Difference between revisions of "Crank"
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* [[Ernst Zündel]] - [[Holocaust denial]] | * [[Ernst Zündel]] - [[Holocaust denial]] | ||
* [[Andrew Schlafly]] - [[Creationism]], abortion causes breast cancer, liberalism causes all societal ills, [[alternate historical chronology|revised chronology]], [[HIV denial|AIDS denialism]], and many more. (But he's not really "famous", even in inverted commas) | * [[Andrew Schlafly]] - [[Creationism]], abortion causes breast cancer, liberalism causes all societal ills, [[alternate historical chronology|revised chronology]], [[HIV denial|AIDS denialism]], and many more. (But he's not really "famous", even in inverted commas) | ||
| − | * | + | * [http://www.rationalwiki.com/wiki/Special:Listusers Basically everyone on this list] |
| − | |||
[[Category:Pseudoscience Promoters]] | [[Category:Pseudoscience Promoters]] | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
[http://www.crank.net/ Crank dot Net - a directory of crank (and anti-crank) websites.] | [http://www.crank.net/ Crank dot Net - a directory of crank (and anti-crank) websites.] | ||
Revision as of 03:32, 1 February 2008
For the drug, see Methamphetamine.
Crank is a pejorative term applied to someone who holds extremely unorthodox views on a subject and feels compelled to repeatedly try and tell the world about it. No amount of evidence contrary to the crank's view point will cause the crank to question his beliefs. The crank is usually an amateur in the field he is arguing against, but sometimes individuals with expertise in that field will go off the deep end (often medical or psychological issues can be traced to the point where an expert become a crank, such as strokes, nervous breakdowns or schizophrenia).
Cranks emerge in all fields of study and claim all kinds of crazy ideas, from being able to square the circle with a pencil and a compass, to biblical literalists in the creationism movement.
Synonyms include kook and crackpot (the latter of which has led to the creation of the term "psychoceramics" as the name of the study of such people).
"Famous" cranks
Well known cranks and their ideas include (links to their sites included until we have full articles here):
- Neal Adams - Expanding earth. [1]
- John A. Davidson - Proscribed evolution
- Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos, Peter Duesberg - AIDS denialism
- Gene Ray - Time Cube
- Viera Scheibner - Anti-vaccinationist
- Immanuel Velikovsky - Planetary catastrophism, a revised chronology, and more
- Ernst Zündel - Holocaust denial
- Andrew Schlafly - Creationism, abortion causes breast cancer, liberalism causes all societal ills, revised chronology, AIDS denialism, and many more. (But he's not really "famous", even in inverted commas)
- Basically everyone on this list
External links
Crank dot Net - a directory of crank (and anti-crank) websites.