material mechanisms to generate specified complexity". Jeffrey Shallit states that Demski's mathematical argument has multiple problems, for example; a crucial calculation on page 297 of No


id: stainless-steel-soap-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel_soap-0.md
category: reference
title: Stainless steel soap
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel_soap
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:38.527818+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stainless-steel-soap-20260505-0
summary:
Stainless steel soap is a piece of stainless steel, in the form of a soap bar or other hand-held shape. Its purpose is to neutralize or reduce strong odors such as those from handling garlic, onion, durian, guava, salami, or fish. No published scientific studies are known to have been conducted on the efficacy of these soaps, about which serious doubts have been raised. == Proposed mechanism == === The chemistry of garlic === The characteristic taste and odor of garlic is due to an oily, slightly yellow organosulfur compound S-Allyl prop-2-ene-1-sulfinothioate, commonly called allicin. Fresh garlic has little odor until it is chopped or crushed. Allicin is produced from alliin (a derivative of the amino acid cysteine) by the enzyme alliinase. Allicin is unstable and breaks down to form other sulfur compounds such as diallyl sulfides. These compounds contribute to the smell of fresh garlic. When on the hands these sulfur compounds can further degrade into other sulfur compounds, including sulfuric acid, in the presence of water. === The chemistry of stainless steel === Steel is an alloy made up of iron mixed with carbon. Stainless steel is composed of steel mixed with at least 10.5% chromium, and often


id: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)-0.md
category: reference
title: Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:39.702710+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-0
summary:
Stargate Project was a secret United States Army unit established in 1977 at Fort Meade, Maryland, by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Stanford Research Institute (SRI), a California contractor, to investigate the potential for psychic phenomena in military and domestic intelligence applications. The project, and its precursors and sister projects, originally went by various code names — including "Gondola Wish", "Grill Flame" and "Center Lane" under INSCOM, "Sun Streak" and "Star Gate" under the DIA, "Star Gate" and "SCANATE" under the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and "Project CF" — until 1991, when they were consolidated and collectively renamed the "Stargate Project". The Stargate Project's work primarily involved remote viewing, the purported ability to psychically "see" events, sites, or information from a great distance. The project was overseen until 1987 by Lt. Frederick Holmes "Skip" Atwater (born 1947), an aide and "psychic headhunter" to Maj. Gen. Albert Stubblebine, and later president of the Monroe Institute. The unit was small-scale, comprising about 15 to 20 individuals, and was run out of "an old, leaky wooden barracks". The Stargate Project was terminated and declassified in 1995 after a commissioned review by the CIA concluded that it was never useful in any intelligence


id: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)-1.md
category: reference
title: Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:39.702710+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-0
summary:
=== Closure (1995) === In 1995, the defense appropriations bill directed that the program be transferred from DIA to CIA oversight. The CIA commissioned a report by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) that found that remote viewing had not been proved to work by a psychic mechanism, and said it had not been used operationally. The CIA subsequently cancelled and declassified the program. In 1995 the project was transferred to the CIA and a retrospective evaluation of the results was done. The appointed panel consisted primarily of Jessica Utts, Meena Shah and Ray Hyman. Utts and Hyman were appointed because, in addition to their extensive scientific credentials, they represented both sides of the paranormal controversy, although the AIR considered both of them 'fair and open-minded scientists'. Hyman had produced an unflattering report on Uri Geller and SRI for the government two decades earlier, but the psychologist David Marks found Utts' appointment to the review panel "puzzling" given that she had published papers with Edwin May, one of the main researchers on the Stargate Project, considering this joint research likely to make her "less than [im]partial". A report by Utts claimed the results were evidence of psychic functioning; however, Hyman


id: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)-2.md
category: reference
title: Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:39.702710+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-0
summary:
== Methodology == According to Joseph McMoneagle, the Stargate Project created a set of protocols designed to make the research of clairvoyance and out-of-body experiences more scientific, and to minimize as much as possible session noise and inaccuracy. He wrote that the term "remote viewing" emerged as shorthand to describe this more structured approach to clairvoyance. McMoneagle said Project Stargate would only receive a mission after all other intelligence attempts, methods, or approaches had already been exhausted. McMoneagle claims that at peak manpower there were over 22 active military and civilian remote viewers providing data, and people leaving the project were not replaced so that when the project closed in 1995 this number had dwindled down to three, one of which was using tarot cards. According to McMoneagle, "The Army never had a truly open attitude toward psychic functioning", hence, the use of the term "giggle factor". and the saying, "I wouldn't want to be found dead next to a psychic". == Civilian personnel == === Hal Puthoff === In the 1970s, CIA and DIA granted funds to Harold E. Puthoff to investigate paranormal abilities, collaborating with Russell Targ in a study of the purported psychic abilities of Uri Geller,


id: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)-3.md
category: reference
title: Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_(U.S._Army_unit)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:39.702710+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stargate-project-u-s-army-unit-20260505-0
summary:
McMoneagle claims he had a remarkable memory of very early childhood events. He grew up surrounded by alcoholism, abuse and poverty. As a child, he had visions at night when scared, and began to hone his psychic abilities in his teens for his own protection when he hitchhiked. He enlisted in the Army to get away from home. McMoneagle became an experimental remote viewer while serving in U.S. Army Intelligence. === Ed Dames === Ed Dames' role was intended to be as session monitor and analyst as an aid to Fred Atwater rather than a remote viewer, Dames received no formal remote viewing training. After his assignment to the remote viewing unit at the end of January 1986, he was used to "run" remote viewers (as monitor) and provide training and practice sessions to viewer personnel. He soon established a reputation for pushing CRV to extremes, with target sessions on Atlantis, Mars, UFOs, and aliens. He has been a frequent guest on the Coast to Coast AM radio shows. == Archives of the Impossible == The Archives of the Impossible (AOTI) of Rice University at Houston, Texas is a special collection founded in 2014 by Jeffrey J. Kripal, a professor


id: statement-analysis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statement_analysis-0.md
category: reference
title: Statement analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statement_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:40.874512+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statement-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
Statement analysis, also called scientific content analysis (SCAN), is a pseudoscientific technique for analyzing the words people use to try to determine if what they said is accurate. Proponents claim this technique can be used to detect concealed information, missing information, embedded confessions and whether the information that person has provided is true or false. Multiple empirical studies have found SCAN techniques to be unreliable at correctly separating true and false statements. SCAN is generally not accepted by courts and has been described as a form of pseudoscience. == About == Related to statement analysis is a different technique for analyzing the words people use called "statement validity assessment" (SVA). The SVA is a tool that was originally designed to determine the credibility of child witnesses testimonies in trials for sexual offences. The "criteria-based content analysis" (CBCA) is a core component of the SVA and is a tool used to distinguish true statements from false statements as CBCA scores are expected to be higher for truth tellers than liars. A qualitative review of the CBCA analyzed 37 studies, strong support for the tool was established as truth tellers obtained significantly higher CBCA scores compared to the liars. More recently, a


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-0.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
The Strauss–Howe generational theory, devised by William Strauss and Neil Howe, describes a theorized recurring generation cycle in American and Western history in which historical events are associated with recurring generational personas called archetypes. Each generational persona unleashes a new era (called a "turning") lasting around 21 years, in which a new social, political, and economic climate ("mood") exists. They are part of a larger cyclical "saeculum", a long human life, which usually spans around 85 years, although some saecula have lasted longer. The theory states that a crisis recurs in American history after every saeculum, which is followed by a recovery ("high"). During this recovery, institutions and communitarian values are strong. Ultimately, succeeding generational archetypes attack and weaken institutions in the name of autonomy and individualism, which eventually creates a tumultuous political environment that ripens conditions for another crisis. Academic response to the theory has been mixed, with some applauding Strauss and Howe for their "bold and imaginative thesis", while others have criticized the theory as being overly deterministic, unfalsifiable, and unsupported by rigorous evidence. The theory has been influential in the fields of generational studies, marketing, and business management literature. However, the theory has also been described by


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-1.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
They attempted to find the reason why the Boomers and the G.I.s had developed such different ways of looking at the world, and what it was about these generations' experiences growing up that prompted their different outlooks. They also wanted to find patterns in previous generations, and their research discussed historical analogs to the current generations. They ultimately described a recurring pattern in the Anglo-American history of four generational types, each with a distinct collective persona, and a corresponding cycle of four different types of eras, each with a distinct "mood". Strauss and Howe laid the groundwork for their theory in their book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991), which discusses the history of the United States as a series of generational biographies going back to 1584. Strauss and Howe followed in 1993 with their second book 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?, which was published while Gen Xers were teenagers and young adults. The book examines the generation born between 1961 and 1981, "Gen-Xers" (which they called "13ers", describing them as the thirteenth generation since the US became a nation). The book asserts that 13ers' location in history as under-protected children during the Sexual Revolution


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-2.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
== Defining a generation == Strauss and Howe describe the history of the U.S. as a succession of Anglo-American generational biographies from 1433 to the present, and theorized a recurring generational cycle in American history. The authors posit a pattern of four repeating phases, generational types, and a recurring cycle of spiritual awakenings and secular crises, from the founding colonials of America through the present day. Strauss and Howe define a social generation as the aggregate of all people born over a span of roughly 21 years or about the length of one phase of life: childhood, young adulthood, midlife, and old age. Generations are identified (from the first birthyear to last) by looking for cohort groups of this length that share three criteria. First, members of a generation share what the authors call an age location in history: they encounter key historical events and social trends while occupying the same phase of life. In this view, members of a generation are shaped in lasting ways by the eras they encounter as children and young adults and they share certain common beliefs and behaviors. Aware of the experiences and traits that they share with their peers, members of a generation


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-3.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
=== Cycle === The authors describe each turning as lasting circa 21 years. Four turnings make up a full cycle of circa 85 years, which the authors term a saeculum, after the Latin word meaning both "a long human life" and "a natural century". Generational change drives the cycle of turnings and determines its periodicity. As each generation ages into the next life phase (and a new social role) society's mood and behavior fundamentally change, giving rise to a new turning. Historical events shape generations in childhood and young adulthood; then, as parents and leaders in midlife and old age, generations in turn shape history. Each of the four turnings has a distinct "mood" that recurs every saeculum. Strauss and Howe describe these turnings as the "seasons of history". At one extreme is the Awakening, which is analogous to summer, and at the other extreme is the Crisis, which is analogous to winter. The High and the Unraveling are similar to spring and autumn, respectively. Strauss and Howe have discussed 26 theorized turnings over 7 saecula in Anglo-American history, from the year 1433 to today. The core of Strauss and Howe's ideas is a basic alternation between two different types


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-4.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
==== Arthurian Generation ==== The arthurian generation was born between 1433 and 1460 and is of the hero archetype. Members of the generation grew up during England's retreat from the Hundred Years' War in France, during an era of rising civil unrest. ==== Humanist Generation ==== The humanist generation was born between 1461 and 1482 and is of the artist/adaptive archetype. This generation grew up at the height of the Middle Ages, just prior to the Reformation and Renaissance. The educated middle classes are influenced by Renaissance Humanist teaching and presented with a clear career path through the church or State bureaucracy. Humanist influences took hold across Europe, and in many ways prepared the intellectual landscape for the coming reformation. Their youth coincided with the development of the European Printing press allowing greater dissemination of knowledge. According to Strauss and Howe, they became Greek language tutors, international scholars, poets, prelates, and literate merchants and yeomen. They described their education produced by the humanist generation as being focused on the qualitative and the subjective, rather than the quantitative and the objective. Some of the notable people who influenced this generation include Thomas More, Erasmus, Thomas Linacre, John Colet, Cardinal Wolsey, Michelangelo,


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-5.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
==== Republican Generation ==== The republican generation (hero archetype) was born between 1742 and 1766. This generation is known for participating in several global revolutionary movements during the Age of Revolution. This generation witnessed political turmoil in response to the widespread expansion of European imperialism and the vast social inequalities exacerbated by ruthless competition between rival empires in Europe, the Americas and Asia. They came of age during a time when the viability of mercantilism and imperialism was being questioned both in Europe and the Americas. Relying on Enlightenment philosophy, they unleashed violent episodes of revolution, vilified Monarchy, and promoted Republicanism. In colonial America, they participated in the American Revolutionary War, secured America's independence from British rule, and established the American government. Many founding fathers and leading figures in the early years of the independent United States belong to this generation, including U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, as well as the leading figures of the French Revolution such as Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton, and Camille Desmoulins. ==== Compromise Generation ==== The compromise generation was born between 1767 and 1791 and was of the artist archetype. They "rocked in the cradle of the Revolution" as they watched


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-6.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
== Timing of generations and turnings == Strauss and Howe argue that the basic length of both generations and turnings—approximately 21 years—derives from longstanding socially and biologically determined phases of life. This is the reason it has remained relatively constant over centuries. Some have argued that rapid increases in technology in recent decades are shortening the length of a generation. According to Strauss and Howe, this is not the case. As long as the transition to adulthood occurs around age 21, the transition to midlife around age 43, and the transition to old age around age 65, they say the basic length of both generations and turnings will remain the same. In their book, The Fourth Turning, Strauss and Howe say that the precise boundaries of generations and turnings are erratic. Strauss and Howe compare the saecular rhythm to the four seasons, which they say similarly occur in the same order, but with slightly varying timing. They claimed that the same is true for a Fourth Turning in any given saeculum. == Critical reception == The Strauss and Howe interpretation of history through a generational lens has received mixed reviews and described as a form of pseudoscience. Some reviewers have


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-7.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
=== Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 === After the publication of their first book Generations, Morton Keller, a professor of history at Brandeis University, said that the authors "had done their homework". He said that their theory could be seen as pop sociology and that it would "come in for a lot more criticism as history. But it's almost always true that the broader you cast your net, the more holes it's going to have. And I admire [the authors'] boldness." Sociologist David Riesman and political scientist Richard Neustadt offered strong, if qualified, praise. Riesman found in the work an "impressive grasp of a great many theoretical and historical bits and pieces" and Neustadt said Strauss and Howe "are asking damned important questions, and I honor them." The Times Literary Supplement called it "fascinating", but also "about as vague and plausible as astrological predictions". Publishers Weekly called it "as woolly as a newspaper horoscope". In 1991, Jonathan Alter wrote in Newsweek that Generations was a "provocative, erudite and engaging analysis of the rhythms of American life". However, he believed it was also "an elaborate historical horoscope that will never withstand scholarly scrutiny." He continued, "these sequential


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-8.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
=== The Fourth Turning === In his review for the Boston Globe, historian David Kaiser called The Fourth Turning "a provocative and immensely entertaining outline of American history, Strauss and Howe have taken a gamble". "If the United States calmly makes it to 2015, their work will end up in the ashcan of history, but if they are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets." Kaiser has since argued that the crises which Strauss and Howe predicted seem to have occurred, citing events such as 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the recent political gridlock. Kaiser has incorporated Strauss and Howe's theory in two historical works of his own, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War (2000), and No End Save Victory: How FDR Led the Nation into War (2014). Michael Lind, a historian and co-founder of the New America Foundation, wrote that The Fourth Turning (1997) was vague and verged into the realm of "pseudoscience"; "most of the authors' predictions about the American future turn out to be as vague as those of fortune cookies". Lind said that the theory is essential "non-falsifiable" and "mystifying." For The New York Times in


id: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-9
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory-9.md
category: reference
title: Strauss–Howe generational theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:42.254783+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strauss-howe-generational-theory-20260505-0
summary:
=== General === In 2006, Frank Giancola wrote an article in Human Resource Planning that stated "the emphasis on generational differences is not generally borne out by empirical research, despite its popularity". In 2016 an article was published that explains the differences in generations, observed with the employer's position, through the development of working conditions, initiated by the employer. This development is due to the competition of firms on the job market for receiving more highly skilled workers. New working conditions as a product on the market have a classic product life-cycle and when they become widespread standard expectations of employees change accordingly. One criticism of Strauss and Howe's theory and generational studies is that conclusions are overly broad and do not reflect the reality of every person in each generation regardless of their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or genetic information. For example, in 2009 Eric Hoover cited the case of Millennials, noting that "... commentators have tended to label white, affluent teenagers who accomplish great things as they grow up in the suburbs, who confront anxiety when applying to super-selective colleges, and who multitask with ease as their helicopter parents hover reassuringly above them as


id: suggestopedia-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suggestopedia-0.md
category: reference
title: Suggestopedia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suggestopedia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:43.489493+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: suggestopedia-20260505-0
summary:
Suggestopedia, a portmanteau of "suggestion" and "pedagogy" is a teaching method used to learn foreign languages developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist Georgi Lozanov. It is also known as desuggestopedia. First developed in the 1970s, suggestopedia utilised positive suggestions in teaching language. In 1978, Lozanov presented the method to a commission in Paris at UNESCO. Two years later in 1980, UNESCO issued their final report with various mixed views on the theory. On the one hand, it affirmed suggestopedia as a language learning technique for second-language speakers, but the report also included various criticisms of the theory. == Practice == Suggestopedia asserts that the physical surroundings and atmosphere of classroom are vital factors in making sure that "students feel comfortable and confident". It also promotes various techniques, including art and music, in teaching languages. The pedagogy of suggestopedia consists of three phases: deciphering, concert session, and elaboration. Deciphering: In the deciphering phase, a teacher introduces to their students some written or spoken content. In most materials the foreign-language text is on the left half of the page with a translation on the right half. Concert session: The concert session phase consists of active and passive sessions. In the active session, the


id: sun-language-theory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Language_Theory-0.md
category: reference
title: Sun Language Theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Language_Theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:44.652220+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sun-language-theory-20260505-0
summary:
The Sun Language Theory (Turkish: Güneş Dil Teorisi) was a Turkish pseudolinguistic, pseudoscientific quasi-hypothesis developed in Turkey in the 1930s that proposed that all human languages are descendants of one proto-Turkic primal language. The theory's promotion of Turks as a progenitor race led to it finding favour among Turkish ultranationalists, who used it to justify their nationalist ideology. It claims that primal language had close phonemic resemblances to Turkish and, because of this, all other languages can be traced back to Turkic roots. According to the theory, this primal language originated among Central Asian worshippers who created it as a means to salute the omnipotence of the sun and its life-giving qualities, hence the name. == Origins == Influences on the theory included: the ideas of the French historian Hilaire de Barenton, expressed in "L'Origine des Langues, des Religions et des Peuples" ("The Origin of Languages, Religions and Peoples"), that all languages originated from hieroglyphs and cuneiform used by Sumerians. Turkish linguists claimed a Turkish origin for the Sumerians, and therefore the origin of language was Turkish. a paper of the Austrian linguist Hermann F. Kvergić of Vienna entitled "La psychologie de quelques éléments des langues Turques" ("The Psychology of


id: superconscious-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconscious-0.md
category: reference
title: Superconscious
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconscious
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:45.814674+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: superconscious-20260505-0
summary:
The superconscious (also super-conscious or super conscious) is a proposed aspect of mind to accompany the conscious and subconscious and/or unconscious. According to its proponents, the superconscious is able to acquire knowledge through non-physical or psychic mechanisms and pass that knowledge to the conscious mind. It therefore is purported to transcend ordinary consciousness. The term is also used to describe transcendental states of consciousness achieved through meditation and related practices, thus accessing the superconscious mind directly. According to this model, knowledge acquired by the superconscious need not be from the present or nearby. It may be from the past or future, from a physically remote present, or of beings undetectable by the physical senses. Superconsciousness is therefore believed by its supporters to provide an explanation for psychic phenomena such as precognition, remote vision and seances. Mainstream science does not recognise such psychic phenomena as genuine, and therefore regards theories to account for them as pseudoscience. == History == An early exponent of the superconscious was William Walker Atkinson, an American occultist and prolific author of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The idea was expanded on by British novelist, playwright, World War I-era activist and spiritualist Edith Lyttelton. More


id: superstition-in-pakistan-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_in_Pakistan-0.md
category: reference
title: Superstition in Pakistan
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_in_Pakistan
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:48.219387+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: superstition-in-pakistan-20260505-0
summary:
Superstition in Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستانی توهم پرستی) is widespread and many adverse events are attributed to the supernatural effect. Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any physical process linking the two events, such as astrology, omens, witchcraft, etc., that contradicts natural science. In Pakistan, the Magical thinking pervades as many acts and events are attributed to supernatural and ritual, such as prayer, sacrifice, or the observance of a taboo are followed. Many believe that magic is effective psychologically as it has placebo effect to psychosomatic diseases. Scholars of Islam view superstition as shirk, denying the unity of God and against Sharia. Within Islam, shirk is an unforgivable crime; God may forgive any sins if one dies in that state except for committing shirk. Sleeping on your right side and reciting the Ayat-ul-Kursi (Urdu: آيت الكرسی ) of the Quran can protect person from the evil. In Pakistan, mental illness and psychological problems are considered by some to be an encounter with Shaitan (Satan) (Urdu: شيطان), evil jinns (Urdu: جن) or demons who have taken over one's body and mind. It is also assumed that it is caused by the


id: surrounded-by-idiots-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrounded_by_Idiots-0.md
category: reference
title: Surrounded by Idiots
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrounded_by_Idiots
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:49.367168+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: surrounded-by-idiots-20260505-0
summary:
Surrounded by Idiots (Swedish: Omgiven av idioter) is a 2014 self-help book by Swedish author Thomas Erikson. It became an international bestseller, being translated into 55 languages and selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. The book categorizes people into four personality types using the DISC assessment and is meant to help readers understand and adapt to different behavioral styles in personal and professional interactions. == Synopsis == Surrounded by Idiots explores human behavior through a framework of four personality types, each represented by a color: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. These categories claim to help readers understand themselves and others, providing insights into communication styles and interpersonal dynamics. Erikson illustrates how recognizing these types can enhance relationships, both personally and professionally. The Red personality embodies dominance and assertiveness. Reds are natural leaders who crave control and make quick decisions. While they can be inspiring and decisive, they often come off as aggressive or confrontational to other personality types. Understanding the Red type is crucial for managing conflict and fostering a collaborative environment. Yellows are the life of the party, characterized by their enthusiasm and sociability. They are creative and energetic, often inspiring others with their charisma. However, their scattered focus can


id: ingo-swann-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann-0.md
category: reference
title: Ingo Swann
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:50.545854+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ingo-swann-20260505-0
summary:
Ingo Douglass Swann (September 14, 1933 – January 31, 2013) was an American psychic, artist, and author, whose claims of clairvoyance were investigated as a part of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Stargate Project. Swann is credited as the creator of the term “Remote Viewing," a term which refers to the use of extrasensory perception to perceive distant persons, places, or events. == Early life == Swann was born in Telluride, Colorado, on September 14th, 1933. Swann claimed to have out-of-body experiences beginning at three years of age, during a tonsil removal operation, after which he began to see colorful 'auras' around certain objects. These experiences continued throughout childhood, and eventually prompted Swann to volunteer as a participant in parapsychology research at the age of 37. == Remote viewing == Swann was a prominent celebrity Scientologist during the 1970s having attained the level of Operating Thetan through Scientology auditing. It is purported that the attainment of the level may extend one’s psychic abilities including controlled out-of-body experiences, called "exteriorization" in Scientology. During this time, Swann demonstrated his exteriorization skills at the Stanford Research Institute in experiments that would come to be known secularly as remote viewing. These experiments caught the attention


id: ingo-swann-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann-1.md
category: reference
title: Ingo Swann
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:50.545854+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ingo-swann-20260505-0
summary:
== Magnetometer psychokinesis tests == When Swann arrived at SRI, Harold Puthoff decided he would first be tested for PK. On June 6, 1972, the two men visited Dr. Arthur Heberd and his quark detector, a magnetometer, at the Varian Physics Building. The well-shielded magnetometer had a small magnetic probe in a vault five feet beneath the floor. The oscillation ran silently for about an hour, tracing a stable pattern on the chart recorder. Puthoff asked Swann if he could affect the magnetometer's magnetic field. Swann said he focused his attention on the interior of the magnetometer and was getting nothing. Then, there are different versions of the following events. Puthoff states that after about a five-second delay, Heberd says it was a ten- to fifteen-minute delay, the frequency of the trace recorder oscillation doubled for about 30 seconds, reportedly a common occurrence due to variations in the shared helium line to the laboratory. Heberd continued, and when the curve burped, Swann asked, "Is that what I am supposed to do?" Swann said he responded, "Is that an effect?" According to Heberd, Swann crossed the room, taking his attention away from the chart recorder. Swann said he took his mind


id: ingo-swann-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann-2.md
category: reference
title: Ingo Swann
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Swann
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:50.545854+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ingo-swann-20260505-0
summary:
[6:06:20] Very high in the atmosphere there are crystals ... they glitter. Maybe the stripes are like bands of crystals, maybe like rings of Saturn, though not far out like that. Very close within the atmosphere. [Unintelligible sentence.] I bet you they'll reflect radio probes. Is that possible if you had a cloud of crystals that were assaulted by different radio waves? [6:08:00] Now I'll go down through. It feels really good there [laughs]. I said that before, didn't I? Inside those cloud layers, those crystal layers, they look beautiful from the outside. From the inside they look like rolling gas clouds – eerie yellow light, rainbows. [6:10:20] I get the impression, though I don't see, that it's liquid. [6:10:55] Then I came through the cloud cover. The surface – it looks like sand dunes. They're made of very large grade crystals, so they slide. Tremendous winds, sort of like maybe the prevailing winds of Earth, but very close to the surface of Jupiter. From that view, the horizon looks orangish or rose-colored, but overhead it's kind of greenish-yellow. [6:12:35] If I look to the right there is an enormous mountain range. [6:14:45] I feel that there's liquid somewhere. Those


id: swiss-policy-research-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Policy_Research-0.md
category: reference
title: Swiss Policy Research
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Policy_Research
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:51.761395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: swiss-policy-research-20260505-0
summary:
Swiss Policy Research (SPR; before mid-May 2020, Swiss Propaganda Research) is a website that has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories, including claims that QAnon was a psyop of the FBI and theories relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. German public broadcaster Tagesschau calls SPR a propaganda tool. Due to the persistent use of the German letter ß, which is not commonly used in Switzerland, it has been suspected that the creator is not from Switzerland, contrary to what the website title suggests. == Criticism == === Authority based criticism === In 2017 a University of Zurich report on media in Switzerland analyzed "six of the most-discussed 'alternative media'", including SPR, that "resort to conspiracy theories." Daniel Vogler concluded that SPR appears to be a "a pseudoscientific media research project." Andrea Haefely wrote a critique of the website in the magazine Beobachter in May 2020, noting: "The website Swiss Propaganda Research assumes that the Swiss media does what SPR itself does: feed the readers with questionable information." She also suggested that the persistent use of the letter ß on the site suggests that the content creator is likely to be from outside Switzerland, as this particular letter form is not in


id: sympathetic-alphabet-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_alphabet-0.md
category: reference
title: Sympathetic alphabet
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_alphabet
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:52.915006+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sympathetic-alphabet-20260505-0
summary:
A sympathetic alphabet was a supposed form of communication used in the 17th century by Rosicrusians and Magnetisers. Two parties would remove a section of skin from their arms or hands and mutually transplant it while still fresh. It was believed that the transplanted piece of flesh kept a close sympathy with the original limb so that its owner was still aware of any injury done to it. On the transplanted flesh was tattooed an alphabet whereby, by pricking the letters with a magnetic needle, the users believed they could communicate instantaneously across great distances. A similar myth from the same time period claimed that needles alone could be used to communicate over long distances. After touching two needles against a "special species of lodestone," they would become "sympathetic" to each other, and from then on always point in the same direction regardless of distance. These needles would then be installed inside a dial, with the alphabet listed around the rim. By pointing one of the needles in the direction of a particular letter the other needle would follow suit, allowing for distant correspondence. The early Cooke and Wheatstone electric telegraph also worked by deflecting magnetic needles, but without the


id: synergetic-theory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory-0.md
category: reference
title: Synergetic theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:54.124686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: synergetic-theory-20260505-0
summary:
Synergetic theory, also known as "synergy" and referred to by some as a pseudoscientific theory, was developed by René-Louis Vallée and first disseminated in 1971 with the publication of his book L'énergie électromagnétique matérielle et gravitationally (Material and Gravitational Electromagnetic Energy). The magazine Science et Vie published several articles on the subject, and in 1975, it reported on an experiment that allegedly generated more energy than was input into the system. This sparked a long-standing controversy over the discovery of "free energy." The following year, La Recherche examined Vallée's book and, under his guidance, commissioned physicists to conduct a rigorous test to verify or refute the initial claims. The results were negative: no excess energy was observed. A critical examination of the theory in question reveals a multitude of inconsistencies. It becomes evident that the author's work is based on his personal beliefs, formulating a set of disconnected equations. Vallée opposed modern physics, viewing the theoretical advancements of the 20th century as overly intricate and incompatible with reality. Vallée was affiliated with the Alexandre Dufour Physics Circle and supported by free-energy enthusiasts until the early 2000s, which enabled him to achieve a certain degree of media presence before synergetics faded


id: synergetic-theory-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory-1.md
category: reference
title: Synergetic theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:54.124686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: synergetic-theory-20260505-0
summary:
René-Louis Vallée offered a critique of the complexity of special relativity but drew extensively upon its conceptual framework. He put forth a concept of "synergy", or total energy, which he expressed through the formula S=mc2. This formula is identical to Albert Einstein's, but it incorporates not only the system's energy but also the diffuse energy of the medium surrounding it. However, his other theoretical propositions diverged from the prevailing consensus. For Vallée, space was Euclidean, time was universal, and the speed of light was not constant. He also proposed that gravitation is a force of electromagnetic origin, which contrasts with Einstein's advancements in the field, which deepened understanding but lacked definitive explanations. === Laws === Synergetics puts forth two hypotheses regarding the conversion between energy and matter. The first is the "law of materialization", which posits that energy can be transformed into matter. The second is the "upper limit value of the electric field", which suggests that matter can be transformed into energy when a field reaches a value of 39 × 1015 V/m. These laws are, in fact, hypotheses. Vallée characterizes the law of materialization as "a fundamental law of nature that was missing from the known laws of


id: synergetic-theory-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory-2.md
category: reference
title: Synergetic theory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetic_theory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:54.124686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: synergetic-theory-20260505-0
summary:
== Legacy == Synergetic theory, which was promoted by free-energy advocates from the 1970s to the early 2000s, enjoyed a brief period of popularity between its coverage in Science et Vie and its definitive refutation in La Recherche. It has since become an example of "alter-science", according to Alexandre Moatti, and a scientific imposture, per Michel de Pracontal. Moatti drew a parallel between Vallée and Maurice Allais, who developed an interest in physics at a relatively advanced age and published his inaugural theory on the subject at the age of 86. Allais is renowned for challenging the prevailing theories of Newton and Einstein. He shares similarities with Vallée in this regard. Nevertheless, the term "synergetics" is more frequently linked with Nikola Tesla and his notion of free energy. In the early 20th century, renowned engineer Nikola Tesla sought to transmit electricity wirelessly and harness cosmic radiation energy. Despite the discovery of X-rays in 1895, Tesla rejected the concept of energy contained within matter. In 1931, he claimed to have constructed a "cosmic energy receiver" and used it to power a vehicle. Like Vallée, Tesla rejected overly theoretical science, dismissed the theory of relativity as false, and announced a "unified theory


id: shivkar-bapuji-talpade-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivkar_Bapuji_Talpade-0.md
category: reference
title: Shivkar Bapuji Talpade
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivkar_Bapuji_Talpade
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:55.285345+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: shivkar-bapuji-talpade-20260505-0
summary:
Shivkar Bāpuji Talpade () was an Indian instructor with an interest in Sanskrit and aviation. He lived in Mumbai, and is claimed to have constructed and flown an unmanned, heavier-than-air aircraft in 1895. Contemporary accounts of a successful flight do not exist, and no reliable historical records document its existence. Pseudo-historical narratives about Talpade proliferated in India in the early 2000s among adherents of the Hindu-nationalist right-wing. These included the false claim that Talpade had "invented the modern aircraft". == Talpade's aircraft == Talpade is claimed to have constructed an unmanned, heavier-than-air aircraft, named Marutsakhā ("friend of the air"), and flown it above Bombay's Chowpatty Beach in 1895. Contemporary accounts of a successful flight do not exist, and no reliable historical records document its existence. Talpade's aircraft was reputed to have flown to a height of 1,500 feet (460 m). Pratap Velkar, a local architect who has researched Talpade's life and written a book about him, denies this, stating that it rose to a small height before crashing. The aircraft has been described as a cylinder of bamboo, with claims it used mercury or urine as a fuel. Some of Talpade's drawings were said to have been sent to Hindustan


id: tapas-acupressure-technique-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapas_Acupressure_Technique-0.md
category: reference
title: Tapas Acupressure Technique
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapas_Acupressure_Technique
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:56.469706+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: tapas-acupressure-technique-20260505-0
summary:
Tapas Acupressure Technique (or TAT) is an alternative medicine therapy that claims to clear negative emotions and past traumas. Though the full technique was invented in 1993 by Tapas Fleming, TAT incorporates elements of and builds on other acupressure techniques. TAT is classified as energy therapies as TAT claims to employ Qi (chi). This is the “energy” that has historically been believed to flow through the body in Asian medicine. There is no scientific proof that qi exists. However this claim of qi flow is not to be confused with putative energy for which no scientific basis has been found and no biophysical means of action determined. TAT shows many characteristics consistent with pseudoscience. == History == Invented in 1993 by Tapas Fleming, the underlying idea claims that unresolved emotional trauma leads to a blockage of the natural flow of putative energy. Practitioners of TAT claim that self application of light pressure to four areas of the head (inner corner of both eyes, one-half-inch above the space between the eyebrows, and the back of head) while placing attention on a series of verbal steps releases this blockage and allows for healing. TAT was originally intended to be an allergy elimination


id: john-taylor-oculist-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_(oculist)-0.md
category: reference
title: John Taylor (oculist)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_(oculist)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:57.646686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: john-taylor-oculist-20260505-0
summary:
John Taylor (c. 1703 – 1770 or 1772) was an early British eye surgeon, self-promoter and medical charlatan of 18th-century Europe. He was responsible for the surgical mistreatment of George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach, and perhaps hundreds of others. Both Handel and Bach died shortly after the botched surgery performed by Taylor. == Career == Taylor was born in Norwich, possibly in 1703. He was the son of a surgeon named John Taylor, who died in 1709. He studied in London under the pioneering British surgeon William Cheselden at St Thomas' Hospital, and by 1727 had produced a book, An Account of the Mechanism of the Eye, dedicated to Cheselden. While his practice grew, operating on celebrities of the time such as Edward Gibbon, making the acquaintance of Viennese courtier and patron of composers Gottfried van Swieten, and being appointed royal eye surgeon to King George II, his flair for self-promotion grew with it, then beyond it. Taylor later claimed that during his visit to Marseille in 1734 he stimulated Jacques Daviel (the initiator of cataract extraction as opposed to couching) to pursue ophthalmic practice seems to be supported by contemporaneous evidence. Taylor dubbed himself "Chevalier", though the source


id: technical-analysis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-0.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for analysing and forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. As a type of active management, it stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory. The efficacy of technical analysis is disputed by the efficient-market hypothesis, which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable, and research on whether technical analysis offers any benefit has produced mixed results. It is distinguished from fundamental analysis, which considers a company's financial statements, health, and the overall state of the market and economy. == History == The principles of technical analysis are derived from hundreds of years of financial market data. Some aspects of technical analysis began to appear in Amsterdam-based merchant Joseph de la Vega's accounts of the Dutch financial markets in the 17th century. In Asia, technical analysis is said to be a method developed by Homma Munehisa during the early 18th century which evolved into the use of candlestick techniques, and is today a technical analysis charting tool. Journalist Charles Dow (1851–1902) compiled and closely analyzed American stock market data, and published some of his conclusions in editorials for The Wall Street


id: technical-analysis-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-1.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
=== Market action discounts everything === Based on the premise that all relevant information is already reflected by prices, technical analysts believe it is important to understand what investors think of that information, known and perceived. === Prices move in trends === Technical analysts believe that prices trend directionally, i.e., up, down, or sideways (flat) or some combination. The basic definition of a price trend was originally put forward by Dow theory. An example of a security that had an apparent trend is AOL from November 2001 through August 2002. A technical analyst or trend follower recognizing this trend would look for opportunities to sell this security. AOL consistently moves downward in price. Each time the stock rose, sellers would enter the market and sell the stock; hence the "zig-zag" movement in the price. The series of "lower highs" and "lower lows" is a tell tale sign of a stock in a down trend. In other words, each time the stock moved lower, it fell below its previous relative low price. Each time the stock moved higher, it could not reach the level of its previous relative high price. Note that the sequence of lower lows and lower highs did


id: technical-analysis-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-2.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
=== Neural networks === Since the early 1990s when the first practically usable types emerged, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have rapidly grown in popularity. They are artificial intelligence adaptive software systems that have been inspired by how biological neural networks work. They are used because they can learn to detect complex patterns in data. In mathematical terms, they are universal function approximators, meaning that given the right data and configured correctly, they can capture and model any input-output relationships. This not only removes the need for human interpretation of charts or the series of rules for generating entry/exit signals, but also provides a bridge to fundamental analysis, as the variables used in fundamental analysis can be used as input. As ANNs are essentially non-linear statistical models, their accuracy and prediction capabilities can be both mathematically and empirically tested. In various studies, authors have claimed that neural networks used for generating trading signals given various technical and fundamental inputs have significantly outperformed buy-hold strategies as well as traditional linear technical analysis methods when combined with rule-based expert systems. While the advanced mathematical nature of such adaptive systems has kept neural networks for financial analysis mostly within academic research circles, in recent


id: technical-analysis-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-3.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
Technical analysis, also known as "charting", has been a part of financial practice for many decades, but this discipline has not received the same level of academic scrutiny and acceptance as more traditional approaches such as fundamental analysis. One of the main obstacles is the highly subjective nature of technical analysis – the presence of geometric shapes in historical price charts is often in the eyes of the beholder. In this paper, we propose a systematic and automatic approach to technical pattern recognition using nonparametric kernel regression, and apply this method to a large number of U.S. stocks from 1962 to 1996 to evaluate the effectiveness of technical analysis. By comparing the unconditional empirical distribution of daily stock returns to the conditional distribution – conditioned on specific technical indicators such as head-and-shoulders or double-bottoms – we find that over the 31-year sample period, several technical indicators do provide incremental information and may have some practical value. In that same paper Lo wrote that "several academic studies suggest that ... technical analysis may well be an effective means for extracting useful information from market prices." Some techniques such as Drummond Geometry attempt to overcome the past data bias by projecting support


id: technical-analysis-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-4.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
==== Random walk hypothesis ==== The random walk hypothesis may be derived from the weak-form efficient markets hypothesis, which is based on the assumption that market participants take full account of any information contained in past price movements (but not necessarily other public information). In his book A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Princeton economist Burton Malkiel said that technical forecasting tools such as pattern analysis must ultimately be self-defeating: "The problem is that once such a regularity is known to market participants, people will act in such a way that prevents it from happening in the future." Malkiel has stated that while momentum may explain some stock price movements, there is not enough momentum to make excess profits. Malkiel has compared technical analysis to "astrology". In the late 1980s, professors Andrew Lo and Craig McKinlay published a paper which cast doubt on the random walk hypothesis. In a 1999 response to Malkiel, Lo and McKinlay collected empirical papers that questioned the hypothesis' applicability that suggested a non-random and possibly predictive component to stock price movement, though they were careful to point out that rejecting random walk does not necessarily invalidate EMH, which is an entirely separate concept from RWH.


id: technical-analysis-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-5.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
== Scientific technical analysis == Caginalp and Balenovich in 1994 used their asset-flow differential equations model to show that the major patterns of technical analysis could be generated with some basic assumptions. Some of the patterns such as a triangle continuation or reversal pattern can be generated with the assumption of two distinct groups of investors with different assessments of valuation. The major assumptions of the models are the finiteness of assets and the use of trend as well as valuation in decision making. Many of the patterns follow as mathematically logical consequences of these assumptions. One of the problems with conventional technical analysis has been the difficulty of specifying the patterns in a manner that permits objective testing. Japanese candlestick patterns involve patterns of a few days that are within an uptrend or downtrend. Caginalp and Laurent were the first to perform a successful large scale test of patterns. A mathematically precise set of criteria were tested by first using a definition of a short-term trend by smoothing the data and allowing for one deviation in the smoothed trend. They then considered eight major three-day candlestick reversal patterns in a non-parametric manner and defined the patterns as a set


id: technical-analysis-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-6.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
Until the mid-1960s, tape reading was a popular form of technical analysis. It consisted of reading market information such as price, volume, order size, and so on from a paper strip which ran through a machine called a stock ticker. Market data was sent to brokerage houses and to the homes and offices of the most active speculators. This system fell into disuse with the advent of electronic information panels in the late 60's, and later computers, which allow for the easy preparation of charts. Jesse Livermore, one of the most successful stock market operators of all time, was primarily concerned with ticker tape reading since a young age. He followed his own (mechanical) trading system (he called it the 'market key'), which did not need charts, but was relying solely on price data. He described his market key in detail in his 1940s book 'How to Trade in Stocks'. Livermore's system was determining market phases (trend, correction etc.) via past price data. He also made use of volume data (which he estimated from how stocks behaved and via 'market testing', a process of testing market liquidity via sending in small market orders), as described in his 1940s book. ==


id: technical-analysis-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis-7.md
category: reference
title: Technical analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:25:58.819339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technical-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
Average directional index – a widely used indicator of trend strength. Commodity channel index – identifies cyclical trends. MACD – moving average convergence/divergence. Momentum – the rate of price change. Relative strength index (RSI) – oscillator showing price strength. Relative Vigor Index (RVI) – oscillator measures the conviction of a recent price action and the likelihood that it will continue. Stochastic oscillator – close position within recent trading range. Trix – an oscillator showing the slope of a triple-smoothed exponential moving average. Vortex Indicator – an indicator used to identify the existence, continuation, initiation or termination of trends. === Volume-based indicators === Accumulation/distribution index – based on the close within the day's range. Money flow index – the amount of stock traded on days the price went up. On-balance volume – the momentum of buying and selling stocks. === Trading with Mixing Indicators === MACD & Average directional index MACD & Super Trend MACD & Moving average MACD & RSI MACD & Moving Averages == See also == == References == == Bibliography == == Further reading == Azzopardi, Paul V. Behavioural Technical Analysis: An introduction to behavioural finance and its role in technical analysis. Harriman House, 2010. ISBN 978-1905641413


id: telekinesis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis-0.md
category: reference
title: Telekinesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:00.125597+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telekinesis-20260505-0
summary:
Telekinesis (from Ancient Greek τηλε- (tēle-) 'far off' and -κίνησις (-kínēsis) 'motion') (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Simply put, it is the moving or manipulating of objects with the mind, without directly touching them. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls and repeatability. There is no reliable evidence that telekinesis is a real phenomenon, and the topic is generally regarded as pseudoscience. == Reception == === Evaluation === There is a broad scientific consensus that telekinetic research has not produced a reliable demonstration of the phenomenon. A panel commissioned in 1988 by the United States National Research Council to study paranormal claims concluded that:despite a 130-year record of scientific research on such matters, our committee could find no scientific justification for the existence of phenomena such as extrasensory perception, mental telepathy or "mind over matter" exercises ... Evaluation of a large body of the best available evidence simply does not support the contention that these phenomena exist.In 1984, the National Academy of Sciences, at the request of the US Army Research Institute, formed a scientific panel to


id: telekinesis-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis-1.md
category: reference
title: Telekinesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:00.125597+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telekinesis-20260505-0
summary:
Philosopher and physicist Mario Bunge has written that:[telekinesis] violates the principle that mind cannot act directly on matter. (If it did, no experimenter could trust his readings of measuring instruments.) It also violates the principles of conservation of energy and momentum. The claim that quantum mechanics allows for the possibility of mental power influencing randomizers—an alleged case of micro-[telekinesis]—is ludicrous since that theory respects the said conservation principles, and it deals exclusively with physical things.Physicist John Taylor, who has investigated parapsychological claims, has written that an unknown fifth force causing telekinesis would have to transmit a great deal of energy. The energy would have to overcome the electromagnetic forces binding the atoms together, because the atoms would need to respond more strongly to the fifth force than to electric forces. Such an additional force between atoms should therefore exist all the time and not during only alleged paranormal occurrences. Taylor wrote there is no scientific trace of such a force in physics, down to many orders of magnitude; thus, if a scientific viewpoint is to be preserved, the idea of any fifth force must be discarded. Taylor concluded that there is no possible physical mechanism for telekinesis, and it is


id: telekinesis-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis-2.md
category: reference
title: Telekinesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:00.125597+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telekinesis-20260505-0
summary:
Some of the worst examples of confirmation bias are in research on parapsychology ... Arguably, there is a whole field here with no powerful confirming data at all. But people want to believe, and so they find ways to believe. Psychologist Daniel Wegner has argued that an introspection illusion contributes to belief in telekinesis. He observes that in everyday experience, intention (such as wanting to turn on a light) is followed by action (such as flicking a light switch) in a reliable way, but the underlying neural mechanisms are outside awareness. Hence, though subjects may feel that they directly introspect their own free will, the experience of control is actually inferred from relations between the thought and the action. This theory of apparent mental causation acknowledges the influence of David Hume's view of the mind. This process for detecting when one is responsible for an action is not totally reliable, and when it goes wrong there can be an illusion of control. This can happen when an external event follows, and is congruent with, a thought in someone's mind, without an actual causal link. As evidence, Wegner cites a series of experiments on magical thinking in which subjects were induced


id: telekinesis-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis-3.md
category: reference
title: Telekinesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:00.125597+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telekinesis-20260505-0
summary:
There have been claimants of telekinetic ability throughout history. Angelique Cottin (ca. 1846) known as the "Electric Girl" of France was an alleged generator of telekinetic activity. Cottin and her family claimed that she produced electric emanations that allowed her to move pieces of furniture and scissors across a room. Frank Podmore wrote there were many observations which were "suggestive of fraud" such as the contact of the girl's garments to produce any of the alleged phenomena and the observations from several witnesses that noticed there was a double movement on the part of Cottin, a movement in the direction of the object thrown and afterwards away from it, but the movements so rapid they were not usually detected. Spiritualist mediums have also claimed telekinetic abilities. Eusapia Palladino, an Italian medium, could allegedly cause objects to move during séances. However, she was caught levitating a table with her foot by magician Joseph Rinn, and using tricks to move objects by psychologist Hugo Münsterberg. Other alleged telekinetic mediums exposed as frauds include Anna Rasmussen and Maria Silbert. Polish medium Stanisława Tomczyk, active in the early 20th century, claimed to be able to perform acts of telekinetic levitation by way of an


id: telekinesis-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis-4.md
category: reference
title: Telekinesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telekinesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:00.125597+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telekinesis-20260505-0
summary:
Psychics have also claimed the telekinetic ability to bend metal. Uri Geller was famous for his spoon bending demonstrations, allegedly by telekinesis. He has been caught many times using sleight of hand. According to science writer Terence Hines, all of Geller's effects have been recreated using conjuring tricks. The French psychic Jean-Pierre Girard has claimed he can bend metal bars by telekinesis. He was tested in the 1970s but failed to produce any paranormal effects in scientifically controlled conditions. He was tested on January 19, 1977, during a two-hour experiment in a Paris laboratory, directed by physicist Yves Farge. A magician was also present. Girard failed to make any objects move paranormally. He failed two tests in Grenoble in June 1977 with magician James Randi. He was also tested on September 24, 1977, at a laboratory at the Nuclear Research Centre, and failed to bend any bars or change the metals' structure. Other experiments into spoon-bending were also negative, and witnesses described his feats as fraudulent. Girard later admitted he sometimes cheated to avoid disappointing the public, but insisted he had genuine psychic power. Magicians and scientists have written that he produced all his alleged telekinetic feats through fraudulent means.


id: telepathy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy-0.md
category: reference
title: Telepathy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:01.372359+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telepathy-20260505-0
summary:
Telepathy (from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle) 'distant' and πάθος/-πάθεια (páthos/-pátheia) 'feeling, perception, passion, affliction, experience') is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), and has remained more popular than the earlier expression thought-transference. Telepathy experiments have historically been criticized for a lack of proper controls and repeatability. There is no good evidence that telepathy exists, and the topic is generally considered by the scientific community to be pseudoscience. Telepathy is a common theme in science fiction. == Origins of the concept == According to historians such as Roger Luckhurst and Janet Oppenheim the origin of the concept of telepathy in Western civilization can be traced to the late 19th century and the formation of the Society for Psychical Research. As the physical sciences made significant advances, scientific concepts were applied to mental phenomena (e.g., animal magnetism), with the hope that this would help to understand paranormal phenomena. The modern concept of telepathy emerged in this context. Psychical researcher Eric Dingwall criticized


id: telepathy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy-1.md
category: reference
title: Telepathy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:01.372359+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telepathy-20260505-0
summary:
In the first place, an intuitive wife, who knows her husband intimately, may be able to guess with a fair degree of accuracy what he is likely to draw—particularly if the picture is related to some freshly recalled event the two experienced in common. At first, simple pictures like chairs and tables would likely predominate, but as these are exhausted, the field of choice narrows and pictures are more likely to be suggested by recent experiences. It is also possible that Sinclair may have given conversational hints during some of the tests—hints which in his strong will to believe, he would promptly forget about. Also, one must not rule out the possibility that in many tests, made across the width of a room, Mrs. Sinclair may have seen the wiggling of the top of a pencil, or arm movements, which would convey to her unconscious a rough notion of the drawing. The Turner-Ownbey long distance telepathy experiment was discovered to contain flaws. May Frances Turner positioned herself in the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory whilst Sara Ownbey claimed to receive transmissions 250 miles away. For the experiment Turner would think of a symbol and write it down whilst Ownbey would write her


id: telepathy-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy-2.md
category: reference
title: Telepathy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:01.372359+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telepathy-20260505-0
summary:
== In parapsychology == Within parapsychology, telepathy, often along with precognition and clairvoyance, is described as an aspect of extrasensory perception (ESP) or "anomalous cognition" that parapsychologists believe is transferred through a hypothetical psychic mechanism they call "psi". Parapsychologists have reported experiments they use to test for telepathic abilities. Among the most well known are the use of Zener cards and the Ganzfeld experiment. === Types === Several forms of telepathy have been suggested: Latent telepathy, formerly known as "deferred telepathy", describes a transfer of information with an observable time-lag between transmission and reception. Retrocognitive, precognitive, and intuitive telepathy describes the transfer of information about the past, future or present state of an individual's mind to another individual. Emotive telepathy, also known as remote influence or emotional transfer, describes the transfer of kinesthetic sensations through altered states. Superconscious telepathy describes use of the supposed superconscious to access the collective wisdom of the human species for knowledge. === Zener cards === Zener cards are marked with five distinctive symbols. When using them, one individual is designated the "sender" and another the "receiver". The sender selects a random card and visualizes the symbol on it, while the receiver attempts to determine that


id: telepathy-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy-3.md
category: reference
title: Telepathy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:01.372359+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telepathy-20260505-0
summary:
The most suspicious pattern was that the hit rate for a given target increased with the frequency of occurrence of that target in the experiment. The hit rate for the targets that occurred only once was right at the chance expectation of 25%. For targets that appeared twice the hit rate crept up to 28%. For those that occurred three times it was 38%, and for those targets that occurred six or more times, the hit rate was 52%. Each time a videotape is played its quality can degrade. It is plausible then, that when a frequently used clip is the target for a given session, it may be physically distinguishable from the other three decoy clips that are presented to the subject for judging. Surprisingly, the parapsychological community has not taken this finding seriously. They still include the autoganzfeld series in their meta-analyses and treat it as convincing evidence for the reality of psi. Hyman wrote the autoganzfeld experiments were flawed because they did not preclude the possibility of sensory leakage. In 2010, Lance Storm, Patrizio Tressoldi, and Lorenzo Di Risio analyzed 29 ganzfeld studies from 1997 to 2008. Of the 1,498 trials, 483 produced hits, corresponding to a


id: telepathy-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy-4.md
category: reference
title: Telepathy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:01.372359+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telepathy-20260505-0
summary:
== Scientific reception == A variety of tests have been performed to demonstrate telepathy, but there is no scientific evidence that the power exists. A panel commissioned by the United States National Research Council to study paranormal claims concluded that "despite a 130-year record of scientific research on such matters, our committee could find no scientific justification for the existence of phenomena such as extrasensory perception, mental telepathy or 'mind over matter' exercises... Evaluation of a large body of the best available evidence simply does not support the contention that these phenomena exist." The scientific community considers parapsychology a pseudoscience. There is no known mechanism for telepathy. Philosopher and physicist Mario Bunge has written that telepathy would contradict laws of science and the claim that "signals can be transmitted across space without fading with distance is inconsistent with physics". Physicist John Taylor has written that the experiments that have been claimed by parapsychologists to support evidence for the existence of telepathy are based on the use of shaky statistical analysis and poor design, and attempts to duplicate such experiments by the scientific community have failed. Taylor also wrote the arguments used by parapsychologists for the feasibility of such phenomena are


id: telesthesia-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telesthesia-0.md
category: reference
title: Telesthesia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telesthesia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:02.546409+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: telesthesia-20260505-0
summary:
Telesthesia (also spelled telaesthesia) is a term used in two primary contexts. In parapsychology, it refers to purported non-sensory perception of distant events or stimuli. In media studies, it has also been used metaphorically to describe technologically mediated experiences of remote perception, particularly through telecommunications and digital media. == Etymology == The word derives from the Ancient Greek têle (τῆλε), meaning "at a distance", and aisthēsis (αἴσθησις), meaning "perception" or "sensation". == Definitions == Reputable dictionaries define telesthesia as: "Sensation or perception received at a distance without the normal operation of the recognized sense organs." – Dictionary.com "An impression supposedly received at a distance without the normal operation of the organs of sense." – Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary "The ability to know that something has happened or is in a place without using hearing, seeing, touch, taste, or smell." – Cambridge Dictionary == Use in Parapsychology == In parapsychology, telesthesia is considered a subtype of extrasensory perception (ESP), and is often used synonymously with or alongside clairvoyance and remote viewing. Historical accounts in spiritualist and psychical research literature describe people reportedly sensing the condition or experiences of distant others. These claims remain anecdotal and lack empirical validation. == Scientific Evaluation ==


id: ten-percent-of-the-brain-myth-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-percent-of-the-brain_myth-0.md
category: reference
title: Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-percent-of-the-brain_myth
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:03.716505+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ten-percent-of-the-brain-myth-20260505-0
summary:
The ten-percent-of-the-brain myth or ninety-percent-of-the-brain myth states that humans generally use only one-tenth (or some other small fraction) of their brains. It has been misattributed to many famous scientists and historical figures, notably Albert Einstein. By extrapolation, it is suggested that a person may 'harness' or 'unlock' this unused potential and increase their intelligence. Changes in grey and white matter following new experiences and learning have been shown, but it has not yet been proven what the changes are. The popular notion that large parts of the brain remain unused, and could subsequently be "activated", rests in folklore and not science. Though specific mechanisms regarding brain function remain to be fully described—e.g. memory, consciousness—the physiology of brain mapping suggests that all areas of the brain have a function and that they are used nearly all the time. == Origin == A likely origin for the "10% myth" is the reserve energy theories of Harvard psychologists William James and Boris Sidis. In the 1890s, they tested the theory in the accelerated raising of the child prodigy William Sidis. Thereafter, James told lecture audiences that people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential, which is a plausible claim. The concept


id: ten-percent-of-the-brain-myth-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-percent-of-the-brain_myth-1.md
category: reference
title: Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-percent-of-the-brain_myth
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:03.716505+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ten-percent-of-the-brain-myth-20260505-0
summary:
Studies of brain damage: If 10% of the brain is normally used, then damage to other areas should not impair performance. Instead, there is almost no area of the brain that can be damaged without loss of abilities. Even slight damage to small areas of the brain can have profound effects. Brain scans have shown that no matter what one is doing, all brain areas are always active. Some areas are more active at any one time than others, but barring brain damage, there is no part of the brain that is absolutely not functioning. Technologies such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow the activity of the living brain to be monitored. They reveal that even during sleep, all parts of the brain show some level of activity. Only in the case of serious damage does a brain have "silent" areas. The brain is enormously costly to the rest of the body, in terms of oxygen and nutrient consumption. It can require up to 20 percent of the body's energy—more than any other organ—despite making up only 2 percent of the human body weight. If most of it were unnecessary, there would be a


id: theistic-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_science-0.md
category: reference
title: Theistic science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:04.925296+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: theistic-science-20260505-0
summary:
Theistic science, also referred to as theistic realism, is the proposal that the central scientific method of requiring testability, known as methodological naturalism, should be replaced by a philosophy of science that allows occasional supernatural explanations which are inherently untestable. Proponents propose supernatural explanations for topics raised by their theology, in particular evolution. Supporters of theistic realism or theistic science include intelligent design creationism proponents J. P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer and Phillip E. Johnson. Instead of the relationship between religion and science being a dialogue, theistic science seeks to allow exceptions to the basic methods of science, and present miraculous interventions as a scientific explanation when a natural explanation has not been found. As Notre Dame theologian Alvin Plantinga acknowledges, this is a "science stopper", and these concepts lack any mainstream credence. == Johnson == In 1987 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public school science classes, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion. Academic UC Berkeley law professor Phillip E. Johnson, a prominent supporter of the law, became convinced that creationists had lost the


id: theistic-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Theistic science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:04.925296+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: theistic-science-20260505-0
summary:
'Unnatural Science', 'Creation Science,' 'Theistic Science' — call it what you will: what we need when we want to know how to think about the origin and development of contemporary life is what is most plausible from a Christian point of view. What we need is a scientific account of life that isn't restricted by that methodological naturalism. He suggests that generally God uses secondary causes, but miracles may be needed when theistic scientists are unable to find a materialistic explanation. In 1997 he wrote "Why couldn't a scientist think as follows? God has created the world, and of course He created everything in it directly or indirectly. After a great deal of study, we can't see how he created some phenomenon P (life, for example) indirectly; thus probably he has created it directly." Plantinga also refers to this concept as Augustinian science, and states that "in doing Augustinian science, you start by assuming the deliverances of the faith, employing them along with anything else you know in dealing with a given scientific problem or project." Plantinga argues for the acceptance of differing worldview-partisan sciences in place of a single common science. Plantinga employs a conflict thesis in assessing the


id: therapeutic-touch-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_touch-0.md
category: reference
title: Therapeutic touch
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_touch
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:06.136926+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: therapeutic-touch-20260505-0
summary:
Therapeutic touch (TT), or non-contact therapeutic touch (NCTT), is a pseudoscientific energy therapy which practitioners claim promotes healing and reduces pain and anxiety. "Therapeutic Touch" is a registered trademark in Canada for the "[s]tructured and standardized healing practice performed by practitioners trained to be sensitive to the receiver's energy field that surrounds the body;...no touching is required." Practitioners of therapeutic touch state that by placing their hands on, or near, a patient, they are able to detect and manipulate what they say is the patient's energy field. One highly cited study, designed by the then-nine-year-old Emily Rosa and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998, found that practitioners of therapeutic touch could not detect the presence or absence of a hand placed a few inches above theirs when their vision was obstructed. Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst concluded in their 2008 book Trick or Treatment that "the energy field was probably nothing more than a figment in the imaginations of the healers". The American Cancer Society noted, "Available scientific evidence does not support any claims that TT can cure cancer or other diseases." A 2004 Cochrane review found no good evidence that it helped with wound


id: therapeutic-touch-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_touch-1.md
category: reference
title: Therapeutic touch
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_touch
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:06.136926+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: therapeutic-touch-20260505-0
summary:
== Skeptical view of therapeutic touch == When examining the existing literature on therapeutic touch, it has been observed that these studies tend only to cite research that favours the desired findings. There have been studies focused on therapeutic touch that have failed to include any research that has contradictory findings. However, studies such as these need to report all results found from other studies, even if they may contradict the present study's hypothesis. It is also important to use the appropriate controls in such studies. There have been studies such as that by Grad, Cadoret, and Paul that have appeared at first glance to show the effectiveness of therapeutic touch, yet once replicated using the appropriate controls, they were shown to have nonsignificant results, therefore rendering the original results inconclusive. Researcher bias has been noted in studies examining therapeutic touch, such as that by Turner, in which he included such statements as, "If we can successfully complete this study, this will be the first real scientific evidence there is for therapeutic touch". It is important for researchers not to bias the results to achieve their desired outcome, as bias can lead to a misrepresentation of the true effectiveness of


id: thought-field-therapy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field_Therapy-0.md
category: reference
title: Thought Field Therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field_Therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:07.355322+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: thought-field-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a fringe psychological treatment developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan. Its proponents say that it can heal a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at meridian points on the upper body and hands. The theory behind TFT is a mixture of concepts "derived from a variety of sources. Foremost among these is the ancient Chinese philosophy of chi, which is thought to be the 'life force' that flows throughout the body". Callahan also bases his theory upon applied kinesiology and physics. There is no scientific evidence that TFT is effective, and the American Psychological Association has stated that it "lacks a scientific basis" and consists of pseudoscience. == Theory and treatment == Callahan terms his treatment "Thought Field Therapy" because he theorizes that when a person thinks about an experience or thought associated with an emotional problem, they are tuning into a "thought field." He describes this field as "the most fundamental concept in the TFT system," stating that it "creates an imaginary, though quite real scaffold, upon which we may erect our explanatory notions". Perturbations are said to be precisely encoded information contained in the thought field; each


id: thought-field-therapy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field_Therapy-1.md
category: reference
title: Thought Field Therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field_Therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:07.355322+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: thought-field-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
== Assessments and critiques == There is concern by clinical psychologists of the adoption of TFT as an unvalidated and pseudoscientific therapy by government bodies and the public at large. In 2000, an article was published in the Skeptical Inquirer which argued that there is no plausible mechanism to explain how TFT could work, and described it as a baseless pseudoscience. A 2006 Delphi poll of psychologists on discredited therapies, published in an APA journal, indicated that on average, participants rated TFT as "probably discredited". The sample included both practicing clinical psychologists and academic psychologists. Devilly states that there is no evidence for the claimed efficacy of power therapies including TFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and others such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and they all exhibit the characteristics of pseudoscience. Lilienfeld, Lynn & Lohr also use TFT as an example of a therapy that contains some of the hallmark indicators of a pseudoscience. Specifically, they note its evasion of the peer review system and absence of boundary conditions. Previous studies performed on TFT have received criticism in the medical literature. For example, an exploratory study done by Charles Figley, a psychologist who endeavored to find more effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder


id: time-cube-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube-0.md
category: reference
title: Time Cube
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:08.534485+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: time-cube-20260505-0
summary:
Time Cube was a pseudoscientific personal web page set up in 1997 by Otis Eugene "Gene" Ray. It was a self-published outlet for Ray's "theory of everything", also called "Time Cube", which posits that each day actually consists of four days occurring simultaneously. Ray described himself as the "wisest man on earth" and a "godlike being with superior intelligence who has absolute evidence and proof" for his views. Ray asserted that the academic world had not taken Time Cube seriously and that all modern sciences are participating in a worldwide conspiracy to omit his theory. Ray died in March 2015, and the Time Cube website registration expired in August 2015. == Website == The Time Cube website did not have a navigation structure such as a menu or a central home page; instead, it was one long continuous page. A large amount of self-invented jargon is used throughout, often never defined. In one paragraph, Ray claimed that his wisdom "so antiquates known knowledge that a psychiatrist examining [his] behavior" diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Adi Robertson of The Verge commented that Ray's theory of time is "an incredibly confusing one peppered with racism and homophobia". The link, www.timecube.com, is now a


id: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis-0.md
category: reference
title: Time-traveler UFO hypothesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:09.758979+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-0
summary:
The time-traveler hypothesis, also known as chrononaut UFO, future humans, extratempestrial model and Terminator theory is the proposal that unidentified flying objects are humans traveling from the future using advanced technology. Some notable people have given recent public exposure to the hypothesis, such as retired NASA aerospace engineer Larry Lemke, Wisconsin congressman Mike Gallagher, and American filmmaker Steven Spielberg. The time-traveler hypothesis is considered extremely implausible by mainstream scholars and is generally regarded as unorthodox even among UFO theorists who argue that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft or interdimensional phenomena. == Antecedents == === Origins of time travel speculation === The notion of time travel from the future to the past is thought to have been introduced for the first time in literature by French botanist and geologist Pierre Boitard in his popular 1861 book Paris avant les hommes (Paris before Men), featuring a man sent back to prehistoric Earth where he interacts with an ape-like ancestor. A few years later, in 1887, Camille Flammarion published Lumen, a novel featuring an alien soul traveling through different worlds and historical periods. Although traveling back in time is almost-universally considered physically impossible, theoretical research has explored whether it might be possible. It has


id: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis-1.md
category: reference
title: Time-traveler UFO hypothesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:09.758979+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-0
summary:
It is unclear exactly when the hypothesis in its complete form was first proposed. Early versions surfaced between the 1970s' pseudoscientific literature and 1990s internet culture, at times associated with the idioms "chrononaut UFOs", "time traveling humans" or simply "future humans". Examples include contributions by Jacques Vallée in his book The Invisible College, Radford University anthropology professor and former Forbes contributor David S. Anderson, Jenny Randles' 2001 book Time Storms, James Herbert Brennan's 1997 book Time-travel: a new perspective, which also draws parallels between the time travelers and elements of the pseudoarchaeological notion of ancient astronauts and Ooparts, and many others. In their 1998 book The Day After Roswell, US Army officer Philip J. Corso and American novelist William J. Birnes reported that German physicist and engineer Dr Hermann Oberth believed the craft recovered at Roswell could have been a time machine. On April 27, 2012 History aired the "Time Travelers" episode from season 4 of the series Ancient Aliens produced by Prometheus Entertainment, available on Netflix since 2022. In the same year, the "Time Benders" episode from season 18 of the same series aired on History, exploring other aspects of the concept and featuring more speakers, including American professor


id: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis-2.md
category: reference
title: Time-traveler UFO hypothesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:09.758979+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-0
summary:
=== In popular culture === The 1966 Sherwood Schwartz TV series It's About Time portrays 20th-century astronauts being sent back to the Stone Age after traveling around the earth faster than the speed of light. The astronauts have to contend with the suspicions and superstitions of local cave-dwellers, who regard their advanced technology as sorcery. The astronauts eventually repair their space capsule and return to 1967 with the prehistoric family they befriended. Similar plots were involved in Lost in Space's episode Visit to a Hostile Planet (1967), Star Trek episodes Tomorrow Is Yesterday (1969) and Little Green Men (1995) from the Deep Space Nine series, as well as Futurama's Roswell That Ends Well (2001). In Gregory Benford’s 1980 novel Timescape, scientist Saul Shriffer, a colleague of Frank Drake at the SETI Project Ozma, believes that a cryptic signal is of extraterrestrial origin, when it fact it had been sent thirty-four years into the past by humans in the future. In his 1984 science fiction/fantasy novel Birds of Prey, American author David Drake describes six sterile and mutually telepathic sisters who time travel back in time to save humanity from an intelligent but monstrous alien species similar to social insects. The


id: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis-3.md
category: reference
title: Time-traveler UFO hypothesis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-traveler_UFO_hypothesis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:09.758979+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: time-traveler-ufo-hypothesis-20260505-0
summary:
=== Terminology and connection to other theories === Although in his books and publications Dr Masters uses the neologism "extratempestrial" to describe his model and the alleged beings piloting the UFOs, the overall idea has been dubbed "the time-traveler hypothesis" by executive director of nonprofit Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), Jan Harzan. The time-traveler hypothesis and the interdimensional hypothesis overlap by a certain degree. People in the ufology community, such as former MUFON director for the state of Pennsylvania John Ventre in an interview with KDKA News Radio, as well as American parapsychologist and engineer Harold E. Puthoff, refer to the two interchangeably. Dr Masters has stated that he considers his extratempestrial model a subcategory of the interdimensional hypothesis. Indeed, from a more scientific standpoint – albeit controversially – within the framework of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, temporal paradoxes could be avoided if the time traveler would move from one dimension, or parallel universe, or timeline, to another. Similarly to how the extraterrestrial hypothesis represents a potential solution to Fermi's paradox, the time-traveler hypothesis provides an alternative explanation for the absence of future time travelers. In an interview with Nova on PBS, astrophysicist and skeptic Carl Sagan stated that


id: tin-foil-hat-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat-0.md
category: reference
title: Tin foil hat
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:11.001324+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: tin-foil-hat-20260505-0
summary:
A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of tin foil or aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, often worn in the belief or hope that it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading. The notion of wearing homemade headgear for such protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. "Tin foil" is a common misnomer for aluminium foil in English-speaking countries; packaging metal foil was formerly made out of tin before it was replaced with aluminium. == Origin == Some people – "Tin Foil Hatters" – have a belief that such hats prevent mind control by governments, spies, mobsters, corporations, extraterrestrial, or paranormal beings that employ ESP or the microwave auditory effect. People in many countries who believe they are "targeted individuals", subject to government, corporate, or criminal spying or harassment, have developed websites, conference calls, and support meetings to discuss their concerns, including the idea of protective headgear. Vice Magazine wrote that the tin foil hat in popular culture "can be traced back in a very weird and prescient short


id: titanic-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_conspiracy_theories-0.md
category: reference
title: Titanic conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:12.182628+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: titanic-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg, damaging the hull's plates below the waterline on the starboard side, causing the front compartments to flood. The ship then sank two hours and forty minutes later, with approximately 1,496 fatalities as a result of drowning or hypothermia. Since then, many conspiracy theories have been suggested regarding the disaster. These theories have been refuted by subject-matter experts. == Olympic exchange hypothesis == One of the controversial and elaborate theories surrounding the sinking of the Titanic was advanced by Robin Gardiner in his book Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank? (1998). Gardiner draws on several events and coincidences that occurred in the months, days, and hours leading up to the sinking of the Titanic, and concludes that the ship that sank was in fact Titanic's sister ship Olympic, disguised as Titanic, as an insurance scam by its owners, the International Mercantile Marine Group, controlled by American financier J. P. Morgan, who had acquired the White Star Line in 1902. Researchers Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall took issue with many of Gardiner's claims in their book Olympic and Titanic: The Truth Behind the Conspiracy (2004). Author Mark Chirnside has also raised serious


id: alfred-tomatis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Tomatis-0.md
category: reference
title: Alfred Tomatis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Tomatis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:13.348746+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: alfred-tomatis-20260505-0
summary:
Alfred Tomatis (1 January 1920 – 25 December 2001) was a French otolaryngologist and inventor. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Paris School of Medicine. His alternative medicine theories of hearing and listening are known as the Tomatis method or Audio-Psycho-Phonology (APP). Tomatis' approach, a type of auditory integration training, is known as the Tomatis Method. It is promoted as being of benefit to people with autism, but there is no good evidence to support these claims and the Method has been classified as a pseudoscience. == Tomatis' life and work == Alfred Tomatis grew up in a musical family in France. His father was an opera singer, and he spent much of his childhood traveling with him and watching his opera performances from the wings. At an early age, however, he and his parents decided he was not fit for the stage. So he went into medicine and eventually became an Ear, Nose and Throat physician. Soon after he began his practice, his father began referring him opera colleagues with vocal problems. Tomatis soon discovered traditional treatments inadequate but also that there was very little research on the voice itself. He formulated the theory that many vocal


id: tondemo-bon-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tondemo-bon-0.md
category: reference
title: Tondemo-bon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tondemo-bon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:14.516596+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: tondemo-bon-20260505-0
summary:
Tondemo (トンデモ, Tondemo) means "outrageous" or "preposterous" + bon (本, hon) "book" in Japanese. Recently the word has gained another meaning thanks to the activity of Togakkai (the Academy of Tondemo books) which annually award Nihon Tondemo-bon Taisho (Japan Tondemo Book Award), which is similar to the Golden Raspberry Award or the Ig Nobel Prize. Tondemo-bon is defined by the academy as "something amusing from a perspective that differs from what the author intends". The award covers not just conspiracy theory or pseudoscience but also includes historical revisionism as well as atheists or scientific sceptics who make rather biased attacks toward the former. The members of Togakkai included religious figures as well as scientists and other academics. In Japan, this genre has superseded similar activities of scientific sceptics. == Togakai tondemobon taisho winners == Here is a list of winners of the Nihon Tondemo-bon Taisho (Japan Tondemo Book Award): Ninja, Its Origin and Technique(「忍者のラビリンス」) by Amano Jin, an ostensibly scholarly exploration of the history of ninja techniques, including the secret magical hand gestures Winner in 2001 was,Amazing Science Fiction Weapons(「奇想天外SF兵器) by Kei yoshio, a notoriously poorly researched book detailing the weapons and plots of science fiction series Winner in 2000


id: torsion-field-pseudoscience-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsion_field_(pseudoscience)-0.md
category: reference
title: Torsion field (pseudoscience)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsion_field_(pseudoscience)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:15.697826+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: torsion-field-pseudoscience-20260505-0
summary:
A torsion field (also called axion field, spin field, spinor field, and microlepton field) is a reoccurring feature of many pseudoscientific proposals. It posits that the quantum spin of particles can be used to cause emanations to carry information through vacuum orders of magnitude faster than the speed of light. == History == The first torsion field proposals were proposed in the late Soviet Union by a group of physicists in the 1980s who loosely based their ideas on Einstein–Cartan theory and some variant solutions of Maxwell's equations that do not have a solid grounding in scientific fact. The group, led by Anatoly Akimov and Gennady Shipov, began the research as the state-sponsored Center for Nontraditional Technologies. They disbanded in 1991 when their research was exposed by physicist Eugene Alexandrov as a fraud and an embezzlement of government funding. Akimov and Shipov received financing for torsion field research from the Russian Ministry of Science from 1992 to 1995 and from the Russian Ministry of Defense from 1996 to 1997, and secretly continued their research, with a private enterprise called The International Institute for Theoretical and Applied Physics (later called UVITOR). Presently championed exclusively outside of reputable scientific research due to


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-0.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or logical mechanism of action. Some TCM ingredients are known to be toxic and cause disease, including cancer. Medicine in traditional China encompassed a range of sometimes competing health and healing practices, folk beliefs, literati theory, Taoist and Confucian philosophy, herbal remedies, food, diet, exercise, medical specializations, and schools of thought. TCM as it exists today has been described as a largely 20th century invention. In the early twentieth century, Chinese cultural and political modernizers worked to eliminate traditional practices as backward and unscientific. Traditional practitioners then selected elements of philosophy and practice and organized them into what they called "Chinese medicine". In the 1950s, the Chinese government sought to revive traditional medicine (including legalizing previously banned practices) and sponsored the integration of Chinese and Western medicine. In the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, the government promoted TCM as inexpensive and popular. The creation of TCM was largely spearheaded by Mao Zedong, despite the fact that, according to The Private Life of Chairman Mao, he did


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-1.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
=== Shang dynasty === Traces of therapeutic activities in China date from the Shang dynasty (14th–11th centuries BCE). Though the Shang did not have a concept of "medicine" as distinct from other health practices, their oracular inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells refer to illnesses that affected the Shang royal family: eye disorders, toothaches, bloated abdomen, and such. Shang elites usually attributed them to curses sent by their ancestors. There is currently no evidence that the Shang nobility used herbal remedies. Stone and bone needles found in ancient tombs led Joseph Needham to speculate that acupuncture might have been carried out in the Shang dynasty. This being said, most historians now make a distinction between medical lancing (or bloodletting) and acupuncture in the narrower sense of using metal needles to attempt to treat illnesses by stimulating points along circulation channels ("meridians") in accordance with beliefs related to the circulation of "Qi". The earliest evidence for acupuncture in this sense dates to the second or first century BCE. === Han dynasty === The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (Huangdi Neijing), the oldest received work of Chinese medical theory, was compiled during the Han dynasty around the first century BCE on the basis


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-2.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
=== Chinese communities under colonial rule === Chinese communities living in colonial port cities were influenced by the diverse cultures they encountered, which also led to evolving understandings of medical practices where Chinese forms of medicine were combined with Western medical knowledge. For example, the Tung Wah Hospital was established in Hong Kong in 1869 based on the widespread rejection of Western medicine for pre-existing medical practices, although Western medicine would still be practiced in the hospital alongside Chinese medicinal practices. The Tung Wah Hospital was likely connected to another Chinese medical institution, the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital of Singapore, which had previous community links to Tung Wah, was established for similar reasons, and also provided both Western and Chinese medical care. By 1935, English-language newspapers in Colonial Singapore already used the term "Traditional Chinese Medicine" to label Chinese ethnic medical practices. In the Chinese Communist Party-controlled areas prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a lack of access to Western-style medical resources. To improve health care, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) promoted the integration of traditional Chinese medicine with Western medical science. In the Yan'an Soviet, mass campaigns sought to "scientize Chinese medicine" and


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-3.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
=== Historiography of Chinese medicine === The study of traditional medicine in China is an academic field within the history of science, with its own scholarly associations, journals, graduate programs, and debates with each other. These scholars distinguish traditional medicine in historical China from the more recent traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which took elements from traditional texts and practices to construct a systematic body. Paul Unschuld, for instance, sees a "departure of TCM from its historical origins." What is called "Traditional Chinese Medicine" and practiced today in China and the West is not thousands of years old, but recently constructed using selected traditional terms, some of which have been taken out of context, some badly misunderstood. He has criticized Chinese and Western popular books for selective use of evidence, choosing only those works or parts of historical works that seem to lead to modern medicine, ignoring those elements that do not now seem to be effective. Historians have noted two key aspects of Chinese medical history: understanding conceptual differences when translating the term 身, and observing the history from the perspective of cosmology rather than biology. In Chinese classical texts, the term 身 is the closest historical translation to the


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-4.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
== Philosophical background == Traditional Chinese medicine includes a broad range of practices sharing common concepts that developed in China for more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage (tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy. It is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. Traditional practices are widely used in China and, in an adapted form, also in the West. Its philosophy is based on School of Yin Yang, which incorporates Five Phases theory and Yin–Yang theory, and elements of which were absorbed by Daoism. Philosophical texts influenced medical thought and practice, mostly by being grounded in the same theories of qi, yin-yang and wuxing and microcosm-macrocosm analogies. === Yin and yang === Yin and yang are ancient Chinese deductive reasoning concepts used within Chinese medical diagnosis which can be traced back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1100 BCE). They represent two abstract and complementary aspects that every phenomenon in the universe can be divided into. Primordial analogies for these aspects are the sun-facing (yang) and the shady (yin) side of a hill. Two other commonly used representational allegories of yin and yang are water and fire. In the yin–yang theory, detailed attributions are made


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-5.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Actuation (推动; 推動; tuīdòng) – of all physical processes in the body, especially the circulation of all body fluids such as blood in their vessels. This includes actuation of the functions of the zang-fu organs and meridians. Warming (温煦; 溫煦; wēnxù) – the body, especially the limbs. Defense (防御; fángyù) – against Exogenous Pathogenic Factors Containment (固摄; 固攝; gùshè) – of body fluids, i.e., keeping blood, sweat, urine, semen, etc. from leakage or excessive emission. Inter-transformationel (气化; 氣化; qìhuà) – of food, drink, and breath into qi, xue (blood), and jinye ("fluids"), and/or transformation of all of the latter into each other. A lack of qi will be characterized especially by pale complexion, lassitude of spirit, lack of strength, spontaneous sweating, laziness to speak, non-digestion of food, shortness of breath (especially on exertion), and a pale and enlarged tongue. Qi is believed to be partially generated from food and drink, and partially from air (by breathing). Another considerable part of it is inherited from the parents and will be consumed in the course of life. TCM uses special terms for qi running inside of the blood vessels and for qi that is distributed in the skin, muscles, and tissues between


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-6.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
== Gender in traditional medicine == Fuke (妇科; 婦科; Fùkē) is the traditional Chinese term for women's medicine (it means gynecology and obstetrics in modern medicine). However, there are few or no ancient works on it except for Fu Qingzhu's Fu Qingzhu Nu Ke (Fu Qingzhu's Gynecology 傅青主女科), with "Nu Ke" literally meaning "Women studies", much like the etymology of gynecology. In traditional China, as in many other cultures, the health and medicine of female bodies was less understood than that of male bodies. Women's bodies were often secondary to male bodies, since women were thought of as the weaker, sicklier sex. In clinical encounters, women and men were treated differently. Diagnosing women was not as simple as diagnosing men. First, when a woman fell ill, an appropriate adult man was to call the doctor and remain present during the examination, for the woman could not be left alone with the male doctor. The physician would discuss the female's problems and diagnosis only through the male. However, in certain cases, when a woman dealt with complications of pregnancy or birth, older women assumed the role of the formal authority. Men in these situations would not have much power to interfere.


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-7.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
=== Yin yang and gender === Yin and yang were critical to the understanding of women's bodies, but understood only in conjunction with male bodies. Yin and yang ruled the body, the body being a microcosm of the universe and the earth. In addition, gender in the body was understood as homologous, the two genders operating in synchronization. Gender was presumed to influence the movement of energy and a well-trained physician would be expected to read the pulse and be able to identify two dozen or more energy flows. Yin and yang concepts were applied to the feminine and masculine aspects of all bodies, implying that the differences between men and women begin at the level of this energy flow. According to Bequeathed Writings of Master Chu the male's yang pulse movement follows an ascending path in "compliance [with cosmic direction] so that the cycle of circulation in the body and the Vital Gate are felt...The female's yin pulse movement follows a defending path against the direction of cosmic influences, so that the nadir and the Gate of Life are felt at the inch position of the left hand". In sum, classical medicine marked yin and yang as high and


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-8.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
=== Infertility === Infertility, not very well understood, posed serious social and cultural repercussions. The seventh-century scholar Sun Simiao is often quoted: "those who have prescriptions for women's distinctiveness take their differences of pregnancy, childbirth and [internal] bursting injuries as their basis." Even in contemporary fuke placing emphasis on reproductive functions, rather than the entire health of the woman, suggests that the main function of fuke is to produce children. Once again, the kidney visceral system governs the "source Qi", which governs the reproductive systems in both sexes. This source Qi was thought to "be slowly depleted through sexual activity, menstruation and childbirth." It was also understood that the depletion of source Qi could result from the movement of an external pathology that moved through the outer visceral systems before causing more permanent damage to the home of source Qi, the kidney system. In addition, the view that only very serious ailments ended in the damage of this system means that those who had trouble with their reproductive systems or fertility were seriously ill. According to traditional Chinese medical texts, infertility can be summarized into different syndrome types. These were spleen and kidney depletion (yang depletion), liver and kidney depletion


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-9
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-9.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Wind (风; fēng): rapid onset of symptoms, wandering location of symptoms, itching, nasal congestion, "floating" pulse; tremor, paralysis, convulsion. Cold (寒; hán): cold sensations, aversion to cold, relief of symptoms by warmth, watery/clear excreta, severe pain, abdominal pain, contracture/hypertonicity of muscles, (slimy) white tongue fur, "deep"/"hidden" or "string-like" pulse, or slow pulse. Fire/Heat (火; huǒ): aversion to heat, high fever, thirst, concentrated urine, red face, red tongue, yellow tongue fur, rapid pulse. (Fire and heat are basically seen to be the same) Dampness (湿; shī): sensation of heaviness, sensation of fullness, symptoms of Spleen dysfunction, greasy tongue fur, "slippery" pulse. Dryness (燥; zào): dry cough, dry mouth, dry throat, dry lips, nosebleeds, dry skin, dry stools. Summerheat (暑; shǔ): either heat or mixed damp-heat symptoms. Six-Excesses-patterns can consist of only one or a combination of Excesses (e.g., wind-cold, wind-damp-heat). They can also transform from one into another. ==== Typical examples of patterns ==== For each of the functional entities (qi, xuĕ, zàng-fǔ, meridians etc.), typical disharmony patterns are recognized; for example: qi vacuity and qi stagnation in the case of qi; blood vacuity, blood stasis, and blood heat in the case of xuĕ; Spleen qi vacuity, Spleen yang vacuity, Spleen


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-10
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-10.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
external causes: these include the Six Excesses and "Pestilential Qi". internal causes: the "Seven Affects" (七情; qī qíng, sometimes also translated as "Seven Emotions") – joy, anger, brooding, sorrow, fear, fright and grief. These are believed to be able to cause damage to the functions of the zàng-fú, especially of the Liver. non-external-non-internal causes: dietary irregularities (especially: too much raw, cold, spicy, fatty or sweet food; voracious eating; too much alcohol), fatigue, sexual intemperance, trauma, and parasites (虫; chóng). == Diagnostics == In TCM, there are five major diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation, olfaction, inquiry, and palpation. These are grouped into what is known as the "Four pillars" of diagnosis, which are Inspection, Auscultation/ Olfaction, Inquiry, and Palpation (望，聞，問，切). Inspection focuses on the face and particularly on the tongue, including analysis of the tongue size, shape, tension, color and coating, and the absence or presence of teeth marks around the edge. Auscultation refers to listening for particular sounds (such as wheezing). Olfaction refers to attending to body odor. Inquiry focuses on the "seven inquiries", which involve asking the person about the regularity, severity, or other characteristics of: chills, fever, perspiration, appetite, thirst, taste, defecation, urination, pain, sleep, menses, leukorrhea. Palpation which


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-11
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-11.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
==== Animal substances ==== Some animal parts used include cow gallstones, hornet nests, leeches, and scorpion. Other examples of animal parts include horn of the antelope or buffalo, deer antlers, testicles and penis bone of the dog, and snake bile. Some TCM textbooks still recommend preparations containing animal tissues, but there has been little research to justify the claimed clinical efficacy of many TCM animal products. Some compounds can include the parts of endangered species, including tiger bones and rhinoceros horn which is used for many ailments (though not as an aphrodisiac as is commonly misunderstood in the West). The black market in rhinoceros horns (driven not just by TCM but also unrelated status-seeking) has reduced the world's rhino population by more than 90 percent over the past 40 years. Concerns have also arisen over the use of pangolin scales, turtle plastron, seahorses, and the gill plates of mobula and manta rays. Poachers hunt restricted or endangered species to supply the black market with TCM products. There is no scientific evidence of efficacy for tiger medicines. Concern over China considering to legalize the trade in tiger parts prompted the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to endorse


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-12
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-12.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
The classification according to the Four Natures (四气; sì qì): hot, warm, cool, or cold (or, neutral in terms of temperature) and hot and warm herbs are used to treat cold diseases, while cool and cold herbs are used to treat heat diseases. The classification according to the Five Flavors, (五味; wǔ wèi, sometimes also translated as Five Tastes): acrid, sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. Substances may also have more than one flavor, or none (i.e., a "bland" flavor). Each of the Five Flavors corresponds to one of zàng organs, which in turn corresponds to one of the Five Phases. A flavor implies certain properties and therapeutic actions of a substance; e.g., saltiness drains downward and softens hard masses, while sweetness is supplementing, harmonizing, and moistening. The classification according to the meridian – more precisely, the zàng-fu organ including its associated meridian – which can be expected to be primarily affected by a given compound. The categorization according to the specific function mainly include: exterior-releasing or exterior-resolving, heat-clearing, downward-draining, or precipitating wind-damp-dispelling, dampness-transforming, promoting the movement of water and percolating dampness or dampness-percolating, interior-warming, qi-regulating or qi-rectifying, dispersing food accumulation or food-dispersing, worm-expelling, stopping bleeding or blood-stanching, quickening the Blood


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-13
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-13.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
With an eye to the enormous Chinese market, pharmaceutical companies have explored creating new drugs from traditional remedies. The journal Nature commented that "claims made on behalf of an uncharted body of knowledge should be treated with the customary scepticism that is the bedrock of both science and medicine." There was success in the 1970s, however, with the development of the antimalarial drug artemisinin, which is a chemical compound isolated the herb Artemisia annua that has been used traditionally as a treatment for fever. Artemisia annua has been used by Chinese herbalists in traditional Chinese medicines for 2,000 years. In 1596, Li Shizhen recommended tea made from qinghao specifically to treat malaria symptoms in his Compendium of Materia Medica. Researcher Tu Youyou discovered that a low-temperature extraction process could isolate an effective antimalarial substance from the plant. Tu says she was influenced by a traditional Chinese herbal medicine source, The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments, written in 340 by Ge Hong, which states that this herb should be steeped in cold water. The extracted substance, once subject to detoxification and purification processes, is a usable antimalarial drug – a 2012 review found that artemisinin-based remedies were the most effective


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-14
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-14.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Acupuncture is the insertion of needles into superficial structures of the body (skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles) – usually at acupuncture points (acupoints) – and their subsequent manipulation; this aims at influencing the flow of qi. According to TCM it relieves pain and treats (and prevents) various diseases. The US FDA classifies single-use acupuncture needles as Class II medical devices, under CFR 21. Acupuncture is often accompanied by moxibustion – the Chinese characters for acupuncture (针灸; 針灸; zhēnjiǔ) literally meaning "acupuncture-moxibustion" – which involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupuncture point. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that moxibustion is effective in preventing or treating cancer or any other disease". In electroacupuncture, an electric current is applied to the needles once they are inserted, to further stimulate the respective acupuncture points. A recent historian of Chinese medicine remarked that it is "nicely ironic that the specialty of acupuncture – arguably the most questionable part of their medical heritage for most Chinese at the start of the twentieth century – has become the most marketable aspect of Chinese medicine." She found that acupuncture as we know it today has hardly been


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-15
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-15.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Diē-dǎ (跌打) or Dit Da, is a traditional Chinese bone-setting technique, usually practiced by martial artists who know aspects of Chinese medicine that apply to the treatment of trauma and injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises. Some of these specialists may also use or recommend other disciplines of Chinese medical therapies if serious injury is involved. Such practice of bone-setting (正骨; 整骨) is not common in the West. === Chinese food therapy === The concepts yin and yang are associated with different classes of foods, and tradition considers it important to consume them in a balanced fashion. However, there is no scientific evidence supporting such claims, nor their implied notions. === Shanghai pedicure === == Regulations == Many governments have enacted laws to regulate TCM practice. === Australia === From 1 July 2012 Chinese medicine practitioners must be registered under the national registration and accreditation scheme with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia and meet the Board's Registration Standards, to practice in Australia. === Canada === TCM is regulated in five provinces in Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland & Labrador. === China (mainland) === The National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine was created in 1949,


id: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-16
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine-16.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Chinese medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:18.063455+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-chinese-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
There are no specific regulations in the Netherlands on TCM; TCM is neither prohibited nor recognised by the government of the Netherlands. Chinese herbs as well as Chinese herbal products that are used in TCM are classified as foods and food supplements, and these Chinese herbs can be imported into the Netherlands as well as marketed as such without any type registration or notification to the government. Despite its status, some private health insurance companies reimburse a certain amount of annual costs for acupuncture treatments, this depends on one's insurance policy, as not all insurance policies cover it, and if the acupuncture practitioner is or is not a member of one of the professional organisations that are recognised by private health insurance companies. The recognized professional organizations include the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Acupunctuur (NVA), Nederlandse Artsen Acupunctuur Vereniging (NAAV), ZHONG, (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Traditionele Chinese Geneeskunde), Nederlandse Beroepsvereniging Chinese Geneeswijzen Yi (NBCG Yi), and Wetenschappelijke Artsen Vereniging voor Acupunctuur in Nederland (WAVAN). === New Zealand === Although there are no regulatory standards for the practice of TCM in New Zealand, in the year 1990, acupuncture was included in the Governmental Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Act. This inclusion granted qualified and


id: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine-0.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Siberian medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:19.332823+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Traditional Siberian medicine revolves around many different methods of treatment for different conditions and ailments. Early forms of Siberian medicine included herbal and topical treatments that would be ingested in the forms of tea or pastes applied directly to the skin. Indigenous Siberian civilizations utilized the plants available in the land for healing purposes. These practices were often prescribed by Siberian shamans who were at the center of healing practices in most civilizations. Shamans also played an important role for healing Siberians through spiritual intervention by performing different rituals. These remedies and rituals were passed down generation to generation and evolved throughout the ages. Modern medical practices have since moved on from most of these methods since the creation of formalized medical care like hospitals in the region. In the modern day, Siberians and many Russians still drink these herbal teas out of tradition. == Foundations of traditional Siberian medicine == Much of the history of traditional Siberian medicine comes from indigenous people who have passed down remedies to younger generations. Siberian medicine has also been blended into traditional Russian medicine. The main pillars involve the use of herbal remedies such as making pastes, teas, and juices in order to


id: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine-1.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Siberian medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:19.332823+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Siberian ginseng was another plant utilized in traditional Siberian medicine. This plant is found closer to the border with China and is well documented for also being utilized in traditional Chinese medicine. Russian scientists did not categorize this plant as a ginseng until the late 20th century while studying the plant life that grew around the border with China near rivers. This plant is harvested with its roots being dried to be made into tea. Siberian ginseng was noted in traditional medicine for its ability to improve stamina as well as reduce fatigue after physical exertion. == The role of the shaman == One of the essential parts of traditional Siberian medicine is the role of the shaman. The shaman played a central role in daily life in Siberia before the 21st century. All the way up until the 20th century when the Soviet Union began to dictate much of what went on in terms of religion and trade in the region, shamanism dominated the vast lands of Siberia. Shamans were characterized by their ability to intervene in people's lives. This came in the forms of spirituality along with health and wellness. Shamans were believed to be able to change


id: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine-2.md
category: reference
title: Traditional Siberian medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Siberian_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:19.332823+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: traditional-siberian-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
One of the most notable lands in Siberia is Yakutia. This region of Siberia is recognized for having severe weather conditions with temperatures regularly dipping far below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. In the modern day, a vast majority of Yakut people do not have access to clean drinking water via pipe systems: the weather causes the pipes to freeze. This has led to many people being forced to harvest ice to melt to use for cooking, cleaning and bathing. Navigating the harsh climate of the region is difficult: many people wear thick fur pelts and jackets covering every inch of their bodies to avoid frostbite. Resilience to the cold is a vital part of Yakutian society. One tradition in the region involves cutting holes in the frozen lakes and briefly staying in the ice water. This tradition dates back centuries and is noted in Yakut culture for strengthening their bodies against the cold and illness. The ice bath can also be followed up with a session in the banya to warm the body. Young children are also not excluded from this practice. The tradition has survived the test of time and is implemented in the modern day. Kindergartens have been recognized


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-0.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
False and misleading claims about gender diversity, gender dysphoria, and gender-affirming care have been used to justify legislative restrictions on transgender people's right to healthcare. The claims have primarily relied on manufactured uncertainty generated by various conservative religious organizations, pseudoscientific or discredited researchers, anti-trans activists and others. Common false claims include that most people who transition regret it; that most pre-pubertal transgender children cease desiring transition after puberty; that gender dysphoria is socially contagious, can have a rapid onset, or is caused by mental illness; that medical organizations are pushing youth to transition; and that transgender youth require conversion therapies such as gender exploratory therapy. Elected officials in Central and South America have called for legislative bans on transgender healthcare based on false claims. Misinformation has been platformed and amplified by mainstream media outlets. Medical organizations such as the Endocrine Society and American Psychological Association, among others, have released statements opposing such bans and the misinformation behind them. == Origins == Transgender healthcare misinformation primarily relies on manufactured uncertainty from a network of conservative legal and advocacy organizations. These organizations have relied on techniques similar to those used in climate change denialism, generating exaggerated uncertainty around reproductive health care, conversion


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-1.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
It has been claimed that most (usually ~80%) of children with gender dysphoria or a trans identity will not identify as transgender past adolescence. The claim has been referred to as the "desistance myth". This claim is not supported by the evidence and is based on studies on "desistance" from the 1960s–80s and 2000s. These older studies often did not clearly define desistance, and when they did, their definitions were often inconsistent with each other. Many of the earlier studies treated "gender deviant" behavior as pathological and were explicitly attempting to "cure" it. All the studies, even later studies, often had serious methodological flaws such as low sample sizes and outdated diagnostic frameworks that conflated gender non-conformity with transgender identity. Most youth sampled in these studies never identified as transgender nor desired to transition, but were counted as desisting. The claim has often been used to support the criminalization of gender-affirming care. The term desistance was first used for trans children by Kenneth Zucker in 2003, who borrowed the term from its usage in oppositional defiance disorder; there, it is regarded as a positive outcome, a history that reflects the pathologization of transgender identities. The claim was primarily popularized in


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-2.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
In the 1980s and 1990s, Ray Blanchard developed a theory and typology of transfeminine people, classifying them as either "homosexual transsexuals" – straight transgender women who are alleged to be homosexual men who transitioned to seduce straight men – or "autogynephilic transsexuals", who medically transition due to an alleged sexual fantasy or fetish of being a woman. It was popularized in 2003 by J. Michael Bailey in his book The Man Who Would Be Queen and heavily promoted by the far-right Human Biodiversity Institute of which Blanchard is a member. There is little to no evidence for the theory, and it has been criticized on numerous grounds. Blanchard did not empirically derive the subtypes; instead, he grouped trans women based on sexual orientation, disregarded their lived experiences, ignored that cisgender women also report autogynephilia, sexually objectified trans women, and assumed causality – that transgender women have gender dysphoria and desire to transition due to their fantasies – rather than their fantasies being due to their identity. Studies have criticized the conceptual flaws and empirical errors in the theory. Transfeminist Julia Serano has summarized the debate: "If proponents of autogynephilia insist that every exception to the model is due to misreporting,


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-3.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
==== Norway ==== Misinformation that Norway had banned gender-affirming care has proliferated on social media. In 2023, the Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board, an independent non-governmental organization, issued a non-binding report finding the evidence for the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy in youth insufficient and recommended changing to a cautious approach. The board is not responsible for setting healthcare policy; the Directorate of Health, the governmental body responsible for healthcare policy in Norway, is considering but has not implemented the recommendations. ==== Sweden ==== Misinformation that Sweden had banned gender-affirming care for minors has proliferated on social media. Some Republican politicians in the United States have used this misinformation to justify their outright bans on the treatments, often citing the restriction that requires "special circumstances" to approve genital surgery in people under 23. In reality, genital surgery is rarely performed upon minors and only provided for the most severe and extraordinary cases of gender dysphoria. The restriction on genital surgery has been in place since the passage of a 1975 anti-eugenics law and does not ban transgender care. The child and adolescent gender dysphoria KID-clinic at Sweden's Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm announced that from May 2021 it


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-4.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
==== Latin America ==== Mexican federal deputy Teresa Castell of the conservative National Action Party had repeatedly claimed that gender dysphoria resulted from mental illness or perversion and required psychological treatment. One party deputy pushed an initiative to ban transgender healthcare for minors and criminalize pressure from "an adult for the determination of sexual identity ... contrary to their biological identity" arguing that minors are incapable of knowing their gender identity. In late September 2024, Colombian far-right groups and organizers who successfully lobbied against a national ban on conversion therapy spread a hoax that their Superintendent of Health had promoted genital surgeries for three-year-olds. Despite fact-checking from independent reporters, the President (Gustavo Petro) and the Superintendent of Health (Luis Carlos Leal), the hoax has continued to be popular. In November 2024, many Brazilian politicians and political candidates relied on anti-trans rhetoric and misinformation during their elections, including claims that transgender children do not exist or are being co-opted into being trans by advocacy organizations. ==== United Kingdom ==== In 2021, NHS England commissioned the Cass Review, an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people. The review's final report (published April 2024) recommended tighter restrictions on gender-affirming


id: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation-5.md
category: reference
title: Transgender health care misinformation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:20.683859+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transgender-health-care-misinformation-20260505-0
summary:
== Responses from medical organizations == In June 2023, The Endocrine Society released a press release stating "widespread misinformation about medical care for transgender and gender-diverse teens" had resulted in 18 US states banning such care, including for adults. They stated: "These policies do not reflect the research landscape. More than 2,000 scientific studies have examined aspects of gender-affirming care since 1975, including more than 260 studies cited in the Endocrine Society's Clinical Practice Guideline [on transgender medicine]." The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Urological Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Physicians, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the AMA's Medical Student Section cosponsored an Endocrine Society resolution "opposing any criminal and legal penalties against patients seeking gender-affirming care, family members or guardians who support them in seeking medical care, and health care facilities and clinicians who provide gender-affirming care". The AMA passed the resolution. In February 2024, the American Psychological Association released a policy statement urging the stopping of the spread of disinformation with more abundant and easily accessible scientific research, describing it as


id: turbo-cancer-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_cancer-0.md
category: reference
title: Turbo cancer
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_cancer
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:21.855229+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: turbo-cancer-20260505-0
summary:
Turbo cancer is an anti-vaccination conspiracy theory alleging that people vaccinated against COVID-19, especially with mRNA vaccines, are suffering from a high incidence of fast-developing cancers. Although the idea has been spread by a number of vaccine opponents, including several health professionals, turbo cancer is not supported by cancer research, and there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination causes or worsens cancer. == Claims == Opponents of COVID-19 vaccines such as Florida surgeon general Joseph Ladapo have claimed that trace amounts of contaminant DNA present alongside the vaccine's mRNA could integrate in the patient's genome, activating oncogenes responsible for cancer. In response, Céline Gounder pointed out that trace DNA exists in virtually every product originating from cell cultures, and that DNA vaccines are not known to cause cancer despite containing much higher amounts of DNA. According to the US National Cancer Institute, "[t]here is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. Furthermore, COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA". == Examples of claims == A paper by antivaccine activists Stephanie Seneff, Peter McCullough and others claimed suppression of type 1 interferon could result in immune suppression that could promote cancer proliferation. The


id: unani-medicine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unani_medicine-0.md
category: reference
title: Unani medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unani_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:23.076423+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unani-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
Unani medicine or Unani Tibb (Urdu: طب یونانی tibb-i-yūnānī) is a Greco-Arabic traditional medicine system practiced in areas of South Asia and Central Asia. Unani medicine uses the humoral theory of diagnosis, which predates the discovery of microbes and modern medicine. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The term Yūnānī means 'Greek', referring to the fact that the Greco-Arabic system of medicine was based on the teachings of the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen. The Hellenistic origin of Unani medicine is still visible in its being based on the classical four humours: phlegm (balgham), blood (dam), yellow bile (ṣafrā) and black bile (saudā), but it has also been influenced by Indian and Chinese traditional systems. == Etymology == The term Unani dates back to the ancient Greek place-name Ἰωνία (Iōnía), a coastal region on the eastern Aegean. The Ionians were the major ethnic group of the region, and their name became the primary Arabic and Persian reference for Greece as a civilization, known as Yūnānistan. == History == === Ancient Greece (1200 BC – 600 AD) === Unani medicine established its foundations in ancient Greece. Hippocrates (c. 460–380 BCE) constructed the four-humor framework (blood (dam), phlegm (balg), yellow bile (safra), and black


id: unani-medicine-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unani_medicine-1.md
category: reference
title: Unani medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unani_medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:23.076423+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unani-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
India hosts fifty-seven Unani medical colleges as of 2022, with the registered Unani medical practitioner base reaching an estimated 52,000 individuals as of 2024. The common undergraduate degree awarded on completion on an Unani medicine program is titled Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (B.U.M.S.), although the name of this degree may vary slightly across institutions. Postgraduate education in Unani medicine remains less widespread than undergraduate offerings, with a few colleges currently offering MD (Unani medicine) or PhD programs. Postgraduate studies in Unani medicine can range in disciplines, a few being: Mu'ālajāt (Medicine/Therapeutics), 'Ilm al-Adwiya (Pharmacology or Pharmacognosy), 'Ilm al-Saidla (Unani Pharmacy), among others. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body established in 1971 under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), monitors higher education in areas of Indian medicine including Ayurveda, Unani, and other traditional medical systems. Another subdivision of AYUSH, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), aids and co-ordinates scientific research in the Unani system of medicine through a network of 22 nationwide research institutes and units. To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, the Government of India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in 2001 as


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-0.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
This is a non-exhaustive list of alternative treatments that have been promoted to treat or prevent cancer in humans but which lack scientific and medical evidence of effectiveness. In many cases, there is scientific evidence that the alleged treatments are not effective, and in some cases, may even be harmful. Unlike accepted cancer treatments, treatments lacking in evidence of efficacy are generally ignored or avoided by the medical community and are often pseudoscientific. Many alternative cancer treatments are considered disproven because they have been investigated with clinical trials and have been shown to be ineffective. == Alternative health systems == Aromatherapy – the use of fragrant substances, such as essential oils, in the belief that smelling them will positively affect health. There is some evidence that aromatherapy improves general well-being, but it has also been promoted for its ability to fight diseases, including cancer. The American Cancer Society states "available scientific evidence does not support claims that aromatherapy is effective in preventing or treating cancer". Ayurvedic medicine – a 2,200-year-old system of traditional medicine which originated on the Indian subcontinent. According to Cancer Research UK, "There is no scientific evidence to prove that Ayurvedic medicine can treat or cure cancer."


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-1.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
== Diet-based == Alkaline diet – a restrictive diet of non-acid foods, such as that proposed by Edgar Cayce (1877–1945), based on the claim this will affect the pH of the body generally, so reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, "there is no evidence to support any of these claims." Breuss diet – a diet based on vegetable juice and tea devised by Rudolf Breuss (1899–1990), who claimed it could cure cancer. Physicians have said that, in common with other "cancer diets", there is no evidence of effectiveness and some risk of harm. Budwig protocol (or Budwig diet) – an "anti-cancer" diet developed in the 1950s by Johanna Budwig (1908–2003). The diet is rich in flaxseed oil mixed with cottage cheese, and emphasizes meals high in fruit, vegetables and fiber; it avoids sugar, animal fats, salad oil, meats, butter and especially margarine. Cancer Research UK say, "there is no reliable evidence to show that the Budwig diet [...] helps people with cancer". Fasting and intermittent fasting – not eating or drinking for a period – a practice which has been claimed by some alternative medicine practitioners to help fight cancer, perhaps by


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-2.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Bioresonance therapy – diagnosis and therapy delivered by attaching an electrical device to the patient, on the basis that cancer cells emit certain electromagnetic oscillations. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center says that such claims are not supported by any evidence and note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has prosecuted many sellers of such devices. Electrohomeopathy (or Mattei cancer cure) – a treatment devised by Count Cesare Mattei (1809–1896), who proposed that different "colors" of electricity could be used to treat cancer. Popular in the late nineteenth century, electrohomeopathy has been described as "utter idiocy". Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid – an electronic device promoted as being capable of diagnosing and treating cancer and a host of other ailments. However, according to Quackwatch: "The Quantum Xrroid device is claimed to balance 'bio-energetic' forces that the scientific community does not recognize as real. It mainly reflects skin resistance (how easily low-voltage electric currents from the device pass through the skin), which is not related to the body's health." Light therapy – the use of light to treat medical conditions. According to the American Cancer Society, alternative approaches—such as chromotherapy or the use of light boxes—have not been shown to be


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-3.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Clark's "Cure for All Cancers" – an alternative medicine regime promoted by Hulda Regehr Clark (1928–2009), who (before her death from cancer) claimed it could cure all human diseases, including all cancers. The regime was based on the belief that disease was caused by "parasites", and included herbal remedies, chelation therapy and the use of electronic devices. Quackwatch describes her notions as "absurd". Contreras therapy – treatment offered at the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico which includes a number of ineffective treatments including the use of amygdalin and metabolic therapy. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center lists "Contreras Therapy" alongside others which "show no evidence of efficacy". Gerson therapy – a predominantly diet regime, generally based on limiting salt, protein and other foods; ingesting large quantities of fruit and vegetables through juicing; augmenting the intake of potassium and iodine; and the use of coffee enemas. According to Cancer Research UK, "available scientific evidence does not support any claims that Gerson therapy can treat cancer [...] Gerson therapy can be very harmful to your health." Gonzalez protocol – a treatment regime devised by Nicholas Gonzalez (1947–2015) based on Gerson therapy. The treatment is a type of metabolic therapy that


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-4.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Cannabidiol – a phytocannabinoid extracted from the cannabis plant. Many claims are made for the therapeutic benefit of cannabidiol that are not backed by sound evidence. Some claims—for example that cannabidiol be used to treat cancer—fall into the realm of pseudoscience. Cannabis – Used as a recreational and medicinal drug. Chemicals derived from cannabis have been extensively researched for potential anti-cancer effect and while there has been much laboratory work, claims that cannabis has been proven to cure cancer are—according to Cancer Research UK—"highly misleading". The U.S. National Cancer Institute notes "Cannabis is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of any cancer-related symptom or side effect of cancer therapy." Cansema (also called black salve) – a type of paste or poultice often promoted as a cancer cure, especially for skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, there is no evidence that this escharotic is effective in treating cancer, and it can be harmful, causing burns and disfigurement. Capsicum – the name given to a group of plants in the nightshade family, well known for producing hot chilli peppers such as the cayenne pepper and the jalapeño. A number of capsicum-based products, including teas and capsules, are promoted


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-5.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Grapes – fruit, popularized for supposed anti-cancer effect by Johanna Brandt (1876–1964) who championed a "grape diet", and promoted more recently in the form of grape seed extract (GSE). According to the American Cancer Society, "there is very little reliable scientific evidence available at this time that drinking red wine, eating grapes, or following the grape diet can prevent or treat cancer in people". Inonotus obliquus – commonly known as chaga mushroom. Chaga has been used as a folk remedy in Russia and Siberia since the 16th century. According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, "no clinical trials have been conducted to assess chaga's safety and efficacy for disease prevention or for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes". They caution that the mushroom extract can interact with other drugs. Juice Plus – a branded line of dietary supplements containing concentrated fruit and vegetable juice extract. In October 2009, Barrie R. Cassileth, chair and chief of integrative medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, cautioned that while Juice Plus is being "aggressively promoted to cancer patients based on claims of antioxidant effects", the supplement should not be taken by patients because it can interfere with chemotherapy, nor should


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-6.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Mistletoe – a plant used in anthroposophical medicine, proposed as a cancer cure (in the form of mistletoe extract, called Iscador or Helixor) by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), who believed it needed to be harvested when planetary alignment most influenced its potency. According to the American Cancer Society, "available evidence from well-designed clinical trials does not support claims that mistletoe can improve length or quality of life". Modified citrus pectin – a substance chemically extracted from citrus fruits and marketed in dietary supplement form as a treatment for prostate cancer and melanoma. According to Cancer Research UK, it has "not been shown to have any activity in fighting cancer in people". Moxibustion – the practice, used in conjunction with acupuncture or acupressure, of burning dried-up mugwort near the patient. The American Cancer Society comments, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that moxibustion is effective in preventing or treating cancer or any other disease". Mushrooms – promoted on the internet as useful for cancer treatment. According to Cancer Research UK, "there is currently no evidence that any type of mushroom or mushroom extract can prevent or cure cancer". Nerium oleander (or oleander) – one of the most poisonous of commonly grown


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-7.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Venus flytrap – a carnivorous plant, the extract of which has been promoted as a treatment for a variety of human ailments including skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that extract from the Venus flytrap plant is effective in treating skin cancer or any other type of cancer". Walnuts – large, hard edible seeds of any tree of the genus Juglans. Black walnut has been promoted as a cancer cure on the basis it kills a "parasite" responsible for the disease. There exist walnut hull tinctures made with kerosene or other oil products; one such product which was intended to be used as a cancer treatment, named Todicamp and produced by Todicamp SRL, was recognized as harmful. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that hulls from black walnuts remove parasites from the intestinal tract or that they are effective in treating cancer or any other disease". Wheatgrass – a food made from grains of wheat. According to the American Cancer Society, although some wheatgrass champions claim it can "shrink" cancer tumors, "available scientific evidence does not support the idea that wheatgrass or the wheatgrass


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-8.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Cancer guided imagery – the practice of attempting to treat cancer in oneself by imagining it away. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that imagery can influence the development or progress of cancer". Faith healing – the attempt to cure disease by spiritual means, often by prayer or participation in religious ritual. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that faith healing can actually cure physical ailments". Hypnosis – the induction of a deeply relaxed and yet alert mental state. Some practitioners have claimed hypnosis might help boost the immune system. However, according to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support the idea that hypnosis can influence the development or progression of cancer.". Meditation (also Transcendental Meditation and Mindfulness) – mind-body practices in which patients attempt to master their own mental processes. According to the American Cancer Society while meditation "may help to improve the quality of life for people with cancer", "available scientific evidence does not suggest that meditation is effective in treating cancer or any other disease." Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) – a series of behavioral techniques based on various supposed relationships between


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-9
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-9.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Colloidal silver – liquid containing a suspension of silver particles, marketed as a treatment for cancer and other ailments. Quackwatch states that colloidal silver dietary supplements have not been found safe or effective for the treatment of any condition. Ingestion of ionic silver can cause a rare condition called argyria in which silver is reduced to elemental form inside tissues, causing an irreversible blue/gray complexion. Coral calcium – a dietary supplement supposedly made from crushed coral and promoted with claims it could treat a number of diseases including cancer. A consumer advisory issued by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine stated "Consumers should be aware that claims that coral calcium can treat or cure cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, heart disease, or high blood pressure are not supported by existing scientific evidence". DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) – a steroid hormone that has been promoted in supplement form for its claimed cancer prevention properties; there is no scientific evidence to support these claims. Di Bella Therapy – a cocktail of vitamins, drugs and hormones devised by Luigi di Bella (1912–2003) and promoted as a cancer treatment. According to the American Cancer Society: "Available scientific evidence does not support claims that Di Bella


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-10
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-10.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy – the use of a pressurized oxygen environment as therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has a number of accepted uses—for example hyperbaric chambers are used for treating decompression sickness. The therapy has also been promoted as a cure-all for a wide range of conditions, including cancer, for which there is no evidence of effectiveness. Insulin potentiation therapy – the practice of injecting insulin, usually alongside a low dose of conventional chemotherapy drugs, in the belief that this improves the overall effect of the treatment. Although it may cause a temporary reduction in tumor size for some patients, there is no evidence that it improves survival time or any other main outcomes. Krebiozen (also known as Carcalon, creatine, substance X, or drug X) – a mineral oil-based liquid sold as an alternative cancer treatment. According to the American Cancer Society: "Available scientific evidence does not support claims that Krebiozen is effective in treating cancer or any other disease. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), creatine has been linked to several dangerous side effects." Lipoic acid – an antioxidant available as a dietary supplement and claimed by proponents to be capable of slowing cancer progression. According to


id: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-11
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments-11.md
category: reference
title: List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:24.252849+00:00
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parent: list-of-unproven-and-disproven-cancer-treatments-20260505-0
summary:
Shark cartilage – a dietary supplement made from ground shark skeleton, and promoted as a cancer treatment perhaps because of the mistaken notion that sharks do not get cancer. The Mayo Clinic conducted research and were "unable to demonstrate any suggestion of efficacy for this shark cartilage product in patients with advanced cancer". Sodium bicarbonate (or baking soda) – the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3, sometimes promoted as cure for cancer by alternative medical practitioners such as Tullio Simoncini. According to the American Cancer Society: "evidence also does not support the idea that sodium bicarbonate works as a treatment for any form of cancer. There is substantial evidence, however, that these claims are false." Edzard Ernst has called the promotion of sodium bicarbonate as a cancer cure "one of the more sickening alternative cancer scams I have seen for a long time". Urine therapy – the practice of attempting to treat cancer—or other illnesses—by drinking, injecting or taking an enema of one's own urine, or by making and taking some derivative substance from it. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that urine or urea given in any form is helpful for cancer


id: urine-therapy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine_therapy-0.md
category: reference
title: Urine therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine_therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:25.482032+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: urine-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
Urine therapy or urotherapy, (also urinotherapy, Shivambu, uropathy, or auto-urine therapy) in alternative medicine, and amaroli in medieval hatha yoga, is the application of human urine for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, including drinking of one's own urine and massaging one's skin, or gums, with one's own urine. No scientific evidence exists to support any beneficial health claims of urine therapy. == History == Though urine has been believed useful for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in several traditional systems, and mentioned in some medical texts, auto-urine therapy as a system of alternative medicine was popularized by British naturopath John W. Armstrong in the early 20th century. Armstrong was inspired by his family's practice of using urine to treat minor stings and toothaches, by a metaphorical misreading of the Hebrew Biblical Proverb 5:15 "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well", and his own experience with ill-health that he treated with a 45-day fast "on nothing but urine and tap water". Starting in 1918, Armstrong prescribed urine therapy regimens that he devised for thousands of patients, and in 1944 he published The Water of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy, which became a founding document


id: vaccines-and-sids-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccines_and_SIDS-0.md
category: reference
title: Vaccines and SIDS
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccines_and_SIDS
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:26.659613+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vaccines-and-sids-20260505-0
summary:
A speculated link between vaccines and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) has been refuted, but remains a common anti-vaccine claim. The claim, attributed to Robert Mendelsohn in 1991 and promoted by anti-vaccination activists such as Viera Scheibner in the early 1990s, is that vaccines, especially the DTP vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, sometimes causes sudden infant death syndrome. The World Health Organization has classified this as a "common misconception". Some also claim that a vaccine court case, Boatmon v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 13-611 (Fed. Cl. 2017), proves this link. While compensation was awarded to Boatmon, this did not prove any link, and the award was in any case vacated in July 2018 as the Special master had applied too low a standard of proof. Multiple studies and meta-analyses have shown that vaccinated children are less likely to die of SIDS. == References ==


id: vaim-nika-sh-stra-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaimānika_Shāstra-0.md
category: reference
title: Vaimānika Shāstra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaimānika_Shāstra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:27.842973+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vaim-nika-sh-stra-20260505-0
summary:
The Vaimānika Shāstra (वैमानिक शास्त्र, lit. "shastra on the topic of Vimanas" or "science of aeronautics", sometimes also rendered Vimanika, Vymanika or Vyamanika) is a 20th-century text in Sanskrit. It makes the claim that the vimānas mentioned in ancient Sanskrit epics were advanced aerodynamic flying vehicles. The existence of the text was revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josyer, who asserted that it was written by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry (1866–1940), who dictated it during the years 1918–1923. A Hindi translation was published in 1959, while the Sanskrit text with an English translation was published in 1973. It contains 3000 shlokas in 8 chapters which Shastry claimed were psychically delivered to him by the ancient Hindu sage Bharadvaja. The text has gained favour among proponents of ancient astronauts. A study by aeronautical and mechanical engineering researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 1974 concluded that the aircraft described in the text were "poor concoctions" and that the author showed a complete lack of understanding of aeronautics. Regarding the "Rukma Vimana", the study noted, "If the craft is taken to mean what the drawing and the text say, it can be stated that the craft is a decided impossibility". ==


id: vaim-nika-sh-stra-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaimānika_Shāstra-1.md
category: reference
title: Vaimānika Shāstra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaimānika_Shāstra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:27.842973+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vaim-nika-sh-stra-20260505-0
summary:
The Vaimānika Śāstra was first committed to writing between 1918 and 1923, and nobody is claiming that it came from some mysterious antique manuscript. The fact is, there are no manuscripts of this text before 1918, and nobody is claiming that there are. So on one level, this is not a hoax. You just have to buy into the assumption that 'channelling' works. ... there is no exposition of the theory of aviation (let alone antigravity). In plain terms, the Vaimānika Śāstra never directly explains how Vimanas get up in the air. The text is top-heavy with long lists of often bizarre ingredients used to construct various subsystems. ... There is nothing here which Jules Verne couldn't have dreamed up, no mention of exotic elements or advanced construction techniques. The 1923 technical illustrations based on the text ... are absurdly unaerodynamic. They look like brutalist wedding cakes, with minarets, huge ornithopter wings and dinky propellers. In other words, they look like typical early 20th-century fantasy flying machines with an Indian twist. A 1974 study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, found that the heavier-than-air aircraft that the Vaimānika Śāstra described were aeronautically unfeasible. The authors remarked that


id: vartan-ter-oganezov-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vartan_Ter-Oganezov-0.md
category: reference
title: Vartan Ter-Oganezov
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vartan_Ter-Oganezov
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:29.487301+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vartan-ter-oganezov-20260505-0
summary:
Vartan Ter-Oganezov (10 October 1890-1963) was a Soviet pseudoscientist. He is best known for his ideologically motivated pseudoastronomy and denial of the theory of general relativity and the Big Bang theory on the grounds that they contradicted the Soviet state ideology of dialectical materialism, and for his involvement in the persecution of Soviet astrophysicists and cosmologists during the Great Purge. Ter-Oganezov's ideological fringe theories and leading role in the arrest and execution of Soviet astrophysicists have led him to be dubbed "the Lysenko of Soviet astronomy". == Early life and career == Vartan Ter-Oganezov was born on 10 October 1890 as V. T. Ter-Oganezian in Tiflis to an Armenian noble family. He became part of the faculty at St. Petersburg University and became a member of the Russian Astronomical Society in 1914. He performed very poorly in university and only barely graduated. He began teaching at the Moscow Geological-Prospecting Institute in 1918 and helped organise the reform of Kazan University in 1919. == Pseudoscientific views == Throughout his career, Ter-Oganezov was involved in politically motivated advocacy of alternate theories to the theory that the universe was expanding, on the grounds that this theory contradicted the official Soviet ideology of Marxist-Leninist


id: vastu-shastra-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra-0.md
category: reference
title: Vastu shastra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:30.617905+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vastu-shastra-20260505-0
summary:
Originating in ancient India, Vastu Shastra (Sanskrit: वास्तु शास्त्र, vāstu śāstra – literally "science of architecture") is a traditional Hindu(Sanātana) system of architecture based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement, and spatial geometry. The designs aim to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilising geometric patterns (yantra), symmetry, and directional alignments. Vastu Shastra follows a design approach that is more inclined towards aligning spaces with natural forces like sunlight, wind, geo magnetic field and gravity. The architecture design system fosters harmony amongst individuals and their surroundings. Vastu Shastra are the textual part of Vastu Vidya – the broader knowledge about architecture and design theories from ancient India. Vastu Vidya is a collection of ideas and concepts, with or without the support of layout diagrams, that are not rigid. Rather, these ideas and concepts are models for the organisation of space and form within a building or collection of buildings, based on their functions in relation to each other, their usage and the overall fabric of the Vastu. Ancient Vastu Shastra principles include those for the design of Mandir (Hindu temples) and the


id: vastu-shastra-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra-1.md
category: reference
title: Vastu shastra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:30.617905+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vastu-shastra-20260505-0
summary:
There exist many Vāstu-Śastras on the art of building houses, temples, towns and cities. Among early known example is the Arthashastra dated to 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, with chapters dedicated to domestic architecture, forts and town planning. By 6th century AD, Sanskrit texts for constructing palatial temples were in circulation in India. Vāstu-Śastras include chapters on home construction, town planning, and how efficient villages, towns and kingdoms integrated temples, water bodies and gardens within them to achieve harmony with nature. While it is unclear, states Barnett, as to whether these temple and town planning texts were theoretical studies and if or when they were properly implemented in practice, these texts suggest that town planning and Hindu temples were conceived as ideals of art and integral part of Hindu social and spiritual life. Six of the most studied, complete and referred to Indian texts on Vastu Vidya that have survived into the modern age, states Tillotson, are – the Mayamata, the Manasara, the Samarangana Sutradhara, the Rajavallabha, the Vishvakarmaprakasha and the Aparajitaprccha. Numerous other important texts contain sections or chapters on aspects of architecture and design. The Silpa Prakasa of Odisha, authored by Ramachandra Bhattaraka Kaulachara sometime in


id: vastu-shastra-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra-2.md
category: reference
title: Vastu shastra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:30.617905+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vastu-shastra-20260505-0
summary:
Vāstu Śastra represents a body of ancient concepts and knowledge to many modern architects, a guideline but not a rigid code. The square-grid mandala is viewed as a model of organisation, not as a ground plan. The ancient Vāstu Śastra texts describe functional relations and adaptable alternate layouts for various rooms or buildings and utilities, but do not mandate a set compulsory architecture. Sachdev and Tillotson state that the mandala is a guideline, and employing the mandala concept of Vāstu Śastra does not mean every room or building has to be square. The basic theme is around core elements of central space, peripheral zones, direction with respect to sunlight, and relative functions of the spaces. The pink city Jaipur in Rajasthan was master planned by architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya (1693–1751) who was approached by Rajput king Jai Singh and was built by 1727 CE, in part around Vastu Shilpa Sastra principles. Similarly, modern-era projects such as the architect Charles Correa's designed Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya in Ahmedabad, Vidhan Bhavan in Bhopal, and Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur adapt and apply concepts from the Vastu Shastra Vidya. In the design of Chandigarh city, Le Corbusier incorporated modern architecture theories with those of Vastu


id: vega-machine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_machine-0.md
category: reference
title: Vega machine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_machine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:33.005046+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vega-machine-20260505-0
summary:
Vega machines are a type of electroacupuncture device used in pseudoscientific Vega testing, which proponents claim can diagnose allergies and other illnesses. The forerunner to the Vega test was electroacupuncture according to Voll developed by Reinholdt Voll in the 1950s. Helmut Schimmel modified the technique in the 1970s and presented it under the name Vega test. Several medical associations have advised against their use, including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the Australian College of Allergy, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the Allergy Society of South Africa. In 1990, a medical practitioner was censured by the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee in New Zealand for using a Vega machine. Another practitioner was censured by the Discipline Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 1999 for having "failed to meet the standard of practice" in his use of the Vega machine in diagnosis. Reviews of the available evidence in the medical literature indicate that electrodermal testing, such as that performed with a Vega machine, is ineffective at diagnosing allergies and recommend that it not be used. == References == == External links == Vegatest


id: very-minimum-shift-keying-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_minimum_shift_keying-0.md
category: reference
title: Very minimum shift keying
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_minimum_shift_keying
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:34.169591+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: very-minimum-shift-keying-20260505-0
summary:
Very minimum shift keying, or VMSK, modulation, is one of several ultra-narrow-band modulation (UNBM) methods indeterminately claimed to send high-speed digital data through very low bandwidth (or narrowband) channels. VMSK is a type of phase-shift keying, not related to minimum shift keying. == Claims versus analysis == VMSK was introduced in 1998 as a cellular telephone modulating method. Hardware was sent to and tested by Vodafone, Sprint and AT&T. The method was reported on favorably by William C.Y. Lee, V.P. of Vodafone Airtouch, in "Lee's Essentials of Wireless Communications", McGraw Hill 2001. There have been individuals who have made an analysis based on positive group delay filters that claim the method does not work; however, VMSK, like all ultra-narrow band modulation methods uses negative- or zero-delay filters. Walker claims that with VMSK, "Efficiencies up to 15 bits/s/Hz are now being achieved in usable hardware with C/N ratios better than that obtainable using FM, BPSK or QPSK." Analysis by third parties (Karn and Tomazic) have concluded that "no ultra narrow band modulation (UNBM) method, which includes very minimum shift keying (VMSK) and VPSK, can have substantially greater efficiency than conventional methods." On a spectrum analyzer, a VMSK signal looks narrow. However,


id: veterinary-acupuncture-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterinary_acupuncture-0.md
category: reference
title: Veterinary acupuncture
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterinary_acupuncture
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:35.333220+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: veterinary-acupuncture-20260505-0
summary:
Veterinary acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine and a pseudoscientific practice of performing acupuncture on animals. The best studies of the effects of animal acupuncture have produced consistently negative results. == History == Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) has been practiced on animals for thousands of years. For nearly 3,000 years, from the Zhou dynasty and the reign of Emperor Mu around 930 BCE. Up until the Yuan dynasty of the 14th century, Chinese medicine was used sparingly on large animals. Much of the focus was on the treatment of horses since they were so essential to the military. In more modern times it has been used increasingly on pet animals. Acupuncture is one of the five branches of TCVM. In historical Asian culture, people known as "horse priests" commonly used acupuncture. The flow of information from the East to the West regarding animal treatment, including acupuncture, is thought to have started from Mesopotamia around 300 BC. Acupuncture remained a major interest in veterinary medicine for centuries. Its use for dogs was first described in the Tang dynasty. In the 20th century, animal acupuncture was first introduced in the United States in 1971 by two acupuncturists of the


id: vision-therapy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy-0.md
category: reference
title: Vision therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:36.516685+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vision-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning difficulties, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy. == Definition and conceptual basis == Behavioral vision therapy is based on the proposition that many learning disabilities in children are based on vision problems, and that these can be cured by performing eye exercises. Behavioral vision therapy lacks sound evidence, has been characterized as a pseudoscience and its practice as quackery. Vision therapy is a broad concept that encompasses a wide range of treatment types. These include those aimed at convergence insufficiency – where it is often termed "vergence therapy", "orthoptics/vision therapy" or "orthoptic therapy" – and at a variety of neurological, educational and spatial difficulties. == Efficacy == There is no good evidence that behavioral vision therapy is of any benefit


id: vision-therapy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy-1.md
category: reference
title: Vision therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:36.516685+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vision-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
Vision therapy for accommodation/vergence disorders – eye exercises and training to try and alleviate these disorders. There is evidence that convergence disorders may be helped by eye exercises, but no good evidence exists that exercises help with accommodation disorders. The underachieving child – therapies claimed to help children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit disorder – a "vulnerable" target market. There is no evidence that behavioral optometry is of any benefit in relation to these conditions. Prisms for near binocular disorders and for producing postural change – the use of "yoked" prisms to redirect a person's gaze and bring about a range of claimed benefits including postural improvements and increased wellbeing. There is a lack of evidence for the effect this approach may have. Near point stress and low-plus – the use of special lenses to adjust near-field vision, even for people who would not normally need glasses. This is claimed to bring about postural benefits and relieve visual stress. Some research has been carried out in this area and its effectiveness remains "unproven". Use of low-plus lenses at near to slow the progression of myopia. Therapy to reduce myopia. Behavioural approaches to the treatment of strabismus and amblyopia. Training


id: vision-therapy-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy-2.md
category: reference
title: Vision therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:36.516685+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vision-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
===== Conceptual basis and effectiveness ===== Behavioral optometry is largely based on concepts that lack plausibility or which contradict mainstream neurology, and most of the research done has been of poor quality. As with chiropractic, there seems to be a spectrum of scientific legitimacy among practitioners: at one extreme there is some weak evidence in support of the idea that myopia may be affected by eye training; at the other extreme are concepts such as "syntonic phototherapy" which proposes that differently colored lights can be used to treat a variety of medical conditions. A review in 2000 concluded that there were insufficient controlled studies of the approach. In 2008 Barrett concluded that "the continued absence of rigorous scientific evidence to support behavioural management approaches, and the paucity of controlled trials, in particular, represents a major challenge to the credibility of the theory and practice of behavioural optometry." Behavioral optometry has been proposed as being of benefit for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism – this proposal is based on the idea that since people with these conditions often have abnormal eye movement, correcting this may address the underlying condition. Evidence supporting this approach is, however, weak; the American


id: voice-stress-analysis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_stress_analysis-0.md
category: reference
title: Voice stress analysis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_stress_analysis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:40.263287+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: voice-stress-analysis-20260505-0
summary:
Voice stress analysis (VSA) and computer voice stress analysis (CVSA) are collectively a pseudoscientific technology that aims to infer deception from stress measured in the voice. The CVSA records the human voice using a microphone, and the technology is based on the tenet that the non-verbal, low-frequency content of the voice conveys information about the physiological and psychological state of the speaker. Typically utilized in investigative settings, the technology aims to differentiate between stressed and non-stressed outputs in response to stimuli (e.g., questions posed), with high stress seen as an indication of deception. == Scientific findings == The use of voice stress analysis (VSA) for the detection of deception is controversial. Discussions about the application of VSA have focused on whether this technology can indeed reliably detect stress, and, if so, whether deception can be inferred from this stress. Critics have argued that—even if stress could reliably be measured from the voice—this would be highly similar to measuring stress with the polygraph, for example, and that all critiques centered on polygraph testing apply to VSA as well. A 2002 review of the state of the art conducted for the United States Department of Justice found several technical challenges to the


id: war-against-the-weak-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Against_the_Weak-0.md
category: reference
title: War Against the Weak
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Against_the_Weak
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:41.435497+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: war-against-the-weak-20260505-0
summary:
War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race is a 2003 book by historian and journalist Edwin Black. Overall, War Against the Weak shows how the eugenics movement was supported and promoted by a wide range of individuals, organizations, and corporations in the United States, and how this led to the forced sterilization and persecution of millions of people. According to professor Jack Fischel, "It is apparent from Black’s research that American eugenicists contributed to Nazi racial hygiene policy." == Synopsis == A non-fiction book that explores the eugenics movement in the United States and how it led to the forced sterilization and genocide of millions of people, primarily those deemed "unfit" by the movement's proponents. The book traces the history of eugenics from its origins in the late 19th century, through its rise in popularity in the early 20th century, and its eventual decline after World War II. Black examines the role of prominent eugenicists such as Charles Davenport, Harry Laughlin, Madison Grant, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Alexander Graham Bell, E.S. Gosney, Clarence Gamble, Irving Fisher, Margaret Sanger, Willet Hays and Alexis Carrel and how their beliefs were embraced by the government, academia, and the


id: water-2006-film-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_(2006_film)-0.md
category: reference
title: Water (2006 film)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_(2006_film)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:42.612757+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: water-2006-film-20260505-0
summary:
Water (Russian: Вода), also released as The Great Mystery of Water (Russian: Великая тайна воды) is a 2006 pseudoscientific documentary television film directed by Anastaysia Popova about the memory of water. The film was part of television channel Rossiya 1's project The Great Mystery of Water. In the film, scientists and pseudoscientists from various countries (including Kurt Wüthrich, Masaru Emoto, Rustum Roy, and Konstantin Korotkov) present their work on the theme of water. Additionally, clergy from major religions (including Metropolit of Smolensk Kirill, Shamil Alyautdinov, and Pinchas Polonsky) discuss the importance of water in their faith. The film also presents experiences of water, including the emotions of humans interacting with the water (using kirlian photography). In November 2006 the film won three television awards at TEFI, including for the best documentary film. Water faced sharp criticism from the Russian scientific community, which condemned the movie as pseudoscience. Wüthrich distanced himself from the film, saying that although he was interviewed, his statements were taken out of context. He was not informed that the interview was to be used for a film. He later wrote: "It is much more problematic that the film, by presenting a Nobel Prize winner, suggests to the


id: water-ionizer-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_ionizer-0.md
category: reference
title: Water ionizer
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_ionizer
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:43.859413+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: water-ionizer-20260505-0
summary:
A water ionizer (also known as an alkaline ionizer) is a home appliance which claims to raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. The treated water is called alkaline water. Proponents claim that consumption of alkaline water results in a variety of health benefits, making it similar to the alternative health practice of alkaline diets. Such claims violate principles of chemistry and physiology. There is no convincing medical evidence supporting broad health benefits of alkaline water, and current evidence remains insufficient to substantiate most health claims associated with it. Some preliminary studies have investigated specific potential effects of alkaline water, but these findings are limited and have not established broad therapeutic benefits. leaving such claims in the pseudoscientific realm. The machines originally became popular in Japan and other East Asian nations before becoming available in the US and Europe. == Health claims == Water ionizers are marketed on the basis of health claims which are focused on their ability to make water more alkaline. A wide variety of benefits have been claimed, including the ability to slow aging, prevent disease, give the body more energy, and offset


id: water-memory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory-0.md
category: reference
title: Water memory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:45.055509+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: water-memory-20260505-0
summary:
Water memory is the purported ability of water to retain a memory of substances previously dissolved in it even after an arbitrary number of serial dilutions. It has been claimed to be a mechanism by which homeopathic remedies work, even when they are diluted to the point that no molecule of the original substance remains, but there is no theory for it. Water memory is pseudoscientific in nature; it contradicts the scientific understanding of physical chemistry and is generally not accepted by the scientific community. In 1988, Jacques Benveniste and colleagues published a study supporting a water memory effect amid controversy in Nature, accompanied by an editorial by Nature's editor John Maddox urging readers to "suspend judgement" until the results could be replicated. In the years after publication, multiple supervised experiments were made by Benveniste's team, the United States Department of Defense, BBC's Horizon programme, and other researchers, but no one has ever reproduced Benveniste's results under controlled conditions. == Benveniste's study == Jacques Benveniste was a French immunologist who sought to demonstrate the plausibility of homeopathic remedies "independently of homeopathic interests" in a major scientific journal. To that end, Benveniste and his team at Institut National de la Santé


id: water-memory-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory-1.md
category: reference
title: Water memory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:45.055509+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: water-memory-20260505-0
summary:
=== Aftermath === In a response letter published in the same July issue of Nature, Benveniste lashed out at Maddox and complained about the "ordeal" that he had endured at the hands of the Nature team, comparing it to "Salem witchhunts or McCarthy-like prosecutions". Both in the Nature response and during a later episode of Quirks and Quarks, Benveniste especially complained about Stewart, who he claimed acted as if they were all frauds and treated them with disdain, complaining about his "typical know-it-all attitude". In his Nature letter, Benveniste also implied that Randi was attempting to hoodwink the experimental run by doing magic tricks, "distracting the technician in charge of its supervision!" He was more apologetic on Quirks and Quarks, re-phrasing his mention of Randi to imply that he had kept the team amused with his tricks and that his presence was generally welcomed. He also pointed out that although it was true two of his team members were being paid by a homeopathic company, the same company had paid Maddox's team's hotel bill. Maddox was unapologetic, stating "I'm sorry we didn't find something more interesting." On the same Quirks and Quarks show, he dismissed Benveniste's complaints, stating that, because


id: water-memory-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory-2.md
category: reference
title: Water memory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_memory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:45.055509+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: water-memory-20260505-0
summary:
Time magazine reported in 1999 that, in response to skepticism from physicist Robert Park, Josephson had challenged the American Physical Society (APS) to oversee a replication by Benveniste. This challenge was to be "a randomized double-blind test", of his claimed ability to transfer the characteristics of homeopathically altered solutions over the Internet:[Benveniste's] latest theory, and the cause of the current flap, is that the "memory" of water in a homeopathic solution has an electromagnetic "signature." This signature, he says, can be captured by a copper coil, digitized and transmitted by wire—or, for extra flourish, over the Internet—to a container of ordinary water, converting it to a homeopathic solution.The APS accepted the challenge and offered to cover the costs of the test. When he heard of this, Randi offered to throw in the long-standing $1 million prize for any positive demonstration of the paranormal, to which Benveniste replied: "Fine to us." In his DigiBio NewsLetter. Randi later noted that Benveniste and Josephson did not follow up on their challenge, mocking their silence on the topic as if they were missing persons. An independent test of the 2000 remote-transmission experiment was carried out in the US by a team funded by the


id: web-bot-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Bot-0.md
category: reference
title: Web Bot
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Bot
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:46.239690+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: web-bot-20260505-0
summary:
Web Bot is an internet bot computer program whose developers claim is able to predict future events by tracking keywords entered on the internet. It was developed in 1997, originally to predict trends of companies' shares publicly listed. The creator of the Web Bot Project, Clif High, along with his associate George Ure, keep the technology and algorithms largely secret and sell the predictions via the website. == Methodology == Internet bots monitor news articles, blogs, forums, and other forms of Internet chatter. Words in the lexicon are assigned numeric values for emotional quantifiers such as duration, impact, immediacy, intensity, and others. The lexicon is dynamic, and changes according to shifts in emotional tension, and how humans communicate those changes using the Internet. As of 2008, there were about 300,000 keywords in the lexicon, along with emotional context, which are fed into a computer-generated modelspace. The operators of Web Bot interpret the bot's results and make a report called the "ALTA report" available on their website to paying subscribers. ALTA stands for "asymmetric language trend analysis". Many believe the predictions are pseudoscientific and too vague to be meaningful. Despite this, the creators have made many claims after the fact that


id: weighted-vests-for-children-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_vests_for_children-0.md
category: reference
title: Weighted vests for children
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_vests_for_children
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:47.374425+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: weighted-vests-for-children-20260505-0
summary:
Weighted vests for children and similar therapeutic weighted clothing are sometimes used to try to treat symptoms of certain developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism in children. There is however no evidence that they are useful for this purpose. The vests are weighted down with sand or other heavy materials. Terms used for such items of clothing include sand vests, compression vests or squeeze jackets. == Effectiveness == A review of the use of weighted clothing indicates that they are not useful with respect to hyperactivity, clumsiness, or repetitive behavior. A 2015 review of treatments for autism found only a single study of five people that showed any benefit and six trials that showed no benefit resulting in the overall conclusion of no benefit. The use of weighted vests for autism is characterized as pseudoscience. == Application == The use of weighted vests for children originated in the United States as a form of therapy for children with autism. By 2017, the use of weighted vests had become common in public schools in Hamburg, Germany. Teachers there reported that students wore the vests voluntarily for up to 30 minutes at a time, and that the vests


id: welteislehre-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welteislehre-0.md
category: reference
title: Welteislehre
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welteislehre
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:48.550816+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: welteislehre-20260505-0
summary:
Welteislehre (WEL; "World Ice Theory" or "World Ice Doctrine"), also known as Glazial-Kosmogonie (Glacial Cosmogony), is a discredited cosmological concept proposed by Hanns Hörbiger, an Austrian engineer and inventor. According to his ideas, ice was the basic substance of all cosmic processes, and ice moons, ice planets, and the "global ether" (also made of ice) had determined the entire development of the universe. Hörbiger did not arrive at his ideas through research, but said that he had received it in a "vision" in 1894. He published a book about the theory in 1912 and heavily promoted it in subsequent years, through lectures, magazines and associations. == History == By his own account, Hörbiger was observing the Moon when he was struck by the notion that the brightness and roughness of its surface were due to ice. Shortly after, he dreamt that he was floating in space watching the swinging of a pendulum which grew longer and longer until it broke. "I knew that Newton had been wrong and that the sun's gravitational pull ceases to exist at three times the distance of Neptune", he concluded. He worked out his concepts in collaboration with amateur astronomer and schoolteacher Philipp Fauth whom


id: welteislehre-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welteislehre-1.md
category: reference
title: Welteislehre
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welteislehre
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:48.550816+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: welteislehre-20260505-0
summary:
== Premise == According to the idea, the Solar System had its origin in a gigantic star into which a smaller, dead, waterlogged star fell. This impact caused a huge explosion that flung fragments of the smaller star out into interstellar space where the water condensed and froze into giant blocks of ice. A ring of such blocks formed, that we now call the Milky Way, as well as a number of solar systems among which was our own, but with many more planets than currently exist. Interplanetary space is filled with traces of hydrogen gas, which cause the planets to slowly spiral inwards, along with ice blocks. The outer planets are large mainly because they have swallowed a large number of ice blocks, but the inner planets have not swallowed nearly as many. One can see ice blocks on the move in the form of meteors, and when one collides with Earth, it produces hailstorms over an area of many square kilometers, while when one falls into the Sun, it produces a sunspot and gets vaporized, making "fine ice", that covers the innermost planets. It was also claimed that Earth had had several satellites before it acquired the Moon;


id: weltmer-institute-of-suggestive-therapeutics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltmer_Institute_of_Suggestive_Therapeutics-0.md
category: reference
title: Weltmer Institute of Suggestive Therapeutics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltmer_Institute_of_Suggestive_Therapeutics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:49.691497+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: weltmer-institute-of-suggestive-therapeutics-20260505-0
summary:
The Weltmer Institute was an American business with trained staff that practiced weltmerism, a kind of electromagnetic healing using laying-on-of-hands combined with the power of suggestion and hypnosis. It was devoted to "mind cures" of illnesses and ailments not susceptible to other treatment. Also known as the Weltmer Institute of Suggestive Therapeutics, it was founded in Nevada, Missouri by Sidney Abram Weltmer on February 19, 1897. He had developed his ideas as a young man while purportedly curing himself of tuberculosis, then a disease without a cure. The institute operated until 1933, being dissolved by Weltmer's son shortly after the senior man's death in 1930. The Institute attracted so many patients and attendees of classes that the railroad added trains to serve the town. It also generated great mail volume because of treatment by mail and orders for books and pamphlets, to the extent that the town's post office was upgraded to first class and a new, larger post office built. The Institute positively affected the town's economy, also attracting psychotherapists, clairvoyants and other practitioners to a community that became known as a wellness center. Weltmer's healing method was strongly criticized by doctors in the early 1900s as ineffective voodoo


id: western-astrology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology-0.md
category: reference
title: Western astrology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:50.860459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: western-astrology-20260505-0
summary:
Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. It is historically based on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian traditions. Western astrology is largely horoscopic, that is, it is a form of divination based on the construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as a person's birth as well as the location (since time zones may or may not affect a person's birth chart), in which various cosmic bodies are said to have an influence. Astrology in western popular culture is often reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the individual's date of birth (i.e. the "position of the Sun" at that date). Astrology is a pseudoscience and has consistently failed experimental and theoretical verification. Astrology was widely considered a respectable academic and scientific field before the Enlightenment, but modern research has found no consistent empirical basis to it. == Core principles == A central principle of astrology is integration within the cosmos. The individual, Earth, and its environment are viewed as a single organism, all parts of which are correlated with each other. Cycles of change that are observed in the heavens


id: western-astrology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology-1.md
category: reference
title: Western astrology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:50.860459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: western-astrology-20260505-0
summary:
In modern Western astrology the planets represent basic drives or impulses in the human psyche. These planets differ from the definition of a planet in astronomy in that the Sun, Moon, and recently, Pluto are all considered to be planets for the purposes of astrology. Each planet is also said to be the ruler of one or two zodiac signs. The three outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) have each been assigned rulership of a zodiac sign by astrologers. Traditionally rulership of the signs was, according to Ptolemy, based on seasonal derivations and astronomical measurement, whereby the luminaries being the brightest planets were given rulership of the brightest months of the year and Saturn the coldest furthest classical planet was given to the coldest months of the year, with the other planets ruling the remaining signs as per astronomical measurement. It is noteworthy that the modern rulerships do not follow the same logic. === Classical planets === The astrological 'planets' are the seven heavenly bodies known to the ancients. The Sun and Moon, also known as 'the lights', are included as they were thought to act like the astronomical planets. Astrologers call inner planets Mercury, Venus and Mars, the 'personal planets',


id: western-astrology-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology-2.md
category: reference
title: Western astrology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:50.860459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: western-astrology-20260505-0
summary:
The position of the planets in the astrological signs of the zodiac, The position of the planets in the houses of the horoscope, The position of the primary angles of the horoscope, namely the horizon line (called the ascendant/descendant axis), and the prime vertical line (called the zenith/midheaven and nadir/imum coeli axis), The angles formed by the planets relative to each other and the primary angles, called aspects The position of deduced astronomical entities, such as the Lunar nodes. Some astrologers also use the position of various mathematical points, such as the Arabic parts. Various techniques are used, with different degrees of complexity, to provide what astrologers claim are forecasts or predictive statements about the future, as well as to analyse past and current events. These include transits, progressions, and primary directions. Different branches of astrology, such as horary and electional astrology, have their own specific sets of techniques. === The primary angles === There are four primary angles in the horoscope (though the cusps of the houses are often included as important angles by some astrologers). Asc - The ascendant or rising sign is the eastern point where the ecliptic and horizon intersect. During the course of a day,


id: western-astrology-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology-3.md
category: reference
title: Western astrology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_astrology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:50.860459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: western-astrology-20260505-0
summary:
- Conjunction 0° (orb ±10°). The conjunction is a major point in the chart, giving strong emphasis to the planets involved. The planets will act together to outside stimulus and act on each other. - Opposition 180° (orb ±10°). The opposition is indicative of tension, conflict and confrontation, due to the polarity between the two elements involved. Stress arises when one is used over the other, causing an imbalance; but the opposition can work well if the two parts of the aspect are made to complement each other in a synthesis. - Trine 120°(orb ±7.5°). The trine indicates harmony, and ease of expression, with the two elements reinforcing each other. The trine is a source of artistic and creative talent, but can be a 'line of least resistance' to a person of weak character. - Square 90°(orb ±7.5°). The square indicates frustration, inhibitions, disruption and inner conflict, but can become a source of energy and activation to a person determined to overcome limitations. - Sextile 60°(orb ±5°). The sextile is similar to the trine, but of less significance. It indicates ease of communication between the two elements involved, with compatibility and harmony between them. - Quincunx 150°(orb ±2.5°). The quincunx


id: wilson-s-temperature-syndrome-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_temperature_syndrome-0.md
category: reference
title: Wilson's temperature syndrome
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_temperature_syndrome
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:52.046233+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: wilson-s-temperature-syndrome-20260505-0
summary:
Wilson's temperature syndrome, also called Wilson's syndrome, Wilson's thyroid syndrome or WTS, is a term used in alternative medicine to improperly attribute various common and non-specific symptoms to abnormally low body temperature and impaired conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3), despite normal thyroid function tests. E. Denis Wilson, a physician who invented the concept and named it after himself, treated these symptoms with sustained-release triiodothyronine (SR-T3) until one of his patients died and he was banned from prescribing this treatment any longer. Wilson's syndrome is not an actual medical condition, and medical expert groups have warned against it as a potentially dangerous misunderstanding of physiology. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) released an official statement asserting that Wilson's syndrome is at odds with established knowledge of thyroid function and describing the diagnostic criteria for Wilson's syndrome as "imprecise" and "non-specific". After one of Wilson's patients died from his treatment in 1988, Florida State Medical Board members described Wilson's temperature syndrome as a "phony syndrome" and as a scam that fleeced patients and healthcare insurers during disciplinary action against Wilson, whose medical license was suspended for six months. == Origin and claims == The term Wilson’s syndrome was coined in 1990


id: wind-turbine-syndrome-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_syndrome-0.md
category: reference
title: Wind turbine syndrome
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_syndrome
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:53.293476+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: wind-turbine-syndrome-20260505-0
summary:
Wind turbine syndrome and wind farm syndrome are terms for the alleged medical condition related to the proximity of wind turbines. Proponents claim that these effects include congenital abnormality, cancer, vertigo, nausea, autism, ADHD, death, tinnitus, stress, fatigue, memory loss, migraines and sleep deprivation, for which there is no scientific backing. The distribution of recorded events, however, correlates with media coverage of wind farm syndrome itself, and not with the presence or absence of wind farms. Neither term is recognised by any international disease classification system, nor do they appear in any title or abstract in the United States National Library of Medicine's PubMed database. Wind turbine syndrome has been characterized as pseudoscience. One Australian fossil fuel industry funded anti-wind farm astroturfing group, the Waubra Foundation, has been identified amongst those involved in promoting the idea of wind turbine syndrome. An investigation led to the foundation being stripped of its status as a health promotion charity. == Safety reviews == Since 2003, 25 reviews have been published of the scientific literature on wind turbines and health. These studies have consistently found no reason to believe that wind turbines are harmful to health. == Noise and annoyance == There is a


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-0.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
Some conspiracy theories contend that the collapse of the World Trade Center was caused not solely by the airliner crash damage that occurred as part of the September 11 attacks and the resulting fire damage but also by explosives installed in the buildings in advance. Controlled demolition theories make up a major component of 9/11 conspiracy theories. Early advocates such as physicist Steven E. Jones, architect Richard Gage, software engineer Jim Hoffman, and theologian David Ray Griffin proposed that the aircraft impacts and resulting fires themselves alone could not have weakened the buildings sufficiently to initiate the catastrophic collapse and that the buildings would have neither collapsed completely nor at the speeds they did without additional energy involved to weaken their structures. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the magazine Popular Mechanics examined and rejected these theories. Specialists in structural mechanics and structural engineering accept the model of a fire-induced, gravity-driven collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, an explanation that does not involve the use of explosives. NIST "found no corroborating evidence for alternative hypotheses suggesting that the WTC towers were brought down by controlled demolition using explosives planted prior to Sept. 11, 2001." Professors Zdeněk


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-1.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
== History == The controlled demolition conspiracy theories were first suggested in September 2001. Eric Hufschmid's book, Painful Questions: An Analysis of the September 11th Attack, in which the controlled demolition theory is explicitly advocated, was published in September 2002. David Ray Griffin and Steven E. Jones are the best known advocates of the theory. Griffin's book The New Pearl Harbor, published in 2004, has become a reference work for the 9/11 Truth movement. In the same year, Griffin published the book The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions, in which he argues that flaws in the commission's report amounts to a cover-up by government officials and says that the Bush administration was complicit in the 9/11 attacks. Steven E. Jones has been another voice of the proponents of demolition theories. In 2006, he published the paper "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Completely Collapse?". On September 7, 2006, Brigham Young University placed Jones on paid leave citing the "increasingly speculative and accusatory nature" of his statements, pending an official review of his actions. Six weeks later, Jones retired from the university. The structural engineering faculty at the university issued a statement which said that they "do not support the


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-2.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
=== Main towers === On September 11, the North Tower (1 WTC) was hit by American Airlines Flight 11 and the South Tower (2 WTC) was hit by United Airlines Flight 175, both Boeing 767 aircraft. The South Tower collapsed 56 minutes after the impact, and the North Tower collapsed 102 minutes after. An investigation by NIST concluded that the collapse was caused by a combination of damage to support columns and fire insulation from the aircraft impacts and the weakening of columns and floors by jet fuel ignited fires. NIST also found "no corroborating evidence for alternative hypotheses suggesting that the WTC towers were brought down by controlled demolition using explosives planted prior to September 11, 2001". Jones, among others, points to many descriptions by individuals working on the WTC rubble pile suggesting the presence of molten steel in the pile and a stream of molten metal that poured out of the South Tower before it collapsed as evidence of temperatures beyond those produced by the fire. Jones has argued that the molten metal may have been elemental iron, a product of a thermite reaction. Jones and other researchers analyzed samples of dust from the World Trade Center buildings


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-3.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
Proponents of World Trade Center controlled demolition theories allege that 7 World Trade Center—a 47-story skyscraper that stood across Vesey Street north of the main part of the World Trade Center site—was intentionally destroyed with explosives. Unlike the Twin Towers, 7 World Trade Center was not hit by a plane, although it was hit by debris from the Twin Towers and was damaged by fires which burned for seven hours, until it collapsed completely at about 5:20 p.m. on the evening of September 11 (a new building has been erected on the site of the old and opened in May 2006). Several videos of the collapse event exist in the public domain, thus enabling comparative analysis from different angles of perspective. Proponents typically say the collapse of 7 World Trade Center was not mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report and that the federal body charged with investigating the event, NIST, required seven years to conduct its investigation and issue a report. In November 2010, Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera hosted members of a television ad campaign called "BuildingWhat?", a series of commercials in which 9/11 family members ask questions about 7 World Trade Center and call for an investigation into


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-4.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
==== NIST report ==== In 2002, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began a general investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center but soon made a decision to focus first on the collapse of the Twin Towers. A draft version of its final report on the collapse of 7 WTC was released in August 2008. The agency has attributed the slowness of this investigation to the complexity of the computer model it used, which simulated the collapse from the moment it begins all the way to the ground; and NIST says the time taken on the investigation into 7 WTC is comparable to the time taken to investigate an aircraft crash. The agency also says another 80 boxes of documents related to 7 WTC were found and had to be analyzed. These delays fueled suspicion among those already questioning the validity of the September 11 attacks that the agency was struggling to come up with a plausible conclusion. NIST released its final report on the collapse of 7 World Trade Center on November 20, 2008. Investigators used videos, photographs and building design documents to come to their conclusions. The investigation could not include physical evidence as


id: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories-5.md
category: reference
title: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_controlled_demolition_conspiracy_theories
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:54.587355+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: world-trade-center-controlled-demolition-conspiracy-theories-20260505-0
summary:
== Criticism == The American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Institute issued a statement calling for further discussion of NIST's recommendations, and Britain's Institution of Structural Engineers published a statement in May 2002 welcoming the FEMA report, noting that the report expressed similar views to those held by its group of professionals. Following the publication of Jones' paper "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Completely Collapse?" Brigham Young University responded to Jones' "increasingly speculative and accusatory" statements by placing him on paid leave, and thereby stripping him of two classes, in September 2006, pending a review of his statements and research. Six weeks later, Jones retired from the university. The structural engineering faculty at the university issued a statement which said that they "do not support the hypotheses of Professor Jones". On September 22, 2005, Jones gave a seminar on his hypotheses to a group of his colleagues from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at BYU. According to Jones, all but one of his colleagues agreed after the seminar that an investigation was in order and the lone dissenter came to agreement with Jones' suggestions the next day. Northwestern University Professor of Civil Engineering Zdeněk Bažant, who was


id: xango-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XanGo-0.md
category: reference
title: XanGo
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XanGo
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:55.753879+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: xango-20260505-0
summary:
Xango, LLC, (sometimes referred to as XANGO and XanGo) was an American multi-level marketing company founded in 2002. It was acquired by Zija International in May 2017. The company marketed and distributed Xango juice, a blended juice product consisting of mangosteen and other juices, and skin care, personal care, energy supplement and nutritional supplement products. The company was warned in 2006 by the FDA for illegally marketing more than 20 human health benefits for Xango juice. == Company overview == === Executives 2008-12 === Gary Hollister, founder, chairman emeritus, former chief executive, former chairman of the Board Aaron Garrity, founder, chairman of the board, CEO, former president Joe Morton, founder, board of directors Gordon Morton, founder, board of directors Kent Wood, founder, board of directors === Revenues 2003-12 === Xango was a privately held company and as such did not publicly disclose its financial statements. Company press releases in 2005-2006 stated that sales totaled $40 million in 2003 and $150 million in 2004, and that 2005 sales were more than twice those of 2004. In October 2007 the company said that cumulative sales since its inception five years earlier were over $1 billion and by November 2008 had exceeded $1.5


id: xango-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XanGo-1.md
category: reference
title: XanGo
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XanGo
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:55.753879+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: xango-20260505-0
summary:
=== U.S. FDA warning === On September 20, 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Xango LLC International in response to the company's promotion of Xango juice as an aid to treat and/or cure various diseases. The agency's letter warned that Xango juice had not been properly tested for safety and efficacy, and as a proposed new drug, it could not be legally sold in the U.S. without prior approval of the FDA. Xango was warned that it could face enforcement action including seizure and/or injunction of products or suspension of business. Under FDA drug labeling rules, Xango, as manufacturer, is responsible for satisfying scientific criteria to make health claims on its product labels and all marketing materials. As of September 2008, the case remained open. === Effectiveness === In February 2006, the U.C. Berkeley Wellness Newsletter, sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley, said that "Mangosteen marketers make farfetched and unsubstantiated claims for their products." The newsletter notes that "there are no clinical trials, and what happens in a test tube or animal may not occur in a human. Any reported benefits in humans have been anecdotal. No one even knows if


id: xenoglossy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoglossy-0.md
category: reference
title: Xenoglossy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoglossy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:56.957040+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: xenoglossy-20260505-0
summary:
Xenoglossy (), also written xenoglossia () and sometimes also known as xenolalia, is the supposedly paranormal phenomenon in which a person is allegedly able to speak, write or understand a foreign language that they could not have acquired by natural means. The term derives from the Ancient Greek xenos (ξένος), "foreigner" and glōssa (γλῶσσα), "tongue" or "language". The term xenoglossy was first used by French parapsychologist Charles Richet in 1905. Accounts of xenoglossy are found in the New Testament, and contemporary claims have been made by parapsychologists and reincarnation researchers such as Ian Stevenson. Doubts have been expressed that xenoglossy is an actual phenomenon, and there is no scientifically admissible evidence supporting any of the alleged instances of xenoglossy. Two types of xenoglossy are distinguished. Recitative xenoglossy is the use of an unacquired language incomprehensibly, while responsive xenoglossy refers to the ability to intelligibly employ the unlearned language as if already acquired. == Christianity == This phenomenon is mentioned in Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 at Pentecost, when the first disciples of Jesus Christ, gathered together, numbering one hundred and twenty, and of the tongues of fire landed on each of them, formalizing the coming of the Spirit in


id: xenoglossy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoglossy-1.md
category: reference
title: Xenoglossy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoglossy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:56.957040+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: xenoglossy-20260505-0
summary:
=== Alfred Hulme === In the early 20th century, Alfred Hulme, a self-proclaimed Egyptologist, investigated a young girl named Ivy Carter Beaumont (also known as "Rosemary") from Blackpool, England, who claimed to be under the influence of the personality of a Babylonian princess. Hulme was convinced she spoke in an ancient Egyptian dialect. However, according to linguist Karen Stollznow, "Several scholars examined the data independently and concluded that Hulme's analyses were grossly inaccurate. Hulme had confused Middle Egyptian and Late Egyptian" and likely "falsified many results." === Eberhardt Gmelin === In 1791 Eberhardt Gmelin, a German physician often credited with discovering dissociative identity disorder, published a report entitled Materialien für die Anthropologie, in which he described a case of a 20-year-old German woman from the town of Stuttgart who would "exchange" her personality for that of a French aristocrat. During these "French" states, as Gmelin termed them, she was able to speak French perfectly, despite never having visited a francophone country or been taught the language, and speak her own native tongue, German, with a French accent. However, this cannot be accepted as an example of xenoglossy, as the woman had probably picked up bits of the language from aristocratic


id: young-blood-transfusion-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_blood_transfusion-0.md
category: reference
title: Young blood transfusion
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_blood_transfusion
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:58.177801+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-blood-transfusion-20260505-0
summary:
Young blood transfusion refers to transfusing blood specifically from a young person into an older one with the intention of creating a health benefit. The efficacy and safety of young blood transfusions for anti-aging purposes remain a subject of debate in the scientific community, with limited clinical evidence in humans. There are also concerns of harm. While some preclinical studies on animals suggest potential benefits, there is a lack of robust clinical evidence to support its use in humans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in 2019, cautioned "consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions" stating that they are an "unproven treatment". == Research == Experiments beginning in the 1950s in the Cornell University lab of Clive McCay on pairs of old and young rodents placed into parabiosis provided some evidence, albeit limited and "largely anecdotal", that the circulation of blood from young mice increased both the longevity and the tissue function of old mice. After decades in which relatively little work on parabiosis in aging was done, the work was revived by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Parabiosis experiments are difficult to generalize, as the circulatory systems of the mice are fully joined


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-0.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism. One of its central tenets is that Earth and lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, directly contradicting established scientific data that puts the age of Earth around 4.54 billion years. Events such as Noah's Flood are described as explaining much of the geological and fossil record. In its most widespread version, YEC is based on a religious belief in the inerrancy of certain literal interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Its primary adherents are Christians and Jews who believe God created the Earth in six literal days, as stated in Genesis 1. The largest young Earth creationist organisations are Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research, and Creation Ministries International. This is in contrast with old Earth creationism (OEC), which holds that literal interpretations of Genesis are compatible with the scientifically determined ages of the Earth, the universe, and theistic evolution, which posits that scientific principles of evolution, the Big Bang, abiogenesis, solar nebular theory, age of the universe, and age of Earth are compatible with a metaphorical interpretation of the Genesis creation account. Since the mid-20th century, young Earth


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-1.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
the past history of our globe must be explained by what can be seen to be happening now … No powers are to be employed that are not natural to the globe, no action to be admitted except those of which we know the principle. Hutton's main line of argument was that the tremendous displacements and changes he was seeing did not happen in a short period of time by means of catastrophe, but that incremental processes of uplift and erosion happening on Earth had caused them. These processes were very gradual, hence Earth had to be ancient, in order to allow time for the changes to occur. While his ideas of Plutonism were hotly contested, scientific inquiries on competing ideas of catastrophism pushed back the age of the Earth into the millions of years – still much younger than commonly accepted by modern scientists, but much older than the young Earth of less than 10,000 years in which Biblical literalists believed. Hutton's ideas, called uniformitarianism or gradualism, were popularized by Sir Charles Lyell in the early 19th century. The energetic advocacy and rhetoric of Lyell led to the public and scientific communities, largely accepting an ancient Earth. By this


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-2.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Impact === A 2006 joint statement of InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP) by 68 national and international science academies enumerated many of the scientific facts that young Earth creationism contradicts, in particular that the universe, the Earth, and life are billions of years old, that each has undergone continual change over those billions of years, and that life on Earth has evolved from a common primordial origin into the diverse forms observed in the fossil record and present today. Evolutionary theory remains the only explanation that fully accounts for all the observations, measurements, data, and evidence discovered in the fields of biology, ecology, anatomy, physiology, zoology, paleontology, molecular biology, genetics, anthropology, and others. Hence, young Earth creationism is dismissed by the academic and scientific communities. A 1987 estimate found that only "700 scientists ... (out of a total of 480,000 US earth and life scientists) ... give credence to creation-science". An expert in the evolution-creationism controversy, professor and author Brian Alters, states that "99.9% of scientists accept evolution". A 1991 Gallup poll found that about 5 per cent of American scientists (including those with training outside biology) identified themselves as creationists. For their part, young Earth creationists claim


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-3.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
Young Earth creationists regard the Bible as a historically accurate, factually inerrant record of natural history. As Henry Morris, a leading young Earth creationist, explained it, "Christians who flirt with less-than-literal readings of biblical texts are also flirting with theological disaster." According to Morris, Christians must "either ... believe God's Word all the way, or not at all." Young Earth creationists consider the account of creation given in Genesis to be a factual record of the origin of the Earth and life, and that Bible-believing Christians must therefore regard Genesis 1–11 as historically accurate. ==== Interpretations of Genesis ==== Young Earth creationists interpret the text of Genesis as strictly literal. They reject allegorical readings of Genesis and further argue that if there was not a literal Fall of Man, Noah's Ark, or Tower of Babel, core Christian doctrines like the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ would be undermined. Genealogies in Genesis record the line of descent from Adam through Noah to Abraham. Young Earth creationists interpret these genealogies literally, including the old ages of the men. For example, Methuselah lived 969 years according to the genealogy. Differences of opinion exist regarding whether the genealogies should be taken as complete


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-4.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
Young Earth creationists reject geologic evidence which shows that the stratigraphic sequence of fossils proves the Earth is billions of years old. In his Illogical Geology, expanded in 1913 as The Fundamentals of Geology, George McCready Price argued that the occasionally out-of-order sequence of fossils that are shown to be due to thrust faults made it impossible to prove any one fossil was older than any other. His "law" that fossils could be found in any order implied that strata could not be dated sequentially. He instead proposed that essentially all fossils were buried during the flood, and thus inaugurated "flood geology". In numerous books and articles he promoted this concept, focusing his attack on the sequence of the geologic time scale as "the devil's counterfeit of the six days of Creation as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis." Today, many young Earth creationists still contend that the fossil record can be explained by the global flood. In The Genesis Flood (1961) Henry M. Morris reiterated Price's arguments, and wrote that, because there had been no death before the Fall of Man, he felt "compelled to date all the rock strata which contain fossils of once-living creatures as subsequent


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-5.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
=== Geocentrism === There exists an even more radical Geocentric creationist view within Young Earth Creationism, which in addition to proposing that the Earth is around 6000 years old, argues that the geocentric view of cosmology, particularly the Tychonic model should be accepted, which seriously contradicts scientifically established data on the movement of the Earth. This view was proposed by some early Creationist literature, and as early as 1985 some in the Creation Research Society supported Geocentrism. Geocentrism has been associated with creationists such as Gerardus Bouw, Robert Sungenis and Walter Van der Kamp who founded the Tychonic society. It is primarily followed by a small segment of Protestant and Catholic fundamentalists alongside a few Orthodox Jews, but is fringe within even Creationism itself. Both mainstream creationists and geocentrists agree that while the Bible is the only completely reliable source of information for knowledge on the natural world, they strongly differ on their understanding of scripture. While some creationists such as Kent Hovind initially had a neutral opinion of geocentrism, the majority of the creationist movement strongly rejected geocentrism, including major organizations such as Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research and Creation Ministries International. These organizations avoid association with


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-6.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
Many young Earth creationists distinguish their own hypotheses from the "Omphalos hypothesis", today more commonly referred to as the apparent age concept, put forth by the naturalist and science writer Philip Henry Gosse. Omphalos was an unsuccessful mid-19th century attempt to reconcile creationism with geology. Gosse proposed that just as Adam had a navel (omphalos is Greek for navel), evidence of a gestation he never experienced, so also the Earth was created ex nihilo complete with evidence of a prehistoric past that never actually occurred. The Omphalos hypothesis allows for a young Earth without giving rise to any predictions that would contradict scientific findings of an old Earth. Although both logically unassailable and consistent with a literal reading of scripture, Omphalos was rejected at the time by scientists on the grounds that it was completely unfalsifiable and by theologians because it implied to them a deceitful God, which they found theologically unacceptable. Today, in contrast to Gosse, young Earth creationists posit that not only is the Earth young but that the scientific data supports that view. However, the apparent age concept is still used in young Earth creationist literature. There are examples of young Earth creationists arguing that Adam did


id: young-earth-creationism-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism-7.md
category: reference
title: Young Earth creationism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:26:59.346577+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: young-earth-creationism-20260505-0
summary:
Few modern theologians take the Genesis account of creation literally. Even many Christian evangelicals who reject the notion of purely naturalistic Darwinian evolution often treat the story as a nonliteral saga, as poetry, or as liturgical literature. Genesis contains two accounts of the Creation: in chapter 1 man was created after the animals (Genesis 1:24–26), while in chapter 2 man was created (Genesis 2:7) before the animals (Genesis 2:19). Proponents of the Documentary hypothesis suggest that Genesis 1 was a litany from the Priestly source (possibly from an early Jewish liturgy), while Genesis 2 was assembled from older Jahwist material, holding that, for both stories to be a single account, Adam would have named all the animals, and God would have created Eve from his rib as a suitable mate, all within a single 24 hour period. Creationists responding to this point attribute the view to misunderstanding having arisen from poor translation of the tenses in Genesis 2 in contemporary translations of the Bible (e.g. compare "planted" and "had planted" in the King James Version and New International Version). Some Christians assert that the Bible is free from error only in religious and moral matters, and that, where scientific or


id: zero-balancing-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_balancing-0.md
category: reference
title: Zero balancing
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_balancing
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:27:00.493092+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: zero-balancing-20260505-0
summary:
Zero balancing is a type of manual therapy devised by American osteopathic doctor Frederick "Fritz" Smith in the 1970s. Drawing from principles of osteopathy, Chinese medicine and Structural Integration, Smith proposed that the energy field within the human body could be affected by manual manipulations, thus bringing health benefits. The practice teaches that currents of energy are stored within the human skeleton, and that these affect both physical and mental wellbeing. Zero balancing is pseudoscientific. Article writer and lawyer Jann Bellamy places zero balancing among many vitalism-based practices that exist within the "cornucopia of quackery" of massage therapy. Bellamy writes that in the United States the public are inadequately protected from such practices because of the lack of independent oversight; instead regulation is carried out within a "closed loop" system by massage-focused organizations. Edzard Ernst wrote in 2018 that zero balancing did not appear to have evidence published for its efficacy. == Description == According to Frederick Smith, the founder of zero balancing,Zero balancing teaches that the deepest currents of energy are in bone, that memory can be held in tissue, that energy fields in the body underlie mind, body and emotions, and that imbalances in the field precede pathology.


id: zoetron-therapy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetron_therapy-0.md
category: reference
title: Zoetron therapy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetron_therapy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T09:27:01.697894+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: zoetron-therapy-20260505-0
summary:
Zoetron therapy is an ineffective cancer treatment based on a large doughnut-shaped electromagnetic device (the "Zoetron machine"). The device was marketed by the CSCT company (standing for "Cell Specific Cancer Treatment", an alternative name for the therapy). It was claimed to detect cancer, and to "destroy cancer cells without harming adjacent normal cells". The promotion of the machine was backed by the publication of a number of misleading case reports. In 2003 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission took action against CSCT in coordination with the Canadian and Mexican authorities, alleging that the company had been falsely promoting its device as a cancer treatment online, and charging for its use in cancer clinics in Tijuana, Mexico. In 2005 criminal charges were bought against the company's officers for making false or misleading claims about the worth of the Zoetron machine. Patients being treated with the machine had been asked to pay up to US$15,000 in advance, however the treatment had no therapeutic value: on inspection the device was found to consist of weak magnets that could have no effect on cancer. Quackwatch states: "There is no scientific evidence or reason to believe that exposure to weak magnetic fields will kill any cells


