Nudity. There’s no reason why it should be tabooed, other than culturally ingrained feelings of shame and disgust.

“No one wants to see your ass,” was an argument I read on Quora yesterday. Patently untrue, and invalid. Some people do want to see asses, but their desire or lack thereof is not a reason why something should or shouldn’t be a taboo. I don’t want to see beard on men, sometimes it is so gross that I puke inwardly. But I don’t go around tabooing or prohibiting it. I do the two next best things: 1) I don’t look if I don’t want, and 2) I don’t date if I don’t want.

The same with all other arguments that come from the taboo and are artificial.

“What if children see it”, so what? If they aren’t told that “HOOMAN NEKKID BODI IS SO GROSS AND HORRIBL”, they won’t be bothered.

“It’s unhygienic”, says someone who regularly doesn’t cover their sneezes when there’s no one around, and pees standing up (you should see the microsplashing on the walls and in the air).

“Men will rape women because they cannot control themselves,” says the representative of a society where men are reduced to primitive animals without much brain function, even less than a trained dog; and this function is even culturally fortified by statements such as “it’s okay, you couldn’t control yourself, it’s your man nature”.

“What if these are fat and old and flabby pieces of flesh? Life is not a porn movie,” says another person whose porn menu is limited to 1% of the mainstream surface, and whose sensitivity towards life being a bit less photoshopped than the computer screen makes for a hell of an allergic reaction. Heaven forbid this person sees that the city council has planted some less FaBuLoUs flowers near its entrance, or that a mom of newborn twins isn’t rocking an updo and Louboutins when she’s out with her babies.

There is no such taboo.

Seriously, there is no such taboo.

What most people don’t realize is that scientists are trained in a certain method. And then they apply this method to all kinds of things to find out new things. Sometimes they tweak the method. Very rarely someone invents a new method.

UFOs are not good targets for almost any scientific method I am aware of. Mainly because you cannot put them into a lab. The one that comes closest is to treat them as social phenomena. And guess what happens?

Basically all scientific publications that talk about UFOs treat them as a social phenomenom. That doesn’t mean that scientists have a taboo of treating them differently. It just means that all other methods of studying them do not give interesting results.

Not common. Certainly not to the degree that people seem to think.

You have to realize this sort of stuff is why universities have the principles of tenure and academic freedom in the first place: to let professors do stuff that people might not like. Topics that some people claim to be “taboo” are ones that I usually have no problem finding published papers about.

You also have to realize most scientists work on projects that most people find intensely boring. Most academics are never going to be in a position to feel societal pressures because they are insulated by people not caring. Like, not even a little.

Funding is hard for EVERY kind of topic in research. I've never heard of any stories from people doing grant reviews of how an excellent proposal was shot down because it was too much for society.

It’s more likely that what people think of as “taboo” topics are old, discredited ideas that live on outside of academic research because a lot of people keep believing old, discredited ideas. Academics won’t research them because they’re bored, not scared.

Similarly, the number of times papers don't get published because someone fears controversy is almost certainly smaller —much, much smaller — than the number of scientific studies that aren't published because they are deemed to be boring.

Most scientists recognize that they work in a reputation economy, and understand that controversial findings will probably build their careers, not hurt them.

Oh,God where to start from?

Everything is considered taboo here because I live in the great Indian society,who are probably the inventors of taboo. So, I would just point out 5 taboos which top my list.

1)Mental health issues :

In a country,where most of the people don't know the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist tags whoever visits such clinics as mad. And exactly because of this mentality of the society, people are afraid to open-up. People don't know that disorders like depression, anxiety,schizophrenia,bipolardisorder etc are not the same .They categorize all of this as "mental problems" and spread all kind of gossips about that person and pushes the person more down. People even judges you if you go for councelling.

Even your friends tease you seeing those cut marks in your hands. They make fun of you if you share them your suicidal thoughts.(I am talking abous this from my personal experience.) They don't see any big deal about the problems you feel.

Most children don't say anything to your parents because it takes up a lot of courage and parents shut down the few who opens up. They thinks its nothing serious. The very minute percentage of parents who understands the problem try their best to motivate their children themselves and don't take them to the doctors because ofcourse,if this comes to the knowledge of public,who will marry him/her? Apparently your emotions and life is not more important than your marriage.

And finally when they hear that you are no more, they would have the loudest of cries and say they didn't have a clue.

In India, nothing is serious as long as you are OK physically. People give importance to your physical health only. Noone gives a dammn about you emotional fights.Noone lends you a helping hand for emotional support. No wonder why India is one of the leading countries in the number of suicides due to mental problems.

Even if you feel like you are not OK,what's wrong in consulting a doctor? It's nothing to be ashamed of. Do you feel shy to visit a physician when you have fever or body pain? It's the same here only. It's no different.

Give priority to your mental health because "YOU" matters!

2)Homosexuality:

In a Society where people stare at the normal boyfriend -girlfriend, what more can you expect? People pass all sort of negative comments when they see Homosexual people. It's as if,that have seen some sort of alien! Even the new supreme court verdict couldn't change the people's mentality.

Many people disown their own children when he/she opens up about it. Parents accuse their children for bringing shame to their family ; instead of thinking he/she did the right thing and saved another person's life who was going to be their life partner. If our parents were not too cringy about stuff like these, I'm sure the number of divorces wouldn't be so high! I don't know what does Homosexuality has to do with culture or sanskaar? Love is love afterall. What does it has to do anything about "gender"?

People should accept that it's their life,it's their choice. When your own mother who carried you in her womb for 9months couldn't understand you, how can you expect the public,to?

People don't become gay,lesbian or bisex. People are just falling in 'love' with "other people".

3)House husbands:

This is not a common thing you see or a common word you use in India unlike in western countries. In India, earning the bread and butter is the tagged responsiblity of a man as soon as he graduates. It's pretty normal here. Most of the men think it's their duty. But when you think it's only their duty,that's where you are wrong. In a world where you fight for equality, you think this way of thinking is right?

People often leave their ambitions or dreams trying to fit in to the society's standards. It's an unwritten rule that the primary responsibility of every men is earning for the family and that of the female is looking after the house.

When my dad decided to quit his job, because he was fedup of it since it was the same work he was doing since the last 20years and the work pressure was too high. My mom supported his decision because she was employed. He wanted to start fresh. He was looking for better opportunities which satisfied him. It took him a while to figure it out. All the while, he stayed home and registered in various job websites whereas my mom went to work. He often helped my mom with work since he got bored sitting in the home.

Many relatives as well as neighbors were talking about :

How irresponsible my dad was!

He was lazy.

He was eating what was earned by his wife.

He should be ashamed of himself.

He was not a man enough.

All these words were like daggers to my dad's heart. It really hurted him and one day when I couldnt tolerate their mocking anymore, I gave them an earful. And again they criticized my parents "for not teaching me moral values."

Helping your wife doesn't mean you are henpecked. It doesn't make you any less of a man. It's just a gesture of love and care.

I don't see the problem here. Why can't people just give time to men to figure out what they want in life?! Why should they live the pre-planned life? What's the need to pressurise them? And then you complaint Indians lack productivity.

It take gutts to appreciate your wife and give charge to do what's she good in,keeping your ego aside!

4)Living together :

I don't know why Indians are so keen on getting people married! People trust a signed document more than their heart it seems. For the society where love is still a taboo, Living together is too much. I don't know why even educated people are so narrow -minded!

What if they are afraid of commitment? What if they don't trust in marriage? What if they are just living in the moment and not ready for marriage yet? Why do you have a problem with their choice? Why are you so concerned?

First thing people should understand is that "sex is not the only reason why people opt for living together." They are many more important factors like bonding,comparability, trust,understanding and a lot more which you don't understand when you are away from each other:no matter how much you meet,call or text each other. These things need to be a felt. Sometimes,only love is not enough.Most love- marriages end in divorce because of these differences. If only they knew each other better and what better than to live with each other and explore together?

Now let's come to arranged marriage.I have known one of my friends who is a victim of arranged marriage. He couldn't satisfy her. They tried everything from councelling to treatment, nothing worked out, and with no other option left, they got separated after 5years. She tolerated everything for 5-long -years in the ear of the society.

Have you ever thought what if your partner turned out to be Homosexual on your wedding night? What would be the future of your relationship?

Their choice to support or oppose the concept, but atleast don't enforce your point of view on others and judge them.

Live together and explore the unseen sides of each other.

5)Buying a sanitary pad/condum:

The pharmacist gives you a wierd look when you buy condum ;especially when you are too young (that gives him an assumption that you are unmarried) and a woman (which make things worse). It's actually against the code of ethics in pharmacy. I know this well,since I'm a pharmacy student myself.

The pharmacist and the people around you pass you "the look" which makes you too awkward and often you buy it without even having a look at the price,quantity,flavor or specifications.

When you buy the sanitary napkin,they cover it with a newspaper and give you. I don't know why are they treating it like some bomb or something which should be carried secretly.I mean, why are people ashamed of such a natural process? Everyone nowadays know that women bleed. The low-quality sex education provide you this basic knowledge atleast.

So much better things to worry about and still people find this to be a reason. What a nightmare!

Be bold and fearless ;let your confidence speak to the world!

P.S: I'm not mentioning the things about women because obviously "WHATEVER A WOMAN DO IS A TABOO". Be it working late night,wearing short clothes or just "BREATHING." I mean 'how dare she breaths', right? :P

Taboos do crop up in science, though they usually manifest in an inability to get funding for research. For example, scientists working on fundamental theories of physics that don’t involve string theory have reported difficulties getting funding and publication.

There are always scientists trying to work in all sorts of unpopular fields, not least because a breakthrough there can bring a lot of fame and respect. Newton, Einstein and many other famous people of science did just that, going into places where people thought they already knew the answers, and in doing so they came up with new answers and theories that better explained the evidence.

And that is where you have a problem with UFOs. The lack of evidence is deafening. Scientists cannot work without data and observations. There are a lot of UFO anecdotes, but nothing that can be reproduced or studied scientifically. The best you can do is study the psychology of people who report UFO sightings (which people have done), but that doesn’t provide evidence that they saw anything real.

You can argue that the real evidence has all been hidden away by governments, but we also know that governments are really pretty bad at keeping secrets, especially anything of that magnitude, and over any length of time. Don’t forget, anyone who leaked credible evidence about such a cover-up could get seriously rich, and would be widely regarded as a popular hero. So you have to ask why it hasn’t happened.

The nearest we can get to real research into extraterrestrials is SETI (Home | SETI Institute), and perhaps some of the other astronomy projects looking at “unusual” phenomena in deep space.

I think you are referring to something you heard from a physicist in response to a question such as, “Why does an object in motion stay in motion?” At the most basic levels, cetain phenomena cannot be explained in terms of anything simpler.

But scientists are always trying to explain things in terms of simpler things and understand the mechanism of natural processes. Biology and biochemistry are full of “why” and “how” questions, which are related. Why does DNA have four building blocks and not three or five? How does the genetic code translate into protein synthesis? Why do people get scurvy if they don’t eat fresh fruits and vegetables? Things like that.

Physical sciences

Astronomy and space sciences

• 2012 phenomenon – a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or otherwise transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar and as such, festivities to commemorate the date took place on 21 December 2012 in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala. Professional Mayanist scholars stated that no extant classic Maya accounts forecast impending doom and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresented Maya history and culture,[2] while astronomers rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios easily refuted by elementary astronomical observations.[3]
• Ancient astronauts – a concept based on the belief that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies and religions. A common claim is that deities from most, if not all, religions are actually extraterrestrial in origin and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans. The idea that ancient astronauts existed is not taken seriously by academics and has received no credible attention in peer-reviewed studies.[4]
• Astrology (see also Astrology and science) – consists of a number of belief systems that hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events or descriptions of personality in the human world. Several systems of divination are based on the relative positions and movement of various real and construed celestial bodies. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted and no evidence has been found to support the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.[7] Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified.[7]: 424
• Creationist cosmologies are explanations of the origins and form of the universe in terms of the Genesis creation narrative (Genesis 1), according to which the God of the Bible created the cosmos in eight creative acts over the six days of the "creation week".[8]
• Evidence for life on Mars
• The Face on Mars is a rock formation in Cydonia Mensae on Mars asserted to be evidence of intelligent, native life on the planet. High-resolution images taken recently show it to appear less face-like.[9] It features prominently in the works of Richard C. Hoagland and Tom Van Flandern.[10][11] This effect can also be explained by the psychological phenomenon pareidolia, whereby one assigns meaning (such as facial perception) to an otherwise ambiguous or meaningless stimulus.
• Lunar effect – the belief that the full Moon influences human behavior.[12]
• Modern flat Earth beliefs propose that Earth is a flat, disc-shaped planet that accelerates upward, producing the illusion of gravity. Proposers of a flat Earth, such as the Flat Earth Research Society, do not accept compelling evidence, such as photos of Earth from space.[13]
• Modern geocentrism – In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism or the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the universe with Earth at the center. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars and planets all circled Earth. The geocentric model served as the predominant description of the cosmos in many ancient civilizations, such as those of Aristotle and Ptolemy.[14]
• Moon landing conspiracy theories – claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA with the aid of other organizations. The most notable claim is that the six crewed landings (1969–72) were faked and that 12 Apollo astronauts did not actually walk on the Moon. Various groups and individuals have made claims since the mid-1970s that NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened by manufacturing, tampering with or destroying evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes, radio and TV transmissions and Moon rock samples, and even killing some key witnesses.[15]

Earth sciences

• Megalithic geometry or 366 geometry – posits the existence of an Earth-based geometry dating back to at least 3500 BCE and the possibility that such a system is still in use in modern Freemasonry. According to proponents, megalithic civilizations in Britain and Brittany had advanced knowledge of geometry and the size of Earth. The megalithic yard is correlated to the polar circumference of Earth using a circle divided into 366 degrees.[19][20]
• The Bermuda Triangle – a region of the Atlantic Ocean that lies between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and (in its most popular version) Florida. Ship and aircraft disasters and disappearances perceived as frequent in this area have led to the circulation of stories of unusual natural phenomena, paranormal encounters and interactions with extraterrestrials.[21]
• Climate change denial – involves denial, dismissal, unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which depart from the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its impacts on nature and human society, or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions.[22][23][24]
• Autodynamics – a physics theory proposed in the 1940s that claims the equations of the Lorentz transformation are incorrectly formulated to describe relativistic effects, which would invalidate Einstein's theories of special relativity and general relativity, and Maxwell's equations. The theory is discounted by the mainstream physics community.[27]
• Einstein–Cartan–Evans theory – a unified theory of physics proposed by Myron Wyn Evans which claims to unify general relativity, quantum mechanics and electromagnetism.[30] The hypothesis was largely published in the journal Foundations of Physics Letters between 2003 and 2005; in 2008, the editor published an editorial note effectively retracting the journal's support for the hypothesis due to incorrect mathematical claims.[31]
• Electrogravitics – claimed to be an unconventional type of effect or anti-gravity propulsion created by an electric field's effect on a mass. The name was coined in the 1920s by Thomas Townsend Brown, who first described the effect and spent most of his life trying to develop it and sell it as a propulsion system. Follow-ups on the claims (R. L. Talley in a 1990 U.S. Air Force study, NASA scientist Jonathan Campbell in a 2003 experiment[32] and Martin Tajmar in a 2004 paper[33]) have found that no thrust could be observed in a vacuum, consistent with the phenomenon of ion wind.
• Free energy – a class of perpetual motion that purports to create energy (violating the first law of thermodynamics) or extract useful work from equilibrium systems (violating the second law of thermodynamics).[34][35]
• Water-fueled cars – an instance of perpetual motion machines. Such devices are claimed to use water as fuel or produce fuel from water on board with no other energy input. Many such claims are part of investment frauds.[36][37][38]
• Acupuncture – use of fine needles to stimulate acupuncture points and balance the flow of qi. There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians and acupuncture is regarded as an alternative medical procedure.[70] Some acupuncturists regard them as functional rather than structural entities, useful in guiding evaluation and care of patients. Acupuncture has been the subject of active scientific research since the late 20th century and its effects and application remain controversial among medical researchers and clinicians. Some scholarly reviews conclude that acupuncture's effects are mainly attributable to the placebo effect and others find likelihood of efficacy for particular conditions.Dry needling is the therapeutic insertion of fine needles without regard to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is similarly controversial.[71][72]Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique similar in principle to acupuncture. It is based on the concept of life energy, which flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to acupuncture points with the aim of clearing blockages in these meridians. Pressure may be applied by hand, by elbow, or with various devices. Some studies have suggested it may be effective at helping manage nausea and vomiting, lower back pain, tension headaches and stomach ache, although such studies have been found to have a high likelihood of bias.[73] Like many alternative medicines, it may benefit from a placebo effect. Quackwatch says acupressure is a dubious practice and its practitioners use irrational methods.[74]
• Colon cleansing (a.k.a. colon therapy) encompasses a number of alternative medical therapies claimed to remove nonspecific toxins from the colon and intestinal tract by removing any accumulations of feces. Colon cleansing may be branded colon hydrotherapy, a colonic or colonic irrigation. During the 2000s, internet marketing and infomercials of oral supplements supposedly for colon cleansing increased.[162] Some forms of colon Hydrotherapy use tubes to inject water, sometimes mixed with herbs or with other liquids, into the colon via the rectum using special equipment. Oral cleaning regimens use dietary fiber, herbs, dietary supplements, or laxatives. People who practice colon cleansing believe that accumulations of putrefied feces line the walls of the large intestine and that these accumulations harbor parasites or pathogenic gut flora, causing nonspecific symptoms and general ill-health. This "auto-intoxication" hypothesis is based on medical beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks and was discredited in the early 20th century.[163]
• Facilitated communication is a scientifically discredited technique[208] that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities. The facilitator holds the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a keyboard or other device.[209] Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC (involving ideomotor effect guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator).[210][211] Studies have consistently found that FC is unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object).[212]Rapid prompting method - a closely related discredited technique.[213]
• Hair analysis is, in mainstream scientific usage, the chemical analysis of a hair sample. The use of hair analysis in alternative medicine as a method of investigation to assist alternative diagnosis is controversial[233][234] and its use in this manner has been opposed repeatedly by the AMA because of its unproven status and its potential for health care fraud.[235]
• Leaky gut syndrome – in alternative medicine, a proposed condition caused by the passage of harmful substances outward through the gut wall. It has been proposed as the cause of many conditions, including multiple sclerosis and autism, a claim which has been called pseudoscientific.[259] According to the UK National Health Service, the theory is vague and unproven.[260] Some skeptics and scientists say that the marketing of treatments for leaky gut syndrome is either misguided or an instance of deliberate health fraud.[260]
• Lightning Process – a system claimed to be derived from osteopathy, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and life coaching.[261] Proponents claim that the Process can have a positive effect on a long list of diseases and conditions, including myalgic encephalomyelitis, despite no scientific evidence of efficacy. The designer of the Lightning Process, Phil Parker, suggests certain illnesses such as ME/CFS arise from a dysregulation of the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system, which the Lightning Process aims to address, helping to break the "adrenaline loop" that keeps the systems' stress responses high.[citation needed]
• Macrobiotic diets (or macrobiotics) are fixed on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism.[262][263] The diet attempts to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware.[264][265] Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce animal products, eat locally grown foods that are in season and consume meals in moderation.[262] Macrobiotics writers often claim that a macrobiotic diet is helpful for people with cancer and other chronic diseases, although there is no good evidence to support such recommendations and the diet can be harmful.[262][266][267] Studies that indicate positive results are of poor methodological quality.[262] Neither the American Cancer Society nor Cancer Research UK recommend adopting the diet.[267][268]
• Magnet therapy – practice of using magnetic fields to positively influence health. While there are legitimate medical uses for magnets and magnetic fields, the field strength used in magnetic therapy is too low to effect any biological change and the methods used have no scientific validity.[269][270][271]
• The above is not to be confused with current health treatments involving electromagnetism on human tissue, such as pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (see: Electromagnetic therapy).
• Tin foil hat – A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control and mind reading. The usage of a metal foil hat for protection against interference of the mind was mentioned in a science fiction short story by Julian Huxley, "The Tissue-Culture King", first published in 1926,[345] in which the protagonist discovers that "caps of metal foil" can block the effects of telepathy.[346] At this time, no link has been established between the radio-frequency EMR that tin foil hats are meant to protect against and subsequent ill health.
• Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) – a traditional medical system originating in China and practiced as an alternative medicine throughout much of the world. It contains elements based in the cosmology of Taoism[347] and considers the human body more in functional and vitalistic than anatomical terms.[348][349] Health and illness in TCM follow the principle of yin and yang and are ascribed to balance or imbalance in the flow of a vital force, qi.[350][70] Diagnostic methods are solely external, including pulse examination at six points, examination of a patient's tongue and a patient interview; interpractitioner diagnostic agreement is poor.[348][351][352][353] The TCM description of the function and structure of the human body is fundamentally different from modern medicine.TCM materia medica – a collection of crude medicines used in traditional Chinese medicine. These include many plants in part or whole, such as ginseng and wolfberry, as well as more exotic ingredients, such as seahorses. Preparations generally include several ingredients in combination, with selection based on physical characteristics such as taste or shape, or relationship to the organs of TCM.[354] Most preparations have not been rigorously evaluated or give no indication of efficacy.[355][356][357] Pharmacognosy research for potential active ingredients present in these preparations is active, though the applications do not always correspond to those of TCM.[358]Gua sha (Chinese: 刮痧), kerokan or coining, is part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Its practitioners use a tool to scrape people's skin to cause tissue damage in the belief this has medicinal benefit.[359][360] Gua sha is sometimes referred to as "scraping", "spooning" or "coining" by English speakers. Edzard Ernst has written that any apparent benefit from gua sha is due to the placebo effect.[361]Meridians are the channels through which qi flows, connecting the several zang-fu organ pairs.[348][362] There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.[351][363]Shiatsu (指圧) is a form of Japanese bodywork based on ideas in traditional Chinese medicine. Shiatsu derives from a Japanese massage modality called anma. There is no evidence that shiatsu is an effective medical treatment.[364][365]Qi – vital energy whose flow must be balanced for health. Qi has never been directly observed and is unrelated to the concept of energy used in science.[366][367][368]Qigong (/ˈtʃiːˈɡɒŋ/),[369] qi gong, chi kung, or chi gung (simplified Chinese: 气功; traditional Chinese: 氣功; pinyin: qìgōng; Wade–Giles: ch'i kung; lit. 'life energy cultivation') is a holistic system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality and martial arts training.[370] With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi), translated as "life energy".[371] Research concerning qigong has been conducted for a wide range of medical conditions, including hypertension, pain and cancer, and with respect to quality of life.[370] Most research concerning health benefits of qigong has been of poor quality, such that it would be unwise to draw firm conclusions at this stage.[372]Zang-fu – concept of organs as functional yin and yang entities for the storage and manipulation of qi.[348] These organs are not based in anatomy.
• Urine therapy – drinking either one's own undiluted urine or homeopathic potions of urine for treatment of a wide variety of diseases is based on pseudoscience.[374]

Easy peasey. There is actual, legitimate science ongoing daily. Science starts with a question. From there an hypothesis is formed. A valid scientific hypothesis must start with observations that are observable, (either directly or indirectly) or measurable, testable, and potentially falsifiable. A valid scientific hypothesis produces actionable and reliably reproducible results. Any hypothesis that cannot be interrogated via the scientific method is not science. The scientific method is our best, current method of uncovering the mysteries of the material reality that we find ourselves in. I know of no better method, and as of this writing, neither does anyone else. It's either legitimate science or it is not. I'm not sure what would constitute, “taboo” science even is.

There is a significant political resistance to Lamarckian evolution, the inheritance of acquired characteristics. This political resistance was based on the abhorrence of Communism by many ‘Western Economies’. This rejection is held by many serious proponents of evolutionary theory in which they argue that evolution is random and often use the giraffe stretching its neck to reach high foliage an the ability for that behavior to be passed on as a longer neck to its offspring. This knee-jerk rejection of Lamarkian evolution prevents many biologist as well as non-scientists from understanding the role of cultural inheritance and behavioral drive in the more rapid evolution of groups of animals that exhibit significant inter-individual learning processes. Rapid evolution of species with substantial communication skills is seen among song birds, cetaceans and primates in which their interface with the environment is increased in proportion to how many individuals are in their communication circle. It is the interface with the environment that drives selection of success genes. Giraffe mothers who teach their offspring to reach high to get the good leaves are encouraging the survival of their offspring with the long neck genes over their offspring with the less favorable genes. Mom giraffe is ‘artificially’ selecting her long-necked offspring the way we artificially select winning sled dogs. Social Darwinism accepts the inheritance of human culture as an important extra-genetic force in the rapid evolution of the human species. Right-wing politics resists the role of parental and broader societal selection of the survivors in our future population gene pool.

In my work with X-Ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) equipment, there are a lot of really subtle things that can have really dramatic impacts on the quantitative results. I'm working on a paper on one of those subtle things right now, and it turned out isolating that subtle thing requires isolating a whole bunch of other subtle things.

I would like to submit
Geometry of sample measurement instrument.

This is not what I'm writing my paper on, but it is something I had to control for, since our customers use varying geometries in their instruments.

Here's a standard XRF setup.

X-ray source, sample, detector.

It turns out that the distances between the source and the sample and the sample and the detector are really important if you're measuring your sample in air. Why?
X-ray absorption in air.
Here's transmissivity through 1cm of air at STP:

And here's 2cm:

Images generated by Center for X-ray Optics

It appears to be pretty subtle, but look at the scales. At low x-ray photon energies (like if you're trying to look at things with Aluminum, Silicon, Magnesium) even a millimeter difference in distance can have a huge difference in how many x-rays get through. And that has a profound impact on measurement. Even at heavier elements with higher characteristic x-ray emissions, it still has a pretty profound impact.

It seems pretty boring, trying to position a source and a detector properly, but if you don't, your quantitative results will suffer.

Which will lead to anger. Which will lead to hate. Hate for your instrument.

We need to be careful about elevating one value above all others.

If you can ignore ethics and morality because “Science!” becomes a sacred goal, everything else to be sacrificed to the utopian dream someone says such a moral shift entails ..

You lose all privacy regarding medical information, actions and behavior because sociologists want to study it. And the government certainly would encourage it, in the name of the common good. Let’s study dissenters and correct them! It is for the public good, after all. If we ask to drug people or lobotomize them to improve sociability per the definition of those in power, how can you argue when we could learn so much and society could become so much more compliant … peaceful?

If scientific progress is the goal above all others, how can you argue jailing people for saying research that kills unwilling subjects is bad? How can someone refuse to be co-opted for medical studies that could kill them? We might learn something that saves a thousand lives; that it kills 900 now becomes irrelevant because you’re elevating a utopian POTENTIAL future over the actual future of those you’re killing. Or maiming. Or injuring.

In short, no, it is generally not acceptable to violate norms and taboos because you think that that shining vision of a future is worth sacrificing everyone and everything.

That type of utopian vision under Communism killed 100 million people last century, and it still fuels gulags and “reeducation camps” in North Korea and China today.

The excuse that “for the people, for the public good” enabled mass murder and purges by the Nazis and Communists alike. We at least have the sense to have ethical qualms on using their data today.

If you think that utopian vision is worth sacrificing peoples’ lives and rights for, you are a literal threat to everyone else.

Don't call instruments "machines." This is a big one with some chemists but some just don't care.

The difference, as once explained to me by someone who cares, is that instruments convert data that we don't understand just by looking at it to a form that we understand. Machines, on the other hand, just makes the process easier or faster. For instance, say we're measuring a blood alcohol levels using a GC. We cannot just look at a blood sample and determine it. So the GC converts that data into something we can read and understand, hence it's an instrument. A calculator is a machine. We know what goes in and what comes out.

Also, don't lick the spoon.

As a seasoned psychologist, I've found that there are indeed some topics in psychology that often linger in the shadows, not because they lack relevance, but because they touch on sensitive or uncomfortable aspects of human behavior. One such topic is the concept of "countertransference" – the therapist's own emotional reaction to a client, which can sometimes mirror unresolved issues from the therapist's own past. It's like navigating through a minefield; acknowledging it is crucial for effective therapy, yet discussing it openly can feel like stepping into taboo territory.

Another hush-hush area is the phenomenon of "therapist self-disclosure." While there's a delicate balance between sharing personal experiences to foster rapport and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, some therapists avoid discussing their personal lives altogether, fearing it could detract from the therapeutic process. However, recognizing when and how to judiciously share personal insights can deepen the therapeutic alliance and promote client growth. These topics might not be dinner table conversation, but they're integral to the nuanced art of psychotherapy. Let's shed some light on these crucial aspects of mental health. #PsychologyInsights #TabooTopics #TherapySecrets #ReconnectRelationship

Edit: Try to appreciate other's work. So upvote.

USA

The part where the USA was founded to have less voting members than your average monarchy is a fairly taboo fact.

By design, less than 5% of people living in the USA were eligible to vote according to the laws set forth by the founding fathers.

So much for their dedication to “democracy”. Democracy was more of a later organic development.

Early US political innovation was in the guarantee of individual rights and limited power in government through the Constitution, rather than in some high minded ideal of democratic rule by majority consensus.

Germany

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were the first government to recognize the dangers of smoking and moved to curtail the practice. They also passed the first laws against animal cruelty, which is highly ironic given their policies toward humans.

Gender Issues

On the issue of Domestic Violence. Over 200 separate studies worldwide show that women are more likely than men to physically assault their partner.

The Surprising Truth About Women and Violence

AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

This is ignored largely because male on female assaults are twice as likely to cause injury and 9 times more likely to kill than female on male assaults. This creates the false stereotype than men are more prone to violence, even though the empirical data shows that women are, in fact, slightly more likely to escalate to physical violence.

This is a serious problem because, in trying to curb DV, legislators and researchers look for something inherent in men that makes men violent toward women. Limiting the effort to this guarantees failure, as the aggression is clearly universal. Inherent in both men and women, but to more devastating effect in men due entirely to the physical difference, not any psychological difference.

As far as I’m aware, it isn’t a theory; it’s just a simple way of describing different approaches to doing science — through large-scale goal-driven projects (big science) versus small-scale, independent research (small science). Big science took off in the twentieth century with massive collaborative efforts like the Manhattan Project.

The “theory” that comes with this distinction, I presume, is the criticism that big science undermines pure scientific research and discovery, pushing scientists into corporate- and government-funded projects.

In his recent Opinion article, Gregory Petsko raised concerns about the hegemony of ‘big science' over ‘little science' (Petsko, 2009). He argued that the scale of the resources sequestered to expensive, large research projects is “outrageous” and may be missing for small, investigator-driven research. As a result, he argues that big science might be detrimental to research in general.
Comment on ‘Big science, little science'

The above comment argues (in the context of genomic research) that big science doesn’t really displace little science; In fact, it creates more opportunities for it.

If it is the case that this idea is becoming more popular today, then I imagine it reflects a growing distrust of corporate and government strategies for investment in science, especially with respect to (not) addressing climate change.

No.

Astrology is pure mumbo-jumbo and astrologers asking money for their “craft" are imposters who should be arrested because they prey on the gullibility of their victims.

The university of Aarhus, Denmark, did the most extensive study about the relationship between date of birth and personality ever (personality profile of over 4,400 people) and they found none whatsoever.

Have you never wondered why twins, and especially non-identical ones, who are born at exactly the same time and place, often have completely different personalities?

Astrologers are still using a geocentric view of the universe (with the Sun and planets rotating around the Earth), are still using Pluto as a planet (but forget other dwarf planets like Eris, Ceres, Sedna,…) and have totally forgotten to look up to the stars for the last 2,000 years, otherwise they would know that someone born on the 1st of June is no longer Gemini but Taurus. There are 13 constellations in the Zodiac, BTW.

It is a commonly accepted scientific fact that human-induced climate change is real and we are headed for a catastrophic future.

The same science methodology that led to the development of MRI and CAT-Scan imaging, cell phones and satellite communications, nuclear weapons, hurricane modeling, and organ transplants is telling us that sea level is going to rise DRASTICALLY. Living conditions for humans are going to deteriorate GREATLY, and it is likely that economic chaos will lead to nuclear war. Our descendants are going to be miserable and far fewer.

Most people are not doing anything about it because they are being fed a steady 24/7 stream of propaganda by right-wing media such as Fux News and talk radio - plus “most people” are simply not very bright. The activities that are generating the coming disaster are making a relatively few people VERY wealthy, and it is to their short-term benefit to keep “most people” sedated.

When conditions finally become obvious and undeniable, and “most people” wake up and panic, it will be far too late to avoid the catastrophe. (It is likely already too late!)

I was A2A, “What are some pretty widely known things not upheld by scientific research?”

I’ll be a real heretic here and say

Occam’s Razor

That’s pretty widely known to be “true”, including by scientists.

The idea that simple explanations should be preferred over complicated explanations goes back to the epicycles used to describe planetary motion around the earth. Some of the pictures really do look like Rube Goldberg’s cartoon machines. In some sense inverse square laws and elliptical orbits around a center of mass that might not coincide with the center of any planet or star are “simpler”.

But that’s about the last good example of Occam’s Razor I can think of. The equations that describe electromagnetism, or quantum mechanics, or fluid flow are hardly simple. Nor are 11-dimensional “theories of everything”. The preference for simpler explanations leads all kinds of people to reject relativity and quantum mechanics and evolution in favor off something “simpler”. But those simpler theories are consistently wrong.

And the desire to explain social, economic, and political life “simply” leads to all kinds of nonsense.

I think it’s time to stop mentioning Occam’s Razor in high school science classes. Spend more time on how the scientific method is actually used.

Sexual orientation

Judge me all you want. But to me, this is something that is highly personal/private/confidential for every individual and is nobody’s business but theirs… and anybody who is romantically interested in them.

These days, people talk about other’s sexualities as if they are discussing their hairstyles or fashion sense. This isn’t something that people get to choose. It is just who they are. And each one of us is different. And what business do people have discussing the choice of who/what another person chooses to sleep with? Goodness!

I have lost count of the times I have heard people make casual statements like That looks so gay! or He doesn’t have a girlfriend… must be gay or She lives with that girl and I saw them holding hands that other day… Do you think they’re seeing each other?

o_O

I don’t understand.

Does being gay or straight affect the way somebody performs in the workplace? Or does it affect the way they behave with other people? Or is there something I am missing here?

Because I don’t see any reason whatsoever why people would discuss such a subject with the amount of callousness that they typically do. And if the said subjects of discussion happen to be from a group that does not ascribe to ‘socially accepted’ rules, then they are threatened to burn in hell or whatever. I wonder if these accusers will be the ones standing with skewers and pitchforks >:(

So if a person tells lies or ill-treats their parents or steals, the punishments in hell are far lesser as compared to what they apparently are if they do not sleep with whatever or whoever society demands that they sleep with. Some logic!

Dear world,

Please stop discussing another person’s sexuality unless it is your direct concern. You are being a pain in the wrong place.

Sincerely,
Me.

Experiments involving powerful unshielded magnetic fields like the one performed during the Philadelphia Experiment appear to have been put on the back burner until better studied because it was not understood nor controlled well enough. The original intent of the experiment was to make large objects like naval ships invisible to radar using magnetic fields. Common belief is that something went terribly wrong. Sailors on the ship during the experiment were said to have suffered strange illnesses and “officially unverified” phenomena like becoming a part of the vessels bulk head structure. This experiment may qualify for what is known as truly opening Pandora’s box more than the Manhattan Project that split the atom to create fission in the atomic bomb, which was well understood and controlled.

It’s a matter of expertise and knowledge. People who know a great deal about how something works view it differently from the average person. For myself, because I have decades of experience in computer science, I can hardly watch movies or TV shows where they have people working with computers without rolling my eyes, because they have to dumb down the interactions with computers so much that the “average person” will understand what’s going on. TV writers are also guilty of turning computers into “Magic Boxes” that are like some kind of supernatural oracle of knowledge. Because of my knowledge, and my extensive work with computers, I view computers very differently from the average person.

Scientists who work with science on a daily basis, who are trained in how it works and what is valid and what isn’t, have a much deeper understanding of science than the general public, so they see it very differently. This is why someone’s ten minute YouTube video sampling is in no way equivalent to a scientist who has been college educated in their field and has years of experience working with the tools and mathematics of their chosen discipline.

Well, probably because other scientists are perceived as discovering great truths of nature, in biology, in astronomy, paleontology, geology, in physics with the Large Hadron collider, in space with technological wonders like the Hubble telescope and now the James Webb telescope, and so on.

They produce visible and exciting results. New materials, new technology, new ideas. Mind blowing stuff.

Data scientists are not; they are perceived as working for advertisers and commercial enterprises. Or stock market traders. They have no test tubes, or telescopes or microscopes or special instruments.

The people doing the perceiving are the general public, and they are impressed by that mind-blowing stuff. Data scientists just do not produce much that captivates the general public as wondrous or life-changing.

Personally I do take data science seriously, like all actual sciences. It just isn’t that sexy, it is kind of a background science.

I spoke to the janitor at the Research Lab I was visiting and asked him this very same question
He said the computer scientists were trying to make robots that replace janitors, but they will never succeed because real janitors pick things up, help visitors find directions to the toilets, report broken things, and check if mice have escaped from the psychology labs. Robots will never do that

On the other hand, the Animal Behavior labs are trying to breed chickens that lay cubic eggs so they pack better. That is much more useful
He said that he had little respect for computer scientists and feels they would be better employed designing electronic toilet seats that automatically flip up and down when men use the toilets and forget to put the seat down

I am not saying that janitors speak for everyone, but there is a case in point regarding the question