Fingerprints are not confirmed

The commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences to combat the pseudoscience issued a document of a new format - a memorandum. In the first memorandum, based on the expert opinion, the pseudoscientific status of the so -called dermatoglyphic testing is recorded.

Imagine that you are offered to treat a fracture by waving an aspen wand into the new moon. Pseudoscience? Yes, and patented. In the sense, the patent is issued - RU 2083239. Imagine that according to the biologically active points of the person who touched the thing of the missing one, you are offered to establish the fact of the death of the latter. Pseudoscience? Yes, Patent RU 2157091.

These are old examples, and patents no longer act, but in the FIPS database they are fixed forever. So, under these “methods” there is a documentary basis. “Maybe she is like a nag,” Vysotsky sang, but just right another official or layman. The paper is not simple, but a stamp. If you call it pseudoscience, you will reasonably take an interest in you: "There is evidence, but what is you?" And okay there are dubious passes with a magic wand. It is possible to figure out what is more important.

Imagine that you are offered by fingerprints (they are unique, the forensic scientists identify the personality) to determine the predisposition to cancer. Or your child’s tendency to a certain sport. Or the abilities of the applicant for professions studied at your university. Services, of course, are paid, but everything is convincingly confirmed. Here is a patent, here is a publication, here is a dissertation. And also a computer, scanner, database. Celebrities - a line. Intermediaries are a percentage. How not to believe?

These are not jokes, but a serious business. According to the Russian companies organizing it, they already have more than 3,000 franchisees in the country and abroad. Particularly actively dermatoglyphic testing is offered to the leaders of education, because behind them are hundreds of potential customers.

How to convince that all this is only a slightly modernized palmistry? Write in the newspaper? Not too effective, and most importantly, risky - you can easily get a lawsuit to protect a business reputation from distributors of a patented pseudoscience. And the court will take their side: they have documents, but you do not. Before the new technology, the naive layman is completely defenseless in a relatively honest weaning of money, because it cannot even be warned. And not too naive official in the case, personal interest will be easily drawn.

The situation is systemic in nature and is currently rested on the fact that no one issues certificates of the pseudoscientifications of specific practices. In some cases, questions about their scientific validity are addressed to experts from “specialized” scientific organizations. But what science is responsible, say, for a biofield of aspen sticks in the new moon? Institute of Biophysics? Forest industry? Space research?

In general, a full -fledged (that is, universal and legally significant) examination for the presence of signs of pseudoscience now to be carried out now. This provision prompted the RAS Commission to combat the pseudoscience, the only structure in the country, targeted in the way, focused on the problem of pseudoscience, take the first step to create the necessary examination. The first memorandum appeared on the commission’s website ( http://klnran.ru/2016/05/memorandum01-dermatoglifika ), which officially qualifies commercial dermatoglyphic testing as pseudoscience.

The memorandum relies on an expert opinion prepared by a group of specialists who analyzed the advertisements of commercial firms, as well as the publications and dissertations for dermatoglyphics, which refer to as a justification for the methodology. It is shown that the promises of companies performing dermatoglyphic testing do not have scientific grounds. And since this testing is presented to the public as scientifically based, it means that there is an abuse of trust - pseudoscience.

Someone will say that the paperity of dermatoglyphic testing has long been known. Yes, they wrote about this on the blogs, but there was nothing to refer to the press in support of such an opinion. Now we have a document from the RAS commission to combat a pseudoscience, which can serve as such a basis. And, we hope, the media and conscientious officials will refer to him.