Junk science
Encyclopedia
Junk science is a term used in U.S.
political
and legal disputes that brands an advocate's claims about scientific data
, research
, or analyses as spurious. The term may convey a pejorative
connotation that the advocate is driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific motives.
The term was first used in relation to expert testimony in civil litigation. More recently, it has been used to criticize research on the harmful environmental
or public health
effects of corporate activities, and occasionally in response to such criticism. "Junk science" is often counterposed to "sound science", a term used to describe studies that favor the accuser's point of view. These terms have been particularly promoted by Steven Milloy
and the Advancement of Sound Science Center
. It is the role of political interests which distinguishes debate over junk science from discussions of pseudoscience
and controversial science.
report by the Tort Policy Working Group noted: 'The use of such invalid scientific evidence (commonly referred to as "junk science") has resulted in findings of causation which simply cannot be justified or understood from the standpoint of the current state of credible scientific or medical knowledge.' In 1989, Jerry Mahlman
(a proponent of anthropogenic global warming theory
) used the phrase 'noisy junk science' in reference to the alternative theory of global warming due to solar variation
presented in Scientific Perspectives on the Greenhouse Problem by Frederick Seitz
et al.
Peter W. Huber
presented an exposition of the phrase with respect to litigation in his 1991 book Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. The book has been cited in over 100 legal textbooks and references; as a consequence some sources cite Huber as the first to coin the phrase. By 1997, the phrase had entered the legal lexicon as seen in an opinion by Supreme Court of the United States
Justice John Paul Stevens
, 'An example of "junk science" that should be excluded under the Daubert standard
as too unreliable would be the testimony of a phrenologist who would purport to prove a defendant’s future dangerousness based on the contours of the defendant’s skull.' Lower courts then set guidelines for identifying 'junk science,' such as the 2005 opinion of United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Judge Easterbrook, 'Positive reports about magnetic water treatment are not replicable; this plus the lack of a physical explanation for any effects are hallmarks of junk science.'
As the subtitle of Huber's book, Junk Science in the Courtroom, suggests, his emphasis was on the use or misuse of expert testimony in civil litigation. One prominent example cited in the book was litigation over casual contact in the spread of AIDS
. A California school district sought to prevent a young boy with AIDS, Ryan Thomas, from attending kindergarten
. The school district produced an expert witness, Dr. Steven Armentrout, who testified that a possibility existed that AIDS could be transmitted to schoolmates through yet undiscovered "vectors." However, five experts testified on behalf of Thomas that AIDS is not transmitted through casual contact, and the court affirmed the "solid science" (as Mr. Huber called it) and rejected Dr. Armentrout's argument.
In 1999, Paul Ehrlich
and others advocated public policies to improve the dissemination of valid environmental scientific knowledge and discourage junk science: 'The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
reports offer an antidote to junk science by articulating the current consensus on the prospects for climate change, by outlining the extent of the uncertainties, and by describing the potential benefits and costs of policies to address climate change.' In a 2003 study about changes in environmental activism in the Crown of the Continent (Flathead) Ecosystem, Pedynowski noted that junk science can undermine the credibility of science over a much broader scale because misrepresentation by special interests casts doubt on more defensible claims and undermines the credibility of all research.
In his 2006 book Junk Science, Dan Agin emphasized two main causes of junk science: fraud, and ignorance. In the first case, Agin discussed falsified results in the development of organic transistors: 'As far as understanding junk science is concerned, the important aspect is that both Bell Laboratories and the international physics community were fooled until someone noticed that noise records published by Jan Hendrik Schön
in several papers were identical - which means physically impossible.' In the second case, he cites an example that demonstrates ignorance of statistical principles in the lay press: 'Since no such proof is possible [that genetically modified food
is harmless], the article in The New York Times was what is called a "bad rap" against the U.S. Department of Agriculture - a bad rap based on a junk-science belief that it's possible to prove a null hypothesis
.' Agin asks the reader to step back from the rhetoric, 'But how things are labeled does not make a science junk science.' In its place, he offers, 'So where is the junk science? The answer is that it's in the hiding of what you need to know.'
and Sheldon Rampton
of PR Watch
argue that the term "junk science" has come to be used to deride scientific findings that stand in the way of short-term corporate profits
. In their book Trust Us, We're Experts
(2001), they write that industries have launched multi-million-dollar campaigns to position certain theories as "junk science" in the popular mind, often failing to employ the scientific method
themselves. For example, the tobacco industry
has used the term "junk science" to describe research demonstrating the harmful effects of smoking and second-hand smoke
, through the vehicle of various "astroturf groups"
.
Theories more favorable to corporate activities may be praised using the term "sound science". Past examples where "sound science" was used include the research into the toxicity of Alar, which was heavily criticized by antiregulatory advocates, and Herbert Needleman
's research into low dose lead poisoning
. Needleman was accused of fraud and personally attacked.
The term "junk science" was popularized by Fox News commentator Steven Milloy
, who used it to attack the results of credible scientific research on global warming
, ozone depletion
, passive smoking
and many other topics. The credibility of Milloy's website junkscience.com was questioned by Paul D. Thacker
, a writer for The New Republic
, in the wake of evidence that Milloy had received funding from Philip Morris
, RJR Tobacco, and Exxon Mobil. Thacker also noted that Milloy was receiving almost $100,000 a year in consulting fees from Philip Morris
while he criticized the evidence regarding the hazards of second-hand smoke
as "junk science". Following the publication of this article the Cato Institute
, which had hosted the junkscience.com site, ceased its association with the site and removed Milloy from its list of adjunct scholars.
Another recipient of corporate funding, from both the tobacco industry and ExxonMobil, has been Fred Singer
. His overall position is one of distrust of government regulation, and that market principles and incentives are sufficient to protect the environment and conserve resources. In the 1970s, he downplayed the energy crisis. In several papers in the 1990s and 2000s he questioned the link between UV-B and melanoma rates, and that between CFCs and stratospheric ozone loss.
He has questioned the link between secondhand smoke and lung cancer, and has been an outspoken opponent of the mainstream scientific view on climate change. Naomi Oreskes
and Erik M. Conway
named Singer in their book, Merchants of Doubt
, as one of three contrarian physicists—along with Fred Seitz and Bill Nierenberg—who regularly position themselves as skeptics, with their views being given equal time by the media.
Tobacco industry documents reveal that Philip Morris executives conceived of the "Whitecoat Project" in the 1980s as a response to emerging scientific data on the harmfulness of second-hand smoke. The goal of the Whitecoat Project, as conceived by Philip Morris and other tobacco companies, was to use ostensibly independent "scientific consultants" to spread doubt in the public mind about scientific data through the use of terms such as "junk science". According to epidemiologist David Michaels
, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety, and Health in the Clinton Administration, the tobacco industry
invented the "sound science" movement in the 1980s as part of their campaign against the regulation of secondhand smoke
.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., lay judges have become "gatekeepers" of scientific testimony. David Michaels has argued that as a result, respected scientists have been in some cases unable to provide testimony, and corporate defendants are "increasingly emboldened" to accuse adversaries of "junk science".
launched the Sound Science Initiative, a national network of scientists committed to debunking junk science through media outreach, lobbying, and developing joint strategies to participate in town meetings or public hearings. The American Association for the Advancement of Science also recognized the need to increased understanding between scientists and lawmakers in its newsletter on Science and Technology in Congress, "Although most individuals would agree that sound science is preferable to junk science, fewer recognize what makes a scientific study 'good' or 'bad'." The American Dietetic Association
, criticizing marketing claims made for food products, has created a list of "Ten Red Flags of Junk Science".
Individual scientists have also used the term.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
and legal disputes that brands an advocate's claims about scientific data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, or analyses as spurious. The term may convey a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
connotation that the advocate is driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific motives.
The term was first used in relation to expert testimony in civil litigation. More recently, it has been used to criticize research on the harmful environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
or public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
effects of corporate activities, and occasionally in response to such criticism. "Junk science" is often counterposed to "sound science", a term used to describe studies that favor the accuser's point of view. These terms have been particularly promoted by Steven Milloy
Steven Milloy
Steven J. Milloy is a commentator for Fox News and runs the Web site junkscience.com, which is dedicated to "debunking" what Milloy labels "faulty scientific data and analysis." On Fox News Channel he is billed as a "Junk Science commentator." He describes himself as a libertarian.Among the topics...
and the Advancement of Sound Science Center
Advancement of Sound Science Center
The Advancement of Sound Science Center , formerly the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, is an industry-funded lobby group which promotes the idea that environmental science on issues including smoking, pesticides and global warming is "junk science", which should be replaced by "sound science"...
. It is the role of political interests which distinguishes debate over junk science from discussions of pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and controversial science.
History
The phrase "junk science" appears to have been in use prior to 1985. A 1985 United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
report by the Tort Policy Working Group noted: 'The use of such invalid scientific evidence (commonly referred to as "junk science") has resulted in findings of causation which simply cannot be justified or understood from the standpoint of the current state of credible scientific or medical knowledge.' In 1989, Jerry Mahlman
Jerry Mahlman
-Biography:Mahlman received his undergraduate degree from Chadron State College in 1962 and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1967. From 1970 until 2000 he worked at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Princeton, serving as...
(a proponent of anthropogenic global warming theory
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
) used the phrase 'noisy junk science' in reference to the alternative theory of global warming due to solar variation
Solar variation
Solar variation is the change in the amount of radiation emitted by the Sun and in its spectral distribution over years to millennia. These variations have periodic components, the main one being the approximately 11-year solar cycle . The changes also have aperiodic fluctuations...
presented in Scientific Perspectives on the Greenhouse Problem by Frederick Seitz
Frederick Seitz
Frederick Seitz was an American physicist and a pioneer of solid state physics. Seitz was president of Rockefeller University, and president of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1962–1969. He was the recipient of the National Medal of Science, NASA's Distinguished Public Service...
et al.
Peter W. Huber
Peter W. Huber
Peter William Huber is a partner at the law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, and an author and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute...
presented an exposition of the phrase with respect to litigation in his 1991 book Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. The book has been cited in over 100 legal textbooks and references; as a consequence some sources cite Huber as the first to coin the phrase. By 1997, the phrase had entered the legal lexicon as seen in an opinion by Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
, 'An example of "junk science" that should be excluded under the Daubert standard
Daubert Standard
The Daubert standard is a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witnesses' testimony during United States federal legal proceedings. Pursuant to this standard, a party may raise a Daubert motion, which is a special case of motion in limine raised before or during trial to exclude...
as too unreliable would be the testimony of a phrenologist who would purport to prove a defendant’s future dangerousness based on the contours of the defendant’s skull.' Lower courts then set guidelines for identifying 'junk science,' such as the 2005 opinion of United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
Judge Easterbrook, 'Positive reports about magnetic water treatment are not replicable; this plus the lack of a physical explanation for any effects are hallmarks of junk science.'
As the subtitle of Huber's book, Junk Science in the Courtroom, suggests, his emphasis was on the use or misuse of expert testimony in civil litigation. One prominent example cited in the book was litigation over casual contact in the spread of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. A California school district sought to prevent a young boy with AIDS, Ryan Thomas, from attending kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. The school district produced an expert witness, Dr. Steven Armentrout, who testified that a possibility existed that AIDS could be transmitted to schoolmates through yet undiscovered "vectors." However, five experts testified on behalf of Thomas that AIDS is not transmitted through casual contact, and the court affirmed the "solid science" (as Mr. Huber called it) and rejected Dr. Armentrout's argument.
In 1999, Paul Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera , but...
and others advocated public policies to improve the dissemination of valid environmental scientific knowledge and discourage junk science: 'The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
reports offer an antidote to junk science by articulating the current consensus on the prospects for climate change, by outlining the extent of the uncertainties, and by describing the potential benefits and costs of policies to address climate change.' In a 2003 study about changes in environmental activism in the Crown of the Continent (Flathead) Ecosystem, Pedynowski noted that junk science can undermine the credibility of science over a much broader scale because misrepresentation by special interests casts doubt on more defensible claims and undermines the credibility of all research.
In his 2006 book Junk Science, Dan Agin emphasized two main causes of junk science: fraud, and ignorance. In the first case, Agin discussed falsified results in the development of organic transistors: 'As far as understanding junk science is concerned, the important aspect is that both Bell Laboratories and the international physics community were fooled until someone noticed that noise records published by Jan Hendrik Schön
Jan Hendrik Schön
The Schön scandal concerns German physicist Jan Hendrik Schön who briefly rose to prominence after a series of apparent breakthroughs with semiconductors that were later discovered to be fraudulent...
in several papers were identical - which means physically impossible.' In the second case, he cites an example that demonstrates ignorance of statistical principles in the lay press: 'Since no such proof is possible [that genetically modified food
Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
is harmless], the article in The New York Times was what is called a "bad rap" against the U.S. Department of Agriculture - a bad rap based on a junk-science belief that it's possible to prove a null hypothesis
Null hypothesis
The practice of science involves formulating and testing hypotheses, assertions that are capable of being proven false using a test of observed data. The null hypothesis typically corresponds to a general or default position...
.' Agin asks the reader to step back from the rhetoric, 'But how things are labeled does not make a science junk science.' In its place, he offers, 'So where is the junk science? The answer is that it's in the hiding of what you need to know.'
Use as corporate PR
John StauberJohn Stauber
John Stauber is an American writer and political activist who has co-authored five books about propaganda by governments, private interests and the PR industry...
and Sheldon Rampton
Sheldon Rampton
Sheldon Rampton was the American editor of PR Watch, and is the author of several books that criticize the public relations industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda....
of PR Watch
PR Watch
PR Watch is a web site, and until 2008 a quarterly newsletter, whose stated mission is to expose deceptive and misleading public relations campaigns. It particularly covers US environmental issues, but also covers topics ranging from labor rights to world affairs...
argue that the term "junk science" has come to be used to deride scientific findings that stand in the way of short-term corporate profits
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
. In their book Trust Us, We're Experts
Trust Us, We're Experts
Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future is a book written by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber....
(2001), they write that industries have launched multi-million-dollar campaigns to position certain theories as "junk science" in the popular mind, often failing to employ the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
themselves. For example, the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
has used the term "junk science" to describe research demonstrating the harmful effects of smoking and second-hand smoke
Passive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
, through the vehicle of various "astroturf groups"
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
.
Theories more favorable to corporate activities may be praised using the term "sound science". Past examples where "sound science" was used include the research into the toxicity of Alar, which was heavily criticized by antiregulatory advocates, and Herbert Needleman
Herbert Needleman
Herbert Needleman, MD, known for research studies on the neurodevelopmental damage caused by lead poisoning, is a pediatrician, child psychiatrist, researcher and professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, and the founder of the...
's research into low dose lead poisoning
Lead poisoning
Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...
. Needleman was accused of fraud and personally attacked.
The term "junk science" was popularized by Fox News commentator Steven Milloy
Steven Milloy
Steven J. Milloy is a commentator for Fox News and runs the Web site junkscience.com, which is dedicated to "debunking" what Milloy labels "faulty scientific data and analysis." On Fox News Channel he is billed as a "Junk Science commentator." He describes himself as a libertarian.Among the topics...
, who used it to attack the results of credible scientific research on global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, ozone depletion
Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere , and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon...
, passive smoking
Passive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
and many other topics. The credibility of Milloy's website junkscience.com was questioned by Paul D. Thacker
Paul D. Thacker
Paul D. Thacker, sometimes bylined as Paul Thacker, is an American journalist who specializes in science, medicine and environmental reporting. He has written for Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, Salon.com, and The New Republic, and Environmental Science & Technology...
, a writer for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, in the wake of evidence that Milloy had received funding from Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
, RJR Tobacco, and Exxon Mobil. Thacker also noted that Milloy was receiving almost $100,000 a year in consulting fees from Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
while he criticized the evidence regarding the hazards of second-hand smoke
Passive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
as "junk science". Following the publication of this article the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, which had hosted the junkscience.com site, ceased its association with the site and removed Milloy from its list of adjunct scholars.
Another recipient of corporate funding, from both the tobacco industry and ExxonMobil, has been Fred Singer
Fred Singer
Siegfried Fred Singer is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia...
. His overall position is one of distrust of government regulation, and that market principles and incentives are sufficient to protect the environment and conserve resources. In the 1970s, he downplayed the energy crisis. In several papers in the 1990s and 2000s he questioned the link between UV-B and melanoma rates, and that between CFCs and stratospheric ozone loss.
He has questioned the link between secondhand smoke and lung cancer, and has been an outspoken opponent of the mainstream scientific view on climate change. Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes is an American science historian, and Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California San Diego. She has worked on studies of geophysics, environmental issues such as global warming, and the history of science...
and Erik M. Conway
Erik M. Conway
Erik M. Conway is the historian at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He is the author of several books....
named Singer in their book, Merchants of Doubt
Merchants of Doubt
Merchants of Doubt is a 2010 book by the American science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. It identifies parallels between the climate change debate and earlier controversies over tobacco smoking, acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer...
, as one of three contrarian physicists—along with Fred Seitz and Bill Nierenberg—who regularly position themselves as skeptics, with their views being given equal time by the media.
Tobacco industry documents reveal that Philip Morris executives conceived of the "Whitecoat Project" in the 1980s as a response to emerging scientific data on the harmfulness of second-hand smoke. The goal of the Whitecoat Project, as conceived by Philip Morris and other tobacco companies, was to use ostensibly independent "scientific consultants" to spread doubt in the public mind about scientific data through the use of terms such as "junk science". According to epidemiologist David Michaels
David Michaels (epidemiologist)
David Michaels is currently the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration . He is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Dr...
, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety, and Health in the Clinton Administration, the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
invented the "sound science" movement in the 1980s as part of their campaign against the regulation of secondhand smoke
Passive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., lay judges have become "gatekeepers" of scientific testimony. David Michaels has argued that as a result, respected scientists have been in some cases unable to provide testimony, and corporate defendants are "increasingly emboldened" to accuse adversaries of "junk science".
Use by scientists
In 1995, the Union of Concerned ScientistsUnion of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit science advocacy group based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. James J...
launched the Sound Science Initiative, a national network of scientists committed to debunking junk science through media outreach, lobbying, and developing joint strategies to participate in town meetings or public hearings. The American Association for the Advancement of Science also recognized the need to increased understanding between scientists and lawmakers in its newsletter on Science and Technology in Congress, "Although most individuals would agree that sound science is preferable to junk science, fewer recognize what makes a scientific study 'good' or 'bad'." The American Dietetic Association
American Dietetic Association
The American Dietetic Association is the United States' largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, with nearly 72,000 members. The American Dietetic Association is officially changing its name to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The announcement was made Saturday, September...
, criticizing marketing claims made for food products, has created a list of "Ten Red Flags of Junk Science".
Individual scientists have also used the term.
See also
- AgnotologyAgnotologyAgnotology is the study of culturally-induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data. The neologism was coined by Robert N...
- Cargo cult scienceCargo cult scienceCargo cult science refers to practices that have the semblance of being scientific, but are missing "a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty". The term was first used by the physicist Richard Feynman during his commencement...
- Controversial science
- Daubert standardDaubert StandardThe Daubert standard is a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witnesses' testimony during United States federal legal proceedings. Pursuant to this standard, a party may raise a Daubert motion, which is a special case of motion in limine raised before or during trial to exclude...
for science that can be used in United States federal courts - Federal Rules of EvidenceFederal Rules of EvidenceThe is a code of evidence law governing the admission of facts by which parties in the United States federal court system may prove their cases, both civil and criminal. The Rules were enacted in 1975, with subsequent amendments....
- Fringe theoryFringe theoryA fringe theory is an idea or a collection of ideas that departs significantly from the prevailing or mainstream view in its particular field of study. Examples include ideas that purport to be scientific theories but have little or no scientific support, conspiracy theories, unproven esoteric...
- Frye StandardFrye StandardThe Frye standard, Frye test, or general acceptance test is a test to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence. It provides that expert opinion based on a scientific technique is admissible only where the technique is generally accepted as reliable in the relevant scientific community. In...
- Pathological sciencePathological sciencePathological science is the process in science in which "people are tricked into false results ... by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions". The term was first used by Irving Langmuir, Nobel Prize-winning chemist, during a 1953 colloquium at the Knolls Research Laboratory...
- Science by press conferenceScience by press conferenceThe term science by press conference is a phrase referring to scientists who put an unusual focus on publicizing results of research in the media. The term is usually used disparagingly...
- Scientific methodScientific methodScientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
Further reading
- Dan Agin, Junk Science: How Politicians, Corporations, and Other Hucksters Betray Us, 2006. ISBN 0-312-35241-7.
- Peter W. Huber, Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom, 1993. ISBN 0-465-02624-9.
- Steven J. MilloySteven MilloySteven J. Milloy is a commentator for Fox News and runs the Web site junkscience.com, which is dedicated to "debunking" what Milloy labels "faulty scientific data and analysis." On Fox News Channel he is billed as a "Junk Science commentator." He describes himself as a libertarian.Among the topics...
, Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense against Health Scares and Scams, 2001. ISBN 1-930-86512-0. - Chris Mooney, The Republican War on Science, 2005. ISBN 0-465-04675-4.
- Susan Kiss Sarnoff, Sanctified Snake Oil: The Effect of Junk Science on Public Policy, 2001. ISBN 0-275-96845-6.
External links
- Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) DefendingScience.org