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Pathological science is an area of research where "people are tricked into false results ... by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions."〔Irving Langmuir, "Colloquium on Pathological Science", held at the Knolls Research Laboratory, December 18, 1953. A recording of the actual talk was made, but apparently lost, though a recorded transcript was produced by Langmuir a few months later. A (transcript is available ) on the Web site of Kenneth Steiglitz, Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University. But see also: I. Langmuir, "Pathological Science", General Electric, (Distribution Unit, Bldg. 5, Room 345, Research and Development Center, P. O. Box 8, Schenectady, NY 12301), 68-C-035 (1968); I. Langmuir, "(Pathological Science )", (1989) ''Physics Today'', Volume 42, Issue 10, October 1989, pp.36–48〕〔"Threshold interaction" refers to a phenomenon in statistical analysis where unforeseen relationships between input variables may cause unanticipated results. For example, see (Dusseldorp, Voorjaarsbijeenkomst 2005 )〕 The term was first〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Langmuir's talk on Pathological Science )〕 used by Irving Langmuir, Nobel Prize-winning chemist, during a 1953 colloquium at the Knolls Research Laboratory. Langmuir said a pathological science is an area of research that simply will not "go away"—long after it was given up on as "false" by the majority of scientists in the field. He called pathological science "the science of things that aren't so". 〔Langmuir's contribution followed the first edition (1952) of Martin Gardner's book ''Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science'' (Dover, 1957.) Gardner cited especially the "magnificent collection of crank literature" in the New York Public Library.〕 Bart Simon lists it among practices pretending to be science: "categories ... such as ... pseudoscience, amateur science, deviant or fraudulent science, bad science, junk science, and popular science ... pathological science, cargo-cult science, and voodoo science".〔Bart Simon, "Undead Science: Science Studies and the Afterlife of Cold Fusion" (2002) ISBN 0-8135-3154-3. Simon refers to: Thomas F. Gieryn, "Cultural Boundaries of Science : Credibility on the Line" (1999) University Of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-29262-2〕 Examples of pathological science may include Martian canals, N-rays, polywater, and cold fusion. The theories and conclusions behind all of these examples are currently rejected or disregarded by the majority of scientists. ==Definition== Pathological science, as defined by Langmuir, is a psychological process in which a scientist, originally conforming to the scientific method, unconsciously veers from that method, and begins a pathological process of wishful data interpretation (see the observer-expectancy effect and cognitive bias). Some characteristics of pathological science are: * The maximum effect that is observed is produced by a causative agent of barely detectable intensity, and the magnitude of the effect is substantially independent of the intensity of the cause. * The effect is of a magnitude that remains close to the limit of detectability, or many measurements are necessary because of the very low statistical significance of the results. * There are claims of great accuracy. * Fantastic theories contrary to experience are suggested. * Criticisms are met by ad hoc excuses. * The ratio of supporters to critics rises and then falls gradually to oblivion. Langmuir never intended the term to be rigorously defined; it was simply the title of his talk on some examples of "weird science". As with any attempt to define the scientific endeavor, examples and counterexamples can always be found. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「pathological science」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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