The war on woo

Two recent posts that should be of interest to FSI members – on astrology, and on PowerBalance (both via Synapses). In both of these cases, the actual “product” often does little harm (although in the case of astrology, it certainly can do so). However, material harms (whether physical or financial) are perhaps not the only sort of relevant harm. These examples of pseudoscience and quackery contribute to a climate of unreason, and thereby may make us more susceptible to believing in more dangerous forms of woo.