ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some tools that can help in evaluating the new reports and claims. It describes what some scientists have done to try to clarify an often confused situation. While scientists, their commentators, and critics may have their various concepts of science, the much larger number of unengaged nonscientists will rarely have given the issue of demarcation any thought. To make progress, science needs facts that can be synthesized into theories. The confusion between science and pseudoscience, between honest scientific error and genuine scientific discovery, is not new, and it is a permanent feature of the scientific landscape. Testimonials are the stock in trade of the pseudoscientists, from the AD-X2 case through the fake cancer cures to a range of paranormal phenomena. Testimonials of this sort carry no weight in a scientific disagreement, but they can seem impressive to a public that often mistrusts experts, empathizes with other nonexperts, and has a deeply felt longing for medical miracles.
