Sure, there is conflict between some religious views and science. That has been going on for ages, and I'm not going to tackle it here.

... Much as it offends me that there is now a book available at the Grand Canyon National Park bookstores explaining how the Canyon was formed a few thousand years ago by the wrath of God ( www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26...26cany.html ).

... Okay, other than that I'm not going to tackle it here.

I stood in the checkout line at a sporting goods store this evening and noticed one of the impulse buy kiosks was 'Titanium tape'. Not just one item but a whole rack of 'em. Here's the product explanation, courtesy of the Sports Authority website:
> Bioelectric current tends to be disturbed due to stress or fatigue caused by modern life.
> Realign that vital current with Phiten® Titanium Tape that's coated with carbonized titanium.
> It helps relax muscles and revitalize the body. Apply it wherever you feel pain for immediate relief.

Then I got home, turned on the TV, and the History Channel was featuring the following:
> Earth's Black Hole: Investigators search for possible similarities between the Bermuda
> Triangle and the destructive force of a cosmic black hole.

The History Channel loves this sort of crap -- bounce around a pseudoscientific idea while adding in some interesting info and staying vague enough to fill an hour and end on a "...or is it?" note. They have a whole series (MonsterQuest) about going to areas in the world to search for famous mythical creatures and then deliberately doing it badly enough to end up not ruling anything out.


The downfall of quality science need not be zealots. It may be the general superstitious nature of the masses, or the conviction by commercial interests that science just isn't sexy enough to hold people's attention.

So, what's your favorite example of Bad Science?