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Definition
The Appeal to Authority Red Flag is when a company uses authoritative imagery to lend credibility to a product's advertising.
Connection
Below is an early advertisement for cigarettes. In the advertisement, you see a throat specialist, not just a general practitioner stating that it doesn't irritate the throat, as well as celebrities who are photographed in the bottom right of the ad. This leads the consumer that because this doctor is specializing in throat issues, that these cigarettes will not harm their throat because he is stating that there hasn't been a single case of throat irritation from smoking Camels. This advertisement also can be connected to the pseudoscience watchlist through the criteria of the results cannot be replicated or verified.  We obviously know the risk to smoking now and how harmful smoking is to our bodies but in this time, the public didn't have this information. These companies knew that by using someone in a white lab coat, the could use the public's assumptions and general positive biases because the public generally has trust in doctors. As research around the effect of smoking on the public weren't made available, these companies continued to mislead the public without recourse.

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Definition
The Red Herring Red Flag is when you are discussing a topic with a person or watching a debate and  they throw in information that is not relevant but seems like it goes with the topic to throw you off the original topic.
Connection
This is a compilation of some of Donald Trump's use of the Red Herring Red Flag. Rarely will Donald Trump answer the question put to him. He will distract by talking about the same topic or similar topic but not actually answer the question. This is  problem because  his interviewers have not been able to figure out how to get a straight answer out of him, so they just repeat the nonsense that he says, and being that most of it is lies, this is detrimental to democracy. Every answer is trying to distract the viewer from the actual questions. A limitation that is often seen with reporters on Trump is the lack of holding him accountable for what he is saying for fear of losing access. It would be beneficial to have interviewers hold Trump accountable and repeat the question until he has answered.  In light of all of the evidence of his Red Herrings and lies, skepticism should be applied to all of the things that Donald Trump says.

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Suzy Sledziewski

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Definition
The Suppression by Authorities Red Flag is where a claim is made that lacks evidence and the reason for the missing evidence to back up the claim is that the government or some big agency (CDC or others) are suppressing the information.
Connection
The video I've attached is that of an interview promoting the movie Vaxxed. It's basically anti-vaccination propaganda based on junk science that a senior member at the CDC stated that there was a link between young black boys, the MMR vaccine and autism. The senior researcher William Thompson stated that the CDC had been suppressing information about the link for over 13 years. The article published was later pulled because there were multiple flaws in the study and the correlation was proven as false. In the video Andrew Wakefield is promoting the movie. He is an ex physician who first published the connection between vaccines and autism which was proven false. The limitations with this film is it does not explain the plethora of evidence that contradicts their claim.  In the clip that is shown from this movie, there is a mother that states that after her son had vaccines, he started to have symptoms and constant head banging. This argument could also be seen as confusion between correlation and causation. She is stating that the cause of the autism is the vaccine but it is more likely just be correlation between the age of the child and the fact that symptoms of autism will show around the same age. Lastly, the harm created from movies like this is people can die. The anti-vaccine  movement is responsible for 152763 deaths according to the anti-vaccine Body Count in this courses Week 1 lecture.

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Doctor behind film that links autism to vaccines speaks out

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Definition
Confirmation Bias is the tendency to believe things to be true that coincide with your views already.
Connection
This is a screenshot taken of my Twitter feed. This is the height of confirmation bias. I follow people who interest me or post things that are politically aligned with the ideals I believe in and it basically only shows me posts that I would be interested in or agree with unless I go looking for a different opinion.  The limitation to getting your new this way, is that it only shows one perspective and you could miss different ideas from different perspective that make you grow as a human. Another flaw is that  Twitter is also a platform that posts the news almost immediately and sometimes the facts can be wrong because of the urgency in writing.

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Definition
This is when someone uses the term energy to mean something other than the ability to perform work. In pseudoscience, the term energy is often used in correlation to mean something different such as chakra or alignment in one's self.
Connection
This is a link to an article about how to find the right healing crystal for you. Even though the article states "it’s important to know that there’s no scientific evidence to support the use of crystals" it then goes on to give a guide as to how to use them. For example, it says that the clear quartz is "white crystal is considered a “master healer.” It’s said to amplify energy by absorbing, storing, releasing, and regulating it." This is an exact example of using the term energy, in the wrong context and as a buzzword to sell more product. This connects to the pseudoscience watchlist by using scientific sounding language like energy, that is actually meaningless in hope to push the crystals healing modalities, in this case absorbing, restoring, releasing and regulating energy. These claims are hard to believe and if you use the critical thinking process because by the time you get to step 2 (gather information to support claim), you would have a hard time finding any scientific evidence to further these claims.

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Some people believe that crystals, such as quartz and obsidian, may each have specific healing properties that benefit your mind, body, and soul.

A growing number of Americans have tried some form of complementary and integrative medicine. This can include practices from acupuncture, massage, yoga, tai chi, and even healing crystals.

You've probably heard people talking about and showing off these beautiful stones. But you may not know what they have to offer - if anything.

There are several different types of crystals. Some people believe they have healing abilities for the mind, body, and soul.

Many ancient cultures - including ones in Egypt, Greece, and China - believed that crystals have healing properties.

Some people claim that crystals promote the flow of good energy and help rid your body and mind of negative energy for physical and emotional benefits. They believe certain crystals benefit your sleep, help you manifest your desires, and add an additional healing element to reiki.

But it's important to note that almost no scientific evidence supports the use of crystals or other forms of energy healing.

Crystals have largely been dismissed as pseudoscience, although some studies suggest they may offer a placebo effect.

An older study presented at conferences in 1999 and 2001 but not published in a peer-reviewed journal suggested that any healing benefits associated with crystals were most likely a result of the power of suggestion.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) notes that complementary health practices such as mindfulness and meditation can promote relaxation and may provide other benefits to people experiencing anxiety and depression and those managing symptoms related to a chronic condition. You may reap some of those same benefits depending on how you use crystals.

Still, some people believe it goes deeper than that.

"Crystals are made up of different elements or compounds, which our bodies react to in different ways," says Sonali Saujani, a crystal master healer. "Crystals are minerals that hold energy, and as we as humans are made up of energy, we can exchange energy with the crystal when we work with it."

Saujani points out that crystals are used to improve the function of many everyday objects, like watches, plugs, hospital equipment, and lasers.

She cites a 2008 study that states that "quartz can act as a flint to start a fire or generate electricity."

"If a crystal can be piezoelectric [contain electric charge], I am sure it can do so much more. They balance out electric currents and keep equipment from exploding," says Saunjani. "In the same way, when it comes to crystals and our body, all they're doing is balancing out the frequency of the electromagnetic currents in our body."

Although science doesn't support crystals as a healing modality, there's no harm in giving them a try if you have realistic expectations about what they can and can't do. Crystals should never replace medical treatment from a qualified professional.

To help you get started, we compiled a comprehensive roundup of some of the most popular crystals.

Healing crystals for health

Clear quartz: a clear crystal considered a master healer and believed to support the entire energetic system

Jasper: a nurturing stone said to provide support during times of stress

Obsidian: believed to help process emotions and experiences and aid in letting go

Amethyst: used for healing, purifying, and enhancing willpower

Bloodstone: said to improve circulation and provide support to blood-related issues

Healing crystals for wealth

Tiger's eye: said to provide motivation and lessen fear

Citrine: believed to spark enthusiasm, creativity, and concentration

Turquoise: thought to soothe emotions and attract good luck

Sapphire: known as a stone of prosperity

Jade: another well-known stone for prosperity and luck

Healing crystals for love

Rose quartz: sometimes referred to as the stone of love and believed to encourage love and trust

Moonstone: said to prompt feelings of inner strength and growth

Ruby: believed to support sexuality and sensuality

Want to dive into crystal lore? Get the details below.

Clear quartz

Some consider this white crystal to be a master healer.

It's said to:

amplify energy

aid concentration and memory

help balance your energetic system

People often pair this stone with others like rose quartz to aid and enhance their abilities.

Obsidian

Obsidian is believed to be an intensely protective stone.

It's said to:

This stone may also help you digest experiences, emotions, and baggage, freeing you from negative blockages.

Rose quartz

Just as the color may suggest, this pink stone is all about love.

It's said to:

Who couldn't use some of that?

Jasper

This smooth crystal is known as the supreme nurturer.

It's said to:

These are traits that are extra helpful when tackling important issues.

Illustration by Wenzdai Figueroa

Citrine

Bring joy, wonder, and enthusiasm to every part of your life with citrine.

It's said to:

help you release negative emotions like fear and doubt

encourage optimism, warmth, motivation, and clarity

enhance mindfulness qualities

encourage creativity

support concentration

Turquoise

This blue crystal is said to help heal the mind, body, and soul.

It's also said to:

be a good luck charm

help balance emotions

support spiritual groundedness

When it comes to the body, it's said to represent the respiratory, skeletal, and immune systems.

Amethyst

This purple stone is said to be incredibly protective, healing, and purifying.

It's also said to:

Tiger's eye

This golden stone may be for you if you need a power or motivation boost.

It's said to:

help rid your mind and body of fear, anxiety, and self-doubt

guide you to harmony and balance

help you make clear, conscious decisions

This can be beneficial for career aspirations or even matters of the heart.

Illustration by Wenzdai Figueroa

Moonstone

Moonstone is known for ushering in new beginnings.

It's said to:

encourage inner growth and strength

soothe feelings of stress and instability when embarking on new ventures

help you move forward successfully

promote positive thinking, intuition, and inspiration

support success and good fortune

Bloodstone

This powerful healing stone lives up to its name.

Bloodstone is believed to:

Symbolically, bloodstone is associated with blood and blood-related bodily processes, like menstruation.

Sapphire

This blue stone is one of wisdom and royalty.

It's said to:

Ruby

This striking red stone is a real standout.

It's said to:

Illustration by Wenzdai Figueroa

First things first: Identify what you feel you're missing before looking into what the stones can provide you. This will help you determine what's happening within yourself before depending on outside sources.

From there, just let your intuition choose what's best for you.

Whether a crystal catches your eye or you feel a pull toward one, your inner subconscious can help guide you to the crystal that's right for you.

Once it's picked out, you can create the connection you need.

When you first bring your crystal home, experts say you'll want to cleanse away any negativity it may have picked up.

Depending on the kind of stone, you can:

Make sure you do your research before getting your crystal wet. Some stones become toxic or dissolve when immersed in water. Check the Mohs Hardness Scale to determine whether your crystal will disintegrate in water.

It's not just about their physical care, though.

For crystals to work their magic, experts suggest mentally clearing negative energies or any skepticism you may have about their capabilities. According to believers, respecting what crystals can do for you is important.

Many people believe the main benefit of crystals is their metaphysical abilities. But if we're being perfectly honest, they're also really beautiful.

It's no surprise that people make tons of accessories out of them, like jewelry or home decorations. Not only do they look nice, but a little extra positive energy doesn't hurt anyone.

Prayer beads

Crystal prayer or mala beads are worn against the heart or on the wrist to inspire positive feelings, whether it be hope, courage, or peace. They're a great way for anyone to carry around the healing powers of crystals.

Prayer beads can also be used during meditation to count repetitions of mantra, or sacred chanting. Practitioners use the main, or guru, bead to keep count.

Jewelry

Wearing them as jewelry can incorporate crystals into your daily routine and wardrobe. From rings to necklaces to earrings, there are plenty of options.

It also allows you to showcase each stone's natural beauty.

Coasters

You can find stunning coasters made from genuine gemstones. Ones made with agate stone are believed to help promote balance and harmony within the home. This is ideal for those who want to bring good energies into their abode.

Sex toys

Crystal sex toys are designed to mix their metaphysical energies with your sensual ones. They're great tools for those who want to try something new with a crystal-infused twist.

Just be sure to skip the yoni eggs.

Pipes

Believe it or not, you can even smoke from crystal hand pipes. They're smooth, easy to use, and sturdy. This makes them a great gift for anyone who uses cannabis.

Water bottles

Cute water bottles are just as trendy as crystals, so it's no surprise they have merged into one.

Crystal-infused water bottles contain a "gem pod." It's said to promote everything from wellness and beauty to balance, though their actual benefits are up for debate.

It's important to buy crystals that are authentic and ethically sourced. Many crystals are overmined, contributing to social and environmental issues in their countries of origin.

Crystals sometimes take thousands of years to form, which means there are only so many to go around.

Ask your crystal seller how their crystals are sourced. They may even be able to provide a certificate of authenticity for very rare crystals.

The following includes frequently asked questions about healing crystals.

What type of crystal is for healing?

The type of crystal you choose for healing may depend on the healing you need. Experts recommend clear quartz and amethyst for general healing.

What are the 7 healing stones?

The seven healing stones correspond to the colors of the seven chakras. While some stones can vary, a popular combination includes green fluorite, amethyst, red jasper, tiger's eye stone, sodalite, rock quartz, and red aventurine.

What is the best crystal to wear every day?

Clear quartz is believed to be a universal healer and may help balance your energies.

If you're skeptical about these healing crystals, they likely won't do you any good. They're unlikely to do you any harm, though. While there's no scientific evidence for crystals, that hasn't stopped people from trying them.

An open mind is key to obtaining the positive qualities these beautiful stones can offer. Whether it's overall good energy you want or specific healing powers, there's nothing wrong with giving crystals an honest try. Who knows - you might be pleasantly surprised.
Emily Rekstis is a New York City-based beauty and lifestyle writer who writes for many publications, including Greatist, Racked, and Self. If she's not writing at her computer, you can probably find her watching a mob movie, eating a burger, or reading an NYC history book. See more of her work on her website, or follow her on .

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Everything You Need To Know About Healing Crystals and Their Benefits

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Despite a lack of scientific research, some people swear by the power of crystals. Learn more about their purported healing qualities.

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Definition
This is the tendency to find faces, or patterns in things that are meaningless. We as humans are programmed to find patterns so it's inherent that we will seek to find meaning or patterns in everyday life.
Connection
This is a picture of a dying and wilted rose, but if you look closer you can see the outline of a skull of face in the rose. There is no meaning behind this and it is not anything but a wilted rose, but because of patternicity, someone could take this specific rose to have a deeper meaning because of the image of the skull. In addition, a connection could be made to the pseudoscience watchlist because seeing something like this appeals to our love of mystery.

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Definition
Ideology is a set of ideas upon which we make decisions about our life. The are guiding principles that you believe and live by.
Connection
This is an article that had an interesting take on how religious fundamentalism takes over the brain and compromised the decision making of an individual. This means that the person is less likely to be skeptical of information relayed through a religious lens. The article states "we know that religious fundamentalism is strongly correlated with what psychologists and scientists call “magical thinking,” which refers to making connections between actions and events when no such connections exist in reality." Another way of saying magical thinking would be choices and beliefs driven by ideology. When someone is a fanatic, their critical thinking skills are impaired because they are unable to effectively evaluate the evidence because the religious dogma is clouding their objectivity.

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In moderation, religious and spiritual practices can be great for a person's life and mental well-being. But religious fundamentalism-which refers to the belief in the absolute authority of a religious text or leaders-is almost never good for an individual. This is primarily because fundamentalism discourages any logical reasoning or scientific evidence that challenges its scripture, making it inherently maladaptive.

It is not accurate to call religious fundamentalism a disease, because that term refers to a pathology that physically attacks the biology of a system. But fundamentalist ideologies can be thought of as mental parasites. A parasite does not usually kill the host it inhabits, as it is critically dependent on it for survival. Instead, it feeds off it and changes its behavior in ways that benefit its own existence. By understanding how fundamentalist ideologies function and are represented in the brain using this analogy, we can begin to understand how to inoculate against them, and potentially, how to rehabilitate someone who has undergone ideological brainwashing-in other words, a reduction in one's ability to think critically or independently.
How Religious Ideologies Spread
Similar to how organisms and their genes compete for survival in the environment and gene pool, ideas compete for survival inside brains, and in the pool of ideas that inhabit them. The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has used this insightful analogy to explain how ideas spread and evolve over time. In his influential 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, he refers to ideas as " memes " (the mental analog of a gene), which he has defined as self-replicating units that spread throughout culture. We are all familiar with many types of memes, including the various customs, myths, and trends that have become part of human society.

As Dawkins explains, ideas spread through the behavior that they produce in their hosts, which is what enables them to be transmitted from one brain to another. For example, an ideology-such as a religion-that causes its inhabitants to practice its rituals and communicate its beliefs will be transmitted to others. Successful ideas are those that are best able to spread themselves, while those that fail to self-replicate go extinct. In this way, some religious ideologies persist while others fade into oblivion.

It is easy to see why religion quickly spread through culture once it emerged. When humans gained the cognitive capacity to reason and plan for the future, they became aware of their own mortality. The realization that oneself and all one's loved ones will someday die is naturally terrifying, and this existential fear perfectly set the stage for anxiety-reducing ideas, like ones that offer a never-ending afterlife. But religions are complex ideas, and the psychological effects they have on minds go beyond just relieving anxiety.

Essentially, the brain is a biological computer, and an ideology is a set of coded instructions, or "cultural software," that is running on the brain's hardware. Esteemed philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett insightfully described how ideas can control minds when he said, "The haven all memes depend on reaching is the human mind, but a human mind is itself an artifact created when memes restructure a human brain in order to make it a better habitat for memes." In this regard, it is often not the brain that controls the mind, but the memes that compose the mind that control the brain. This is especially the case when the meme is a religion.
Religions Mutate
Like genes and gene complexes, when an ideology is replicated-or passed from one person or group to another-it undergoes mutations. As a consequence, different versions of that belief system are produced, which generate different types of behavior. As such, there are often good and bad variants of any given religion. For instance, there are moderate versions of Christianity and Islam that promote qualities like a sense of community and a moral code that fosters ethical behavior. These ideas can be beneficial to the host organism, i.e., the religious-practicing individual. At the same time, there are harmful variants of Islam and Christianity-specifically the rigid fundamentalist versions-that cause the host mind to process information in a biased way, think irrationally, and become delusional.
Ideological Viruses and Mental Parasites
There are various types of viruses and parasites, and viruses are themselves parasites. While biological viruses are infectious agents that self-replicate inside living cells, computer viruses are destructive pieces of code that insert themselves into existing programs and change the actions of those programs. One particularly nasty type of computer virus that relies on humans for replication, known as a "Trojan horse," disguises itself as something useful or interesting in order to persuade individuals to download and spread it. Similarly, a harmful ideology disguises itself as something beneficial in order to insert itself into the brain of an individual, so that it can instruct them to behave in ways that transmit the mental virus to others. The ability for parasites to modify the behavior of hosts in ways that increase their own "fitness" (i.e., their ability to survive and reproduce) while hurting the fitness of the host, is known as "parasitic manipulation."

One particularly intriguing example of parasitic manipulation occurs when a hairworm infects a grasshopper and seizes its brain in order to survive and self-replicate. This parasite influences its behavior by inserting specific proteins into its brain. Essentially, infected grasshoppers become slaves for parasitic, self-copying machinery.

In much the same way, Christian fundamentalism is a parasitic ideology that inserts itself into brains, commanding individuals to act and think in a certain way-a rigid way that is intolerant to competing ideas. We know that religious fundamentalism is strongly correlated with what psychologists and neuroscientists call " magical thinking," which refers to making connections between actions and events when no such connections exist in reality. Without magical thinking, the religion can't survive, nor can it replicate itself. Another cognitive impairment we see in those with extreme religious views is a greater reliance on intuitive rather than reflective or analytic thought, which frequently leads to incorrect assumptions since intuition is often deceiving or overly simplistic.

We also know that in the United States, Christian fundamentalism is linked to science denial. Since science is nothing more than a method of determining truth using empirical measurement and hypothesis testing, denial of science equates to the denial of objective truth and tangible evidence. In other words, the denial of reality. Not only does fundamentalism promote delusional thinking, it also discourages followers from exposing themselves to any different ideas, which acts to protect the delusions that are essential to the ideology.

If we want to inoculate society against the harms of fundamentalist ideologies, we must start thinking differently about how they function in the brain. An ideology with a tendency to harm its host in an effort to self-replicate gives it all the properties of a parasitic virus, and defending against such a belief system requires understanding it as one. When a fundamentalist ideology inhabits a host brain, the organism's mind is no longer fully in control. The ideology is controlling its behavior and reasoning processes to propagate itself and sustain its survival. This analogy should inform how we approach efforts that attempt to reverse brainwashing and restore cognitive function in areas like analytic reasoning and problem-solving.

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How Religious Fundamentalism Hijacks the Brain

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In moderation, religious and spiritual practices can be great for a person's life and mental well-being. But religious fundamentalism-which refers to the belief in the absolute authority of a religious text or leaders-is almost never good for an individual. This is primarily because fundamentalism discourages any logical reasoning or scientific evidence that challenges its scripture, making it inherently maladaptive.

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Definition
When an emotional connection blurs the line between fact and fiction. Sometimes when we feel strongly for something, we will look for confirmation of that belief to help ease or enforce an emotional attachment to the subject.
Connection
This is a link to the show Long Island Medium. The show is based on Teresa Caputo, who claims to speak to the dead. She makes a living by charging people to speak to their loved ones  who have passed.  The belief in the ability to speak to the dead is on the pseudoscience watchlist as "often appeals to emotion" and with  situations like these it's usually grief. In this case the child is vulnerable to Teresa's claims because her emotion is trumping her rational thought, also described on the pseudoscience watchlist. There is also an element of confirmation bias. She might make  lots of claims but the person she is working with will only remember things that she got right because it coincides with the belief of the afterlife and eases the feeling of loss. In this video, Teresa immediately starts the reading, with general statements so that she immediately has the girl believing her.

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In 15 Years This Has Never Happened | Long Island Medium

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I chose to evaluate the interview with disgraced physician Andrew Wakefield and his colleague and producer of the anti-vaxx movie, Polly Tommey.

Problem:
The MMR vaccine causes autism.

Gather information:
This interview appears on FOX News, a known network that regularly pushes right wing propaganda and is not concerned with reporting facts. One of the interviewees, Andrew Wakefield is a disgraced physician who published a previous report that basically created the anti-vaxx movement. In this segment, the interviewer does not state that Andrew's previous work has been widely discredited. Also, the other person being interview is a mother who has no medical background and who has a son who has autism.

Evaluate the Evidence:
Andrew Wakefield has been widely discredited and his original study could not be replicated. There has been many different studys which are peer reviewed that have proven that there is no link between autism and the MMR  vaccine. The mother, Polly, also emphatically states that she "knows"  her son got autism from the MMR  vaccine but she also does not have and medical background to be able to make assumptions like that.

Recognize Assumptions, Emotions and Biases
In this video, Polly is a mother that has a son with autism. She is obviously still affected by her son having autism and has made a correlation between the vaccine and her sons diagnosis. Also Andrew has invested interest in the anti-vaccine movement. He has been widely disgraced and has been looking for a way to push his agenda again and retain some credibility.

Synthesize Evidence, Identify Alternatives
Alternative 1-MMR Vaccines cause autism, proven by Polly's personal experience, Andrew Wakefield's distorted science.
Alternative 2- There is no link between vaccines and autism as proven by science that has been both peer reviewed and follows the scientific process.

Select Best Alternative
I have concluded that the anti-vaccine movement is not based in fact and vaccines do not cause autism.

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Doctor behind film that links autism to vaccines speaks out