Debunking Scholarly Nonsense is a diatribe against the foolish claptrap that serious and respected scholars sometimes foist upon their peers and the public. The material discussed here does not usually derive from extreme political notions, conspiracy theories, or the ruminations of those who accept astrological control, I Ching divination, crystal healing, or chariots of the gods. Rather, the progenitors are physicists, astronomers, psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, and philosophers. The topics under discussion include Holocaust denial, string theory, multiple universes, alien abductions, extraterrestrials, a simulated or non-existent world, non-sentience or poly-sentience, harmful therapies, denials of climate change and Covid vaccination efficacy, among other possibilities. The authors of these articles, essays, papers, and books are not merely ruminating in a void. Their words and ideas influence others and may have detrimental effects in a world already charged with extreme misery.

Robert Hauptman is Professor Emeritus of Information Science at St. Cloud State University.