Frameworx

TM Forum Members Only
TM Forum Members Only
The full version of this page is only available to members of the TM Forum. Learn more about becoming a member.

In order to access a TM Forum Member only area of the website you must be a registered user and work for a TM Forum Member Company. If this applies to you please login above.

Not a Registered User? Register Now
Registration is free, quick and simple, and will give you access to a large library of TM Forum member content, industry documents, exclusive articles, commentaries, plus our web discussions and event features.

If you experience any problems logging in, please contact us.


RSS


Group Administrators
Group Experts
Highest ranked members of this group.
41018
Stephen Fratini
Telcordia Technologies
24112
Marc Flauw
Hewlett-Packard
19641
Nigel Davis
Ciena Corporation
18681
Dirk Rejahl
Mediaan/abs bv
18565
Johan Vandenberghe
Alcatel-Lucent
3090
Your Profile
TM Forum

Beyerstein's pseudo-science criteria

Share |

What are the characteristics of pseudo-science?  Here is Beyerstein's list of characteristics of pseudoscience as exposed in Patrick’s Lambe’s post on “Is KM a pseudoscience?“:

  1. Isolation – failure to connect with prior and parallel disciplines
  2. Non-falsifiability – no means to invalidate hypotheses
  3. Misuse of data – leveraging data out of context or beyond validity
  4. No self-correction, evolution of thought – often centred round a single ‘thought-leader’
  5. Special-pleading – the claim that this is a special-case that can’t be measured in any other terms
  6. Unfounded optimism – unrealistic expectations
  7. Impenetrability – an over-dependence on complicated ideology and obfuscation, or bluster in place of debate
  8. Magical-thinking – such as “the belief that good things will result from willpower alone”
  9. Ulterior motives – particularly ulterior motives of a commercial kind
  10. Lack of formal training – including certification schemes that link back to #4
  11. Bunker mentality – such as complaints about being ‘misunderstood’ by others, and often linked to #5 and #7
  12. Lack of replicability of results – especially replicability by others under controlled conditions

It sounds familiar though. I would dare apply the criteria to technology not only scientific work. Does this apply to what we do, frameworks, standards, best practices? Surely not.
Is this valid for what you do? I'll leave you think about it.The list is thought provoking and worth checking.

Adrian

Posted 03-19-2010 3:32 AM by Adrian Grigoriu
Filed under:

Comments

Leen Mak wrote re: Beyerstein's pseudo-science criteria
on 03-19-2010 10:56 AM

Adrian,

You wrote "Does this apply to what we do, frameworks, standards, best practices? Surely not."

Have you ever read the story about the phlogiston theory? By all criteria, this theory of combustion was not a pseudo-science. It was held in high esteem for more than 100 years. Yet, finally, it was shown to be false.

The story about phlogiston has taught me to keep always a few % doubt in the back of my mind - even if I "surely" believe that I am right. After all, I may be working on just the next phlogiston theory ...

Leen.

Adrian Grigoriu wrote re: Beyerstein's pseudo-science criteria
on 03-22-2010 6:40 AM

Leen,

You are right. Or if I keep a % of doubt on hold you are not quite right.

The phlogiston example looks so relevant... It had its positive enduring evolutionary  aspects.

But would then Beyerstein's criteria apply to any science theory or technology  to a degree?

Yours

Adrian

We welcome your feedback! To comment on this blog post please either Log-In or Register to the TM Forum Community

Paid Advertisement
About TM Forum
Introduction, History, Board, Management Team...
Membership
How to Join, Benefits, Member List...
Community
Community Home, Groups & Teams, Blogs...
Conferences
Event Calendar, Management World, Supported Events...
Training & Webcasts
Upcoming Training Courses, Upcoming Webinars, Podcasts, On-Demand Webcasts...
Initiatives
Cable, Enabling Cloud Services, Government and Defense...
Best Practices & Standards
Frameworx, Business Process Framework (eTOM), Information Framework (SID)...
Resources
Document Library, Case Studies, White Papers
Research & Publications
Business Benchmarking, Newsletters, Insights Research...
Copyright © 1988-2012, TeleManagement Forum. All Rights Reserved
Contact Us
Careers with TM Forum
News Room
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Sitemap