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Ghost Hunting to Crystal Healing: Clinical Psychology Behind The 3 Wackiest Pseudoscience Claims Even phonetically, pseudoscience kind of sounds like a load of crap. It’s a theory or belief which, while being presented as scientific, really doesn’t have much scientific backing — it may lack reliable testing, proper use of the scientific method, or cold hard evidence. Even so, there are some pseudoscience claims which seem to be much more plausible than others. After all, not every truth in this universe is yet supported by ‘facts’ since we don’t completely understand the world around us and the way it works. For the rest of those claims, perhaps clinical psychology can help us understand why people choose to go on blindly believing in weird, wacky theories which have little to no credibility.

Flat Earth Society Founded in 1956, The Flat Earth Society believes that the earth is, well, flat. This society seeks to disprove that the earth is a spheroid. Ever since it’s become widely accepted that the earth is round, some dissenting individuals have existed, trying to prove the rest of the world wrong. There’s no mystery that clinical psychology can decipher for those disagreeable scientists of the 1800s; there simply wasn’t enough information to solidly prove either party right, and the flat earthers just didn’t agree with new theories of a round earth. Today, however, the Flat Earth Society continues to pursue their theory… kind of. The founder died in 2001, leaving the group dormant until a new adamant believer took over in 2004. So why does the flat earth society choose to believe something which has been repeatedly disproven beyond a doubt?

Why Flat Earth? Clinical psychology notes that some people give meaning to their own lives by taking on some sort of martyred plight — to be participating in a ‘fringe’ (vigilantes-of-science) group which fights against the rest of the world, somewhat like superheroes, to spread the truth even in the face of criticism and mockery. It all sounds very nice, but the earth is not flat.

Ghost Hunting It’s true: science hasn’t proven or disproven the existence of ghosts. Whether you believe in them or not, the mystery of their existence is the only fact surrounding ghosts. Recently, multiple crappy television shows on ghost hunting have materialized on popular cable television, but the practice of ghost hunting has been going on for decades now. The pseudoscience of ghost hunting involves ‘investigators’ who use a number of unconventional tools and devices to try and detect ghosts. They include meters which detect a spots of differing temperatures, night vision goggles, audio recorders, and electromagnetic field monitors. None of these things have been scientifically proven to detect ghosts, and everyone is familiar with the dusty white blobs (of dust, not ghosts) which can easily appear on film.

Why Ghost Hunting? It’s no secret in clinical psychology that many people begin believing in ghosts only after a loved one has died. There’s no mystery here. People like to believe that their loved ones have ‘passed on’ to another place where they can still interact with the living they left behind, even indirectly. This can make us feel comforted when missing a loved one. Clinical psychology also examines the people who are simply ghost hunting for fame, fortune, or pure curiosity. In today’s desensitized world of violent video games, television and movies, some people are just looking for a thrill. Others want to capitalize on many people’s willingness to shell out cash in desperate hopes of getting even a flicker of a sign from their lost loved one.

Crystal Healing For hundreds of years, people have believed in an alternative medicine involving naturally formed crystals, such as quartz and jade. Crystal healing proposes that different types of crystals have different healing properties, and act differently according to where they are placed on/around the body, other nearby crystals interacting with one another, and movements with the crystals. While it’s widely accepted in clinical psychology and other sciences that merely strongly believing in the healing powers of any one thing can have a profound positive effect on that person’s mind and well being (placebo effect), the scientific support on crystal healing is little to none.

Why Crystal Healing? Crystal healing is an ancient practice, and people like to feel like they’re upholding ancient traditions. Ancient traditions are also a great influence because many people believe that ancient societies had deep knowledge which has somehow just passed today’s society right by. Clinical psychology Clinical psychology also accepts the simple idea that crystals are pretty, and people like things associated with mystery and magic because the unexplained is simply cooler than the cold hard facts. This idea basically sums up most pseudoscience claims.