debunk

A Debunker is an individual who strongly believes that certain claims are false, exaggerated, unscientific or pretentious and therefore discredits and exposes them.^[1] Topics that many debunkers focus on include U.F.O.s, claimed paranormal phenomena, alternative medicine, research outside mainstream science or pseudoscientific subjects. The term debunker is applied when a person functions as an activist and performs research, writes articles, holds speeches, conducts seminars, or engages in other activities with the specific intent of disproving what the debunker believes to be a dubious, bizarre, or abnormal claim, and hopefully conclusively disproves the validity of the event and/or object.

As a slang term, debunking is the act of disproving a proposal or theory, generally in an academic or scientific sense.

Etymology

The term debunk originated in 1923, when American novelist William Woodward (1874-1950) used it to mean to "take the bunk out of things." Often the term "debunkery" is not limited to arguments about scientific validity. It can also be used in a more general sense at attempts to discredit any opposing point of view, such as that of a political opponent. "Debunkify", a variant of debunk has also recently been introduced into the lexicon. The word is a marketing/advertising term coined by the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, and is associated with debunking the myths associated with tobacco use.^[2]

Criticism

Many debunkers are rather controversial because they have strong opinions and can be vocal about things such as religion and pseudoscience, which may offend people. Some, such as Marcello Truzzi (who self-identified as a skeptic), maintain that some debunkers are excessively and dishonestly skeptical, and thus not true skeptics but "pseudoskeptics". According to Truzzi, genuine skeptics are neutral or agnostic, often critical of new claims, but not vehemently opposed to them. They want better evidence. In contrast, pseudoskeptics are simply deniers with an agenda and often use unscientific arguments to debunk what they oppose. According to Truzzi, true skepticism would recognize the need for better evidence, but not actively oppose, ridicule, or discourage further investigation into any subject by serious and qualified researchers.^[3][4]

Well-known debunkers

• Stephen Barrett specializes in debunking quackery, health fraud, and alternative medicine.
• Robert Carroll, author of The Skeptic's Dictionary
• Fang Zhouzi, nom de plume of Fang Shimin, a Chinese scholar living in the U.S., a Ph.D. in biochemistry, freelance writer, exposes misconduct mostly in Chinese academia, news, and businesses. Owner of the Chinese website New Threads which aids his debunking activities in addition to publishing original literary works. He was reported in the column News Focus of the prestigious journal, Science, on August 10, 2001.^[5]
• Harry Houdini, one of the most famous magicians, escapologists, and stunt performers of all time, was also an active debunker of charlatans and spiritualism.
• Philip J. Klass was a debunker of UFOs.
• Abraham Kovoor was a Sri Lankan professor known for attempting to debunk the prominent Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba.
• Penn and Teller, a two-man magic and comedy team, who have become associated with skepticism. In particular, see their debunking show Bullshit!.
• Philip Plait, also known as The Bad Astronomer, is a debunker of various theories related to space and astronomy. Most of these (and clearing up of other astronomy-related misconceptions) are accessible at his website.[1]
• Basava Premanand is a rationalist and full time Indian skeptic from Tamil Nadu, publisher of the magazine the Indian Skeptic.
• James Randi is a skeptic and opponent of pseudoscience. He founded the James Randi Educational Foundation.
• Robert B. Stein, who debunks faked photographs of UFOs and cryptozoological creatures
• Carl Sagan
• L. Sprague de Camp, debunked speculative history and pseudoscience

Organizations

• Committee for Skeptical Inquiry a debunking organization
• The Skeptics Society
• The MythBusters, who have a show on the Discovery Channel. Two experts in the field of special effects, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, use modern technology to try to debunk urban legends.
• The National Institute for Standards and Technology debunked the Controlled demolition hypothesis for the collapse of the World Trade Center.
• The Debunking Society was founded in 1998 by Daniel Soldner and Isabella Mowinski. Who were displeased at the overabundance of conspiracy theories so set up the small volunteer society to discredit as many as possible.

Quotes

• Remember: a thing cannot be "debunked" unless it is filled with bunk to begin with! ^[6]

• To debunk is to unmask, to put straight, to clarify, to remove false opinions, to correct, to free from illusion. [#wp-endnote_Gordon1988_ (Gordon 1988:35)].

See also

• Pseudoskepticism
• Scientific skepticism

Notes

References

•   Henry Gordon (1988). ExtraSensory Deception: ESP, Psychics, Shirly McClaine, Ghosts, UFOs, .... Macmillian. ISBN 0-7715-9539-5. 

External articles

• Checklist for identifying dubious technical processes and products - Rainer Bunge, PhD

• Debunking the debunkers, Ben Pile in Spiked online magazine, 13 October 2006

• Online Etymology Dictionary.

• Debunking Pseudo-Skeptical Arguments Against Paranormal and Psychic Phenomena - Arguments against skepticism by Winston Wu

• A Debunker website

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