Pathological science

Pathological science is a term created by the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Irving Langmuir during a colloquium at the Knolls Research Laboratory, December 18, 1953. Langmuir used the term to describe ideas that would simply not "go away", long after they were given up on as wrong by the majority of scientists in the field. The term is semantically loaded, and has often been taken as a personal insult implying utter foolishness in the target. It involves self-deception amongst a larger number of participants and as such, is fundamentally different from conscious scientific fraud.

Related Topics:
Nobel Prize - Chemist - Irving Langmuir - Knolls Research Laboratory - December 18 - 1953 - Semantically loaded - Foolishness - Fraud

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Critics of the concept argue that it fails to offer criteria that distinguish lasting discoveries (and other scientific studies) from mere fads and fallacies and that it could be applied to many revolutionary discoveries of the past. Critics also urge others to abandon the phrase.

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