RESEARCH BASE

Search 3,721 documents across 34 fields — every claim tier-rated by evidence

3,721 Documents 34 Sections 43,625 Citations 34,852 Keywords Indexed 4 Evidence Tiers

3,633 are the core, quality-scored corpus (34 lettered sections — see How We Work); the remaining 88 are cross-corpus synthesis documents (68 InterDocs, 12 Connections, 8 Theories) also indexed here.

1,273 results for "cargo cult science" — page 1 of 64

H_4_20 Verified Suppression & Thesis

H_4_20 — Cargo Cult Science Extended: Feynman, Pseudoscience Boundaries

"Cargo cult science" — a term coined by Richard Feynman in his 1974 Caltech commencement address — describes research that mimics the surface appearance of science (data collection, statistical analysis, academic publica

cargo cult science pseudoscience demarcation Feynman Shermer Pigliucci
N_5_06 Verified Secret Societies

N_5_06 — Cargo Cults as Modern Mystery Schools: Anthropological Analysis

Cargo cults — the millenarian religious movements that emerged primarily in Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and other Pacific islands) during and after contact with Western industrial civilization,

cargo cult Melanesia John Frum Vanuatu Papua New Guinea millenarian
C_5_02 Verified Global Traditions

C_5_02 — Cargo Cult Analogy for Ancient Contact

Cargo cults — millenarian movements where pre-industrial societies interpret advanced technology through religious frameworks — provide a documented, Tier 1 analogy for how ancient contact narratives may have formed. WWI

cargo cult John Frum Prince Philip Tom Navy mythologization WWII
O_5_04 Verified Earth Anomalies

O_5_04 — Soil Science — Underground Biogeochemistry and Human Health

Soil — a thin veneer of biologically active, chemically complex material covering most of Earth's land surface — is arguably the most under-appreciated and misunderstood component of the Earth system. Far from inert "dir

soil science pedology edaphology soil microbiome mycorrhiza rhizosphere
B_5_12 Credible Beings & Entities

B_5_12 — Cognitive Science of Monster Concepts: Why Humans Invent Creatures

Why do all human cultures independently generate remarkably similar monster concepts — predatory hybrids, shape-shifters, reanimated corpses, giant serpents, invisible watchers? Cognitive science offers a compelling fram

monster concepts cognitive science agency detection predator detection minimally counterintuitive Pascal Boyer
ZC_3_02 Verified Social Science

ZC_3_02 — Sociology of Science and Knowledge

Sociology of knowledge examines how social conditions shape what counts as knowledge. Karl Mannheim (Ideology and Utopia, 1929/1936) argued that thought is "existentially determined" — shaped by the thinker's social posi

sociology of science sociology of knowledge Merton Kuhn social construction SSK
ZC_1_03 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_03 — Cross-Cultural Psychology — Universal vs Culture-Specific Mind

Cross-cultural psychology investigates how cultural contexts shape psychological processes and whether any mental phenomena are truly universal. The central tension—between universal human nature (etic perspective) and c

cross-cultural social-science Hofstede cultural dimensions WEIRD Henrich Vygotsky
G_3_17 Credible Modern Frameworks

G_3_17 — Indigenous Knowledge Systems as Science

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) — the accumulated empirical observations, ecological understandings, agricultural practices, medicinal traditions, and cosmological frameworks developed by Indigenous peoples over mille

indigenous-knowledge traditional-ecological-knowledge TEK ethnobotany ethnoastronomy two-eyed-seeing
H_4_04 Verified Suppression & Thesis

H_4_04 — Soviet Science Suppression — Lysenkoism and Vavilov

The Lysenko affair (1928–1964) represents the most devastating case of ideological suppression of science in the 20th century. Trofim Denisovich Lysenko (1898–1976), an agronomist with minimal formal training, rose to do

Lysenko Lysenkoism Vavilov Soviet genetics ideological science Lamarckism
ZC_1_02 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_02 — Cult Psychology — Manipulation, Totalism, and Recovery

Cult psychology examines how high-demand groups employ systematic influence techniques to recruit, retain, and control members. Key frameworks include Robert Jay Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform, Steven Hassan's

cult social-science thought reform brainwashing Robert Jay Lifton Steven Hassan BITE model
Y_4_11 Credible Altered States

Y_4_11 — Trance States Across Cultures

Trance — an altered state of consciousness characterized by narrowed or shifted attention, altered sense of self, reduced awareness of external surroundings, and modified responsiveness — is one of the most universal fea

trance ritual trance cross-cultural trance possession trance shamanic trance altered states of consciousness
I_5_03 Speculative UAP Disclosure

I_5_03 — Ancient Astronaut Theory — Evidence, Critique, and Cultural Impact

The Ancient Astronaut Theory (AAT) — also called paleocontact hypothesis — proposes that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in antiquity and influenced human civilization, religion, technology, and/or biology. Popular

ancient astronaut ancient alien Erich von Däniken Zecharia Sitchin Anunnaki cargo cult
I_5_04 Verified UAP Disclosure

I_5_04 — UFO Religions — Raëlism, Heaven's Gate, and Cultural Response to Contact

UFO religions — new religious movements incorporating extraterrestrial beings into their cosmology and soteriology — emerged primarily in the mid-to-late 20th century as a cultural response to the Space Age, the decline

UFO religions Raëlism Heaven's Gate Scientology Aetherius Society Unarius
U_5_23 Verified Art, Music & Culture

U_5_23 — Music: Origins, Neuroscience, and Cross-Cultural Universals

Music is a universal human behavior — no known culture lacks it — yet its evolutionary origins, neurological basis, and cross-cultural structures remain among the most debated topics in cognitive science, anthropology, a

music origins music cognition neuroscience of music bone flute divje babe music universals
ZH_1_01 Verified Archaeoastronomy

ZH_1_01 — Archaeoastronomy: Discipline, Debates, and Cultural Astronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the interdisciplinary study of how past cultures understood, used, and integrated celestial phenomena — the motions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars — into their architecture, ritual practices, ag

archaeoastronomy cultural astronomy ethnoastronomy astronomical alignment ancient astronomy celestial observation
ZC_3_04 Verified Social Science

ZC_3_04 — Sociology of Food and Agriculture

Sociology of food examines food as a social phenomenon — how production, distribution, preparation, and consumption are shaped by power, culture, class, gender, and global economic structures. Sidney Mintz (Sweetness and

food sociology agriculture food systems food security agribusiness organic farming
ZC_5_13 Verified Social Science

ZC_5_13 — Linguistic Anthropology: Language, Culture, and Sapir-Whorf

Linguistic anthropology — one of the four traditional subfields of American anthropology (alongside cultural, biological/physical, and archaeological anthropology) — studies the relationships between language and social

linguistic anthropology language and culture Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity language endangerment code-switching
ZC_1_12 Verified Social Science

ZC_1_12 — Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology applies psychological principles to workplace behavior — encompassing personnel selection, performance evaluation, motivation, leadership, organizational culture, team dynamics,

industrial-organizational social-science I/O psychology personnel selection job performance job satisfaction organizational behavior
ZC_4_22 Credible Social Science

ZC_4_22 — Urban Anthropology & City as Culture

Urban anthropology — the ethnographic study of life in cities — has grown from a marginal subfield to one of the most vital areas in contemporary social science as humanity has become a predominantly urban species: since

urban anthropology urbanization city ethnography gentrification informal settlements
ZC_4_04 Verified Social Science

ZC_4_04 — Medical Anthropology — Culture, Healing, and the Body

Medical anthropology — the study of how health, illness, healing, and the body are experienced, understood, and managed across cultures — is one of anthropology's most productive subfields, bridging biological and social

medical anthropology healing illness disease sickness culture