Not even wrong
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An apparently scientific argument is said to be not even wrong if it is based on assumptions that are known to be incorrect, or alternately theories which cannot possibly be falsified or used to predict anything. The phrase was coined by the early quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli, who was known for his colourful objections to incorrect or sloppy thinking.[1] Peierls (1960) writes of Pauli, "... a friend showed him the paper of a young physicist which he suspected was not of great value but on which he wanted Pauli's views. Pauli remarked sadly 'That's not right. It's not even wrong'".[2] In science and philosophy it is known as the principle of falsifiability.
Statements that are not even wrong may be well-formed but not refer to anything physical (as in "Souls are immortal", because the noun "soul" is not well-defined in terms of experimental results), or may be mere word salad that appears to be devoid of meaning (as in some of the Time Cube writings).
The phrase "not even wrong" is often used to describe pseudoscience or bad science. It is considered mildly derogatory.[3]
The phrase has also come to mean science that is well-meaning and based on the current scientific knowledge, but that cannot be used for prediction and cannot be falsified. Such theories are non-scientific, even when they are speaking in scientific language. The phrase has been applied to aspects of the super string theory of physics on the grounds that, although elegant mathematically, it does not provide predictions or tests.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Shermer M (2006). "Wronger Than Wrong". Scientific American.
- ^ Peierls R (1960). "Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, 1900-1958". Biographical memoirs of fellows of the Royal Society 5: 174–92. Royal Society (Great Britain). doi:.
- ^ Oliver Burkeman. "Not even wrong", The Guardian, September 19, 2005.
