It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. (H. Frankfurt)
If you see fraud and dont say 'fraud', you're fraud. (N. Taleb)
This page lists individuals who exploit their academic credentials (if any), or former legitimate work (if any), to spread pseudoscience, speculative hype, or outright nonsense for personal gain. We focus on individuals affiliated with reputable institutions who have drifted into profit- and attention-driven sensationalism, publishing pop-science books or blog posts, appearing on TED stages or podcasts, and presenting exaggeration or fiction as fact.
These figures trade on their perceived authority, misleading the public and undermining real scientific discourse.
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Robert E. Grant — Time AI crypto snake oil, pseudomathematics, "theory of everything", and more
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Michio Kaku, CUNY — quantum physics and quantum computing sensationalism
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Ray Kurzweil — singularity futurism, digital immortality grift
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Avi Loeb, Harvard — aliens existence sensationalism
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Lee Cronin, Univ of Glasgow — "chemputer" hype, assembly theory
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Bill Giannakopoulos, UNSW Sydney — "persistence theory" and consciousness nonsense
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Dean Kamen — innovation theater
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Rupert Sheldrake, ex-Cambridge — morphic resonance pseudoscience
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Max Tegmark, MIT — multiverse speculation, consciousness mysticism
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Melvin Vopson — we-live-in-a-simulation and information-is-matter speculation
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Sara Walker, ASU — assembly theory, fringe biology
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This list excludes obvious frauds such as flat-earthers, medbed enthusiasts, or astrologers.
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It also omits crackpots in the fields of climate denial and antivax disinformation, for reasons of scope and sanity.
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Not all entries are equally culpable. Degrees and types of crackpotism vary.
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Inclusion requires both significant visibility and repeated offenses against intellectual honesty.
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Yes, some listed individuals have contributed legitimate work. This does not exempt them from scrutiny once they begin misrepresenting science for attention or profit.
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The list is not exhaustive.
- Baez' 1998 physics crackpot index
- Gruenberber's 1962 "A measure for crackpots"
- Frankfurt's "On bullshit"