Cargo Cult Science

Cargo cult science refers to practices that have the semblance of being scientific, but do not in fact follow the scientific method. The term was first used by the physicist Richard Feynman during his commencement address at the California Institute of Technology, United States, in 1974. Cargo cults—the religious practice that has appeared in many traditional tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures—focus on obtaining the material wealth (the "cargo") of the advanced culture by building mock aircraft, landing strips, and the like.

Read more about Cargo Cult Science:  The Speech, Examples in Specific Experiments and Results

Famous quotes containing the words cargo, cult and/or science:

    Nitrates and phosphates for ammunition. The seeds of war. They’re loading a full cargo of death. And when that ship takes it home, the world will die a little more.
    Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)

    The cult of art gives pride; one never has too much of it.
    Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880)

    We said that the history of mankind depicts man; in the same way one can maintain that the history of science is science itself.
    Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)