[WikiEN-l] SPOV threatens NPOV

Fri Dec 16 20:24:15 UTC 2005

Ray Saintonge wrote:

> Here we are not concerned with any particular subject by itself, but a
> wide range of subjects with varying degrees of support or hostility,
> including mutual hostility.  "Alternative science" may appear
> sympathetic to the proponents, but not outrageously so.

I think it's too sympathetic to pass NPOV muster when it simply isn't.

> Sorry, but I'm not at all sympathetic to intelligent design.  There are
> other subjects in this category that I find more interesting, but I'm
> willing to allow it to be called "alternate science" in order to be able
> to have meningful discussions.

I'm not. It's an example of the pseudo- in "pseudoscience": wearing some
of the clothes of "science" to pretend to respectability it doesn't warrant.

> If we interpret "science" strictly that's true.  Nevertheless, others
> use the word "science" to refer to any kind of disciplined approach to a
> subject, as in the science of Texas Hold'em.

Pseudoscience is stuff pretending to be [[science]], properly speaking -
not stuff claiming to be other plausible meanings of the word "science."

- d.