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Pseudoscience Red Flags and Reasons to Believe

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Pseudoscience Red Flags and Reasons to Believe

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Brooklyn Van Renselaar

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Ancient wisdom:                           Is the idea that if something is Ancient that it must be believable because it has been around for thousands of years.

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Ancient wisdom:                           Is the idea that if something is Ancient that it must be believable because it has been around for thousands of years.

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Connection: In this article it gives 7 good examples of ancient wisdom, like how Mercury was used as a common elixir and topical medicine when modern science has proved it to be very poisonous.

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Doctors are supposed to operate under the maxim "do no harm," but history shows this has sometimes been easier said than done. While the ancients were surprisingly sophisticated in their knowledge of injury, sickness and disease, they often resorted to some downright bloodcurdling methods in their misguided attempts to heal their patients. Get the facts on seven unconventional treatments prescribed by the physicians of old.

For thousands of years, medical practitioners clung to the belief that sickness was merely the result of a little "bad blood." Bloodletting probably began with the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians, but it didn't become common practice until the time of classical Greece and Rome. Influential physicians like Hippocrates and Galen maintained that the human body was filled with four basic substances, or "humors"-yellow bile, black bile, phlegm and blood-and these needed to be kept in balance to maintain proper health. With this in mind, patients with a fever or other ailment were often diagnosed with an overabundance of blood. To restore bodily harmony, their doctor would simply cut open a vein and drain some of their vital fluids into a receptacle. In some cases, leeches were even used to suck the blood directly from the skin.

While it could easily result in accidental death from blood loss, phlebotomy endured as a common medical practice well into the 19th century. Medieval doctors prescribed blood draining as a treatment for everything from a sore throat to the plague, and some barbers listed it as a service along with haircuts and shaves. The practice finally fell out of vogue after new research showed that it might be doing more harm than good, but leeching and controlled bloodletting are still used today as treatments for certain rare illnesses.

Humanity's oldest form of surgery is also one of its most gruesome. As far back as 7,000 years ago, civilizations around the world engaged in trepanation-the practice of boring holes in the skull as a means of curing illnesses. Researchers can only speculate on how or why this grisly form of brain surgery first developed. A common theory holds that it may have been some form of tribal ritual or even a method for releasing evil spirits believed to possess the sick and mentally ill. Still others argue that it was a more conventional surgery used to treat epilepsy, headaches, abscesses and blood clots. Trepanned skulls found in Peru hint that it was also a common emergency treatment for cleaning out bone fragments left behind by skull fractures, and evidence shows that many of the patients survived the surgery.

Mercury is notorious for its toxic properties, but it was once used as a common elixir and topical medicine. The ancient Persians and Greeks considered it a useful ointment, and second-century Chinese alchemists prized liquid mercury, or "quicksilver," and red mercury sulfide for their supposed ability to increase lifespan and vitality. Some healers even promised that by consuming noxious brews containing poisonous mercury, sulfur and arsenic, their patients would gain eternal life and the ability to walk on water. One of the most famous casualties of this diet was the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who supposedly died after ingesting mercury pills designed to make him immortal.

From the Renaissance until the early 20th century, Mercury was also used as a popular medicine for sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis. While some accounts claimed the heavy metal treatment was successful in fighting off the infection, patients often died from liver and kidney damage caused by mercury poisoning.

The ancient Egyptians had a remarkably well-organized medical system, complete with doctors who specialized in healing specific ailments. Nevertheless, the cures they prescribed weren't always up to snuff. Lizard blood, dead mice, mud and moldy bread were all used as topical ointments and dressings, and women were sometimes dosed with horse saliva as a cure for an impaired libido.

Most disgusting of all, Egyptian physicians used human and animal excrement as a cure-all remedy for diseases and injuries. According to 1500 B.C.'s Ebers Papyrus, donkey, dog, gazelle and fly dung were all celebrated for their healing properties and their ability to ward off bad spirits. While these repugnant remedies may have occasionally led to tetanus and other infections, they probably weren't entirely ineffective-research shows the microflora found in some types of animal dung contain antibiotic substances.

Suffering from persistent headaches, muscle cramps or stomach ulcers? Once upon a time, your local physician may have prescribed an elixir containing human flesh, blood or bone. So-called "corpse medicine" was a disturbingly common practice for hundreds of years. The Romans believed that the blood of fallen gladiators could cure epilepsy, and 12th century apothecaries were known for keeping a stock of "mummy powder"-a macabre extract made from ground up mummies looted from Egypt. Meanwhile, in 17th century England, King Charles II was known for enjoying a draught of "King's Drops," a restorative brew made from crumbled human skull and alcohol.

These cannibalistic medicines were thought to have magical properties. By consuming the remains of a deceased person, the patient also ingested part of their spirit, leading to increased vitality and wellbeing. The type of cure prescribed usually corresponded to the type of ailment-skull was used for migraines, and human fat for muscle aches-but getting fresh stock could be a gruesome process. In some cases, the sickly would even attend executions in the hope of getting a cheap cup of the freshly killed person's blood.

Ancient Greek doctors believed that a woman's womb was a separate creature with a mind of its own. According to the writings of Plato and Hippocrates, when a woman was celibate for an extended time, her uterus-described as a "living animal" eager to bear children-could dislodge and glide freely about her body causing suffocation, seizures and hysteria. This curious diagnosis endured in some form into the time of the Romans and Byzantines-well after doctors had learned that the womb was held in place by ligaments.

To prevent their wombs from going on walkabout, ancient women were counseled to marry young and bear as many children as possible. For a womb that had already broken free, doctors prescribed therapeutic baths, infusions and physical massages to try to force it back in position. They might even "fumigate" the patient's head with sulfur and pitch while simultaneously rubbing pleasant-smelling lotions between her thighs -the logic being that the womb would flee from the bad smells and move back into its rightful place.

For the ancient Babylonians, most illnesses were thought to be the result of demonic forces or punishment by the gods for past misdeeds. Doctors often had more in common with priests and exorcists than modern physicians, and their cures usually involved some component of magic. For example, if a patient ground their teeth, the healer might suspect that the ghost of a deceased family member was trying to contact them as they slept. According to ancient necromantic texts, the doctor would recommend sleeping by a human skull for a week as a way of exorcising the spirit. To ensure this disturbing treatment worked, the tooth-grinder was also instructed to kiss and lick the skull seven times each night.

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Doctors are supposed to operate under the maxim "do no harm," but history shows this has sometimes been easier said than done. While the ancients were surprisingly sophisticated in their knowledge of injury, sickness and disease, they often resorted to some downright bloodcurdling methods in their misguided attempts to heal their patients.

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Suppression by authorities:                                                                                  The belief that authoritative figures are withholding information in a way to deceive you. 

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Suppression by authorities:                                                                                  The belief that authoritative figures are withholding information in a way to deceive you. 

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Connection: This article talks about how the government is using fluoride in our water as a way to dumb us down and suppress us. This is a good example of suppression by authorities as it is a way the government is controlling us without our knowledge.

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On the World Wide Web, there are few black holes more enticing to fall down than the great fluoride conspiracy. Some would call it the ramblings of paranoid truth gurus who spend too much time maintaining their dreads and making YouTube videos about Atlantis. Others insist that it's the largest mass control experiment of our times.

Where does the truth lie in an argument taken up by both sides with near religious conviction? It's almost impossible to decipher. Perhaps it's somewhere between the two.

The idea, in a nutshell, is that governments put fluoride in our water supply in order to negatively affect huge populations, for their own financial gains. That fluoride is actually a strong tranquilliser in disguise. That the US want their citizens to be zombies. That Kellogg's, Nestle, Crest and other food companies-known as "The Fluoride Mafia"-are all in on it. That fluoride dumping is secretly wrapped up in Illuminati interests.

If you dig into why water fluoridation began, you find a convoluted, suspicious mess. According to the conspiracy theory, the name of the company with the biggest profit to be made from water fluoridation was ALCOA. The ALCOA Company had an unlimited supply of toxic waste-a byproduct of aluminium, AKA fluoride. At their lab, an ALCOA-sponsored biochemist did a test on rats that showed cavities were reduced with the fluoridated water and concluded that: "The case should be regarded as proved." In this historic moment in 1939, so the story goes, the first public proposal that the US should fluoridate its water supplies wasn't made by a doctor or a dentist, but an industry scientist working for a company that was also threatened by fluoride damage claims.

Another part of the theory is that, during the Second World War, industrial fluoride pollution increased because of the production and extensive use of ALCOA aluminium in aircraft manufacturing. It was after the Second World War that many governments began to put fluoride in our water supplies to protect people against cavities. Coincidence!?

Currently, about 372 million people (around 5.7 percent of the world's population) receive artificially fluoridated water in about 24 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, the US and the UK. Since the 1950s, there has been relentless debate over whether there's any real reason to do this. Early conspiracy theorists declared that it was a communist plot to weaken American public health. Many have argued from a moral and ethical view that the public haven't chosen to be consuming it and so it's against individual will. From an economic standpoint, public money is being used on something without definitive proof of benefits. Some dentists and medical professionals have even said fluoridation of water isn't the best way to reduce tooth decay.

The tangled conspiracy gets even darker with comments on Reddit threads such as " Hitler used fluoride first!!" and "They got this from the Nazis! Illuminati scum." The so-called "fact" that Hitler gave people in concentration camps fluoride water to keep them docile and unable to resist Nazi power is used often by the anti-fluoridation brigade. Many say this treatment was then repeated in Russian gulags.

Ian E Stephens, a writer for the Australian "alternative news" magazine (which covers "health breakthroughs, future science and technology, suppressed news, free energy, religious revisionism, conspiracy, the environment, history and ancient mysteries, the mind, UFOs, paranormal and the unexplained") claims he was told by chemist and researcher Charles E Perkins, who wrote the book The Truth About Water Fluoridation, that the Nazis envisioned a far-reaching plan of mass control and reduced population by using a medication in water that could cause sterility in women.

"Repeated doses of infinitesimal amounts of fluoride will in time reduce an individual's power to resist domination, by slowly poisoning and narcotising a certain area of the brain, thus making him submissive to the will of those who wish to govern him," Perkins wrote. He goes on to say: "I say this with all the earnestness and sincerity of a scientist who has spent nearly 20 years' research into the chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and pathology of fluorine-any person who drinks artificially fluorinated water for a period of one year or more will never again be the same person mentally or physically." There is no trace of a credible living source on Nazi history coming out in support of this theory.

To many in the new age community, this doesn't matter. They believe fluoride is instrumental in mind control because, they insist, it blocks the "third eye". Mystics and spiritual masters have concluded that the pineal gland, situated in the centre of the brain, is a connection between the body and the soul. They say: wake up, sheeple, the government-slash-Illuminati-slash-powers-that-be want us to stay on this spiritual plane. It's not in their best interests that we are conscious. If people get conscious, they'll stop turning up to their horrible jobs, eating meat and wasting food, and they'll live in collectives and spoil their ballot papers.

This might sound ridiculous to some, but it has a degree of basis in science. In the 1990s, a British scientist, Jennifer Luke, discovered that by old age, the pineal gland contains about the same amount of fluoride as teeth, and we now know that calcification of the pineal gland gets worse with age and can occur in children as young as two. This gland is in the brain-it maintains the body's sleep-wake cycle, regulates the onset of puberty in females and helps protect the body from cell damage. A huge review on fluoride toxicity published by the National Research Council in 2006 reported a range of negative side effects from fluoride, including "decreased melatonin production" and "other effects on normal pineal function, which in turn could contribute to a variety of effects in humans".

Go on YouTube and you'll find plenty of people sharing "knowledge" of the spiritual dangers of fluoride and how to reverse the effects of a "calcified" pineal gland (many say you can't; it's too late). They say stop drinking tap water. Stop using regular toothpaste and find a fluoride-free one. Get a shower filter to cut the fluoride from your shower. Cut out meat because you can be sure as heck they've been guzzling the fluoride water, too. Tell your dentist you don't want fluoride-based products used. And after all that, detox.

However, there are more serious scientific objections to fluoride, and many are far removed from the assertions of David Icke disciples. Numerous studies researched by Harvard and China Medical University in Shanghai have shown that fluoride may be linked to reduced IQ in children, and even suggest that it could be toxic to a developing brain. Fluoride at high levels has been shown to destroy the male reproductive system in rabbits. Fluoride lowers the thyroid function. One study linked it to bone cancer in boys. A 2007 Nuffield Council on Bioethics report reached a conclusion that the benefit-to-risk ratio on water fluoridation is unclear due to lack of good evidence, that alternatives to water fluoridation exist and that the role of consent gets priority when there are potential harms.

Professors doing this research have been met with numerous attempts to discredit them. Stephen Peckham-director of the Centre for Health Services at the University of Kent, and professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of Toronto-has had his research of water fluoridation rejected from dental health journals. He's spoken out about being accused of "statistics-hacking" and for research that made the link between fluoride and hypothyroidism. Catherine Carstairs, a professor who wrote about the history of water fluoridation, was attacked and the Journal of Public Heath had to defend itself for publishing "strong... research even when [it does] not fit well with our preconceived ideas".

Why are efforts to uncover the effects of fluoride so vilified, and why is the atmosphere so toxic?

In fact, there has been a sea change in attitudes towards water fluoridation. About 10 years ago, York University found that tooth decay in children across Europe had fallen, regardless of whether or not there was fluoride in the water. The countries showing the biggest decrease-Sweden, Netherlands, Finland and Denmark-don't fluoridate their supplies.

Increasingly, water fluoridation is being rejected in local British areas. In 2014, Bolton refused to add fluoride to their water supply, with David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, likening it to "mass medication." That same year, Public Health England had to drop plans to fluoridate water in Southampton and parts of Hampshire because of fierce opposition from Southampton City Council. But still, Public Health England encourages fluoridation and the NHS website states that fluoride provides no significant health risk. Millions around the country still drink fluoridated water.

But what do the water companies think? I called United Utilities, who said that most water companies have to have a "neutral position" on fluoridation. "The water company is just obliged to fluoridate where asked," a spokesperson said. "We're just a contractor." But have they heard the conspiracies? I asked a Severn Trent Water spokesperson, who laughed and said: "Oooh yes, don't worry, we've heard all sides of the story very loudly, but to be honest we try and stay out of it. We don't want to get involved because then it makes it much too complicated." Complicated indeed.

In countries like Brazil, China and, unsurprisingly, the US, fluoridation still has a stronghold. Significantly, 194 million Americans are supplied with this water, including those who live in 43 of its 47 largest cities. It's there that the "truth" is being spread with most fervour.

Despite various claims by "truth gurus" being torn down-it's unlikely that Margaret Thatcher pumped fluoride into Northern Ireland to control the rebels or that pharmaceutical companies are pumping us full of fluoride via Prozac-the conspiracy rages ahead, while science slowly erodes fluoride's reputation. Will this be the next formaldehyde? The next lead? Don't forget that dentists and doctors once promoted cigarettes. Should we listen to YouTubers? What if this became the greatest public health conspiracy of our time-of all times?
Follow Hannah on Twitter.

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A Deep Dive Into the Conspiracy Theory That Governments Are Controlling Us with Fluoride

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On the World Wide Web, there are few black holes more enticing to fall down than the great fluoride conspiracy. Some would call it the ramblings of paranoid truth gurus who spend too much time maintaining their dreads and making YouTube videos about Atlantis. Others insist that it's the largest mass control experiment of our times.

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Appeal to authority:                                                     The use of an authoritative figure to create a creaditabitly or appeal to a belief or product. (Celebrity Endorsement)

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Appeal to authority:                                                     The use of an authoritative figure to create a creaditabitly or appeal to a belief or product. (Celebrity Endorsement)

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Connection: Skechers using Kim Kardashian face to sell runners is a perfect example of Appeal to Authority because she has a huge fan base that will be influenced by her endorsing the product.

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Mystical energy:            Something to have magical properties and energy that are not from this realm. 

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Mystical energy:            Something to have magical properties and energy that are not from this realm. 

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Connection: I chose this video to represent mystical energy because these women are learning how to use crystals with healing energy to cope with pain.

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Women Try Crystal Healing For Chronic Pain

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I'll try anything once... Boldly BuzzFeedYellow has changed its name to Boldly. It's the same content you know and love just Bolder. Subscribe for daily videos about beauty, fashion, body positivity, and to join a community of incredible women working to empower and inspire each other.

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Confusion of correlation with causation:                                When something happens and you are certain of its cause but in reality you could have just been connecting the wrong dots and confused by a coincidence of timing.

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Confusion of correlation with causation:                                When something happens and you are certain of its cause but in reality you could have just been connecting the wrong dots and confused by a coincidence of timing.

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Connection: This image represents Confusion of correlation with causation. It is pointing out a connection between the death of 500,000 people but really the connection of them all being exposed to tap water has nothing to do with the reasoning of the deaths.

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Perception/Observation: Sometimes how we perceive and remember things they are not 100% accurate, sometimes our mind and eyes play tricks on us.

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Perception/Observation: Sometimes how we perceive and remember things they are not 100% accurate, sometimes our mind and eyes play tricks on us.

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Connection: In this video it shows and explains how our eyes play tricks on us and perception is relative to the individual.

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Emotional Connection:              When people are emotional they are more vulnerable to be manipulated.

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Emotional Connection:              When people are emotional they are more vulnerable to be manipulated.

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Connection: This article is a good example of emotional connection because the psychic used the women's vulnerability and scammed her out of thousands of dollars.

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MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY - A Midtown Manhattan-based psychic is facing criminal charges for scamming a mother out of more than $85,000, officials and private investigators said.

Sharon Adams, 26, conned a Queens woman into believing that her former in-laws had placed a "black magic" curse on her after her divorce, private investigator Bob Nygaard said.

Adams convinced the woman to pay her $86,901.79 during the nine-month period between Jan. 30 and Sept. 30, according a statement given by the victim, who wished to remain anonymous.

The psychic turned herself into police Thursday and was charged with grand larceny in the second and fourth degree, according to a criminal complaint from the Manhattan district attorney's office.

The woman reached out to Adams, who was calling herself "Psychic Faith," after researching psychics on the internet. The woman - in a vulnerable emotional state due to the stressful divorce, litigation and a recent health scare - was roped into believing that Adams could help solve her problems.

"I was hurt, confused, and desperately seeking answers in regard to why all these negative events were occurring in my life," the victim said in a statement. "I was curious as to what I had done to deserve these hardships and determined not to let such hardships happen to anyone else who I was close with again."

During a tarot card reading in a Midtown Manhattan apartment, Adams told the woman that she and her daughter were destined to have a bright future, but that future was being prevented by "black magic" performed by her in-laws. Adams then convinced the woman to give her money in order to perform various rituals that would deflect the negative energy, according to private investigator Bob Nygaard. As time went on, the psychic required more money and kept pushing back the date of the rituals, the investigator said.

The woman said she was promised reimbursement for the rituals, but when the money was never returned after nine months, she reached out to the private investigator. Nygaard handed his investigation over to the NYPD, who were fully cooperative, the investigator said.

Adams' lawyer contacted the NYPD and arranged for her to turn herself in to police on Thursday morning, Nygaard said. Adams was released on her own recognizance after a court appearance Thursday and will appear in court again on March 27, a spokesman for the District Attorney's office said.
Photo courtesy Bob Nygaard

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Midtown Psychic Scams 'Vulnerable' Mom Out Of $86K, DA Says

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MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY - A Midtown Manhattan-based psychic is facing criminal charges for scamming a mother out of more than $85,000, officials and private investigators said. Sharon Adams, 26, conned a Queens woman into believing that her former in-laws had placed a "black magic" curse on her after her divorce, private investigator Bob Nygaard said.

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Patternicity:                             Finding patterns in objects like images and faces

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Patternicity:                             Finding patterns in objects like images and faces

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Connection: I believe that this image represents patternicity because it looks like the trees are forming a face.