The web is chock-full of various disinformation, including pseudoscientific disinformation that masquerades as being scientific. It also contains arrant nonsense, primarily about New Age beliefs that I term New Age mumbo jumbo.
What is New Age mumbo jumbo?
In addition, to pseudoscientific disinformation, there is disinformation on the web and elsewhere that relates to what might be called New Age ideas or practices.
New Age beliefs are an eclectic group of ideas that include reincarnation, holism, pantheism, auras, energy fields, and alternative medicine.
While not all New Age ideas are false, lack supporting scientific evidence, or make non-scientific claims, many such beliefs make no sense.
Despite Katie Burke’s thoughts in the article Stop Using the Word Pseudoscience about not creating an adversarial environment, I call this material New Age mumbo-jumbo.
Mumbo-jumbo is confusing or meaningless language.
New Age mumbo-jumbo is confusing or meaningless language about New Age beliefs.
Others call it New Age Bullshit. This New Age Bullshit Generator created by Seb Pearce generates some humorous examples of this kind of material.
Resources
- Article: How to Spot Pseudoscience by Brian Dunning
- Article: Stop Using the Word Pseudoscience by Katie L. Burke
Detailed Resources
- The Guardian: The collapse of the information ecosystem poses profound risks for humanity by Lydia Polgreen (2019)
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