Cargo Cult Science

Cargo Cult Science is a term invented by Richard Feynman to describe a particular type of pseudoscience in which all the superficial aspects of scientific inquiry are adhered to, although the underlying causal link between the conditions and the outcome is not understood. Feynman introduced the phrase in a speech at Caltech in 1974, the transcript of which can be found in the book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! : Adventures of a Curious Character (Norton, 1985) and on many web sites. He based the phrase on an existing concept in anthropology, the cargo cult. An example of cargo cult science would be the idea of intelligent design (ID), which its proponents claim to be scientific though the mainstream scientific community consider it to be creationist pseudoscience. ID does not identify the designer however (although it is usually assumed to be God), and the link between the cause (God) and the supposed outcome (design) appears to be spurious.

External links

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
ve
vili
askefruer
fitchburg
astrild
atla
mcminnville
ymir
audumla
buri
bor
bestla
bolthorn
the waltons
kings cross railway station
langres
le bbte show
straw marquetry
marquetry
haute marne
harrier (bird)
accipitridae
parliament hill
cargo cult
fark.com
dolby noise reduction system
barbershop
that was the week that was
nep
vali (norse mythology)
rind
portishead
list of puerto ricans
beldegg
thrudgelmir
coming up for air
bergelmir
wirehaired pointing griffon
beyla
byggvir
oedipus the king
newsradio
billing
borghild