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Glite Dictionary
crank science

crank science

9.6
False or not proven ideas that claim to explain how the world works
  • noun
  • /kræŋk ˈsaɪəns/
  • Slang
translation icon : ciencia chatarra
  • The internet is filled with crank science that claims to disprove well-established scientific facts.

Examples

  • Note that this nonsense about "dimensions" comes straight from mainstream crank science.

    Blog text (31)

  • Mainstream crank science is ubiquitous and is held aloft by relentless lying and the cult of personality.

    Blog text (31)

  • Many people fall for crank science when they believe in conspiracy theories without evidence.

  • Avoiding crank science is important if you want to make decisions based on reliable information.

Synonyms

pseudoscience
vscrank science
11 8.0

Ideas or practices that pretend to be based on facts but have no good proof

is about ideas proven false or unproven due to faulty reasoning
junk science
vscrank science
  • Literature
7 7.4

False or weak claims presented as based on careful study to mislead people

is focused on ideas that are actually false or based on flawed reasoning
crankery
vscrank science
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Strange, unscientific ideas and behaviour that ignore facts

focuses on ideas that claim scientific truth but are false or flawed
quackademic approach
vscrank science
  • Offensive
9.9

A method that looks scientific but has no real evidence

is instead ideas shown false or unproven not merely style without rigor

How Scientific

mainstream
75 3.4
crank science
  • Slang
9.6
pseudoscience
11 8.0

Surface Forms

crank science singular
crank sciences plural

Morphology

crank + science

The compound is compositionally built from 'crank' (an eccentric or unreliable person) + 'science', so a learner can infer it refers to science associated with cranks and therefore questionable or disreputable. However, mapping that inference to the precise sense 'false, unproven, or flawed scientific ideas' requires pragmatic background knowledge and is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Crank science comes from the older word crank for a person who keeps saying strange, wrong ideas, like someone who keeps turning a machine crank with no real result. That's why crank science means ideas that 'pretend to be scientific' but are 'false'.