Parody science, sometimes called spoof science, is the act of mocking
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
in a satirical way. Science can be parodied for a purpose, ranging from social commentary and making political points, to humor for its own sake.
Parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...
science is different from science humor or from real science that happens to be humorous, in that parody science has little or no basis in real science.
List of parody science resources
* ''
Annals of Improbable Research
The ''Annals of Improbable Research'' (''AIR'') is a bimonthly magazine devoted to scientific humor, in the form of a satirical take on the standard academic journal. ''AIR'', published six times a year since 1995, usually showcases at least one ...
'' – Science humor journal that awards the
Ig Nobel Prizes.
* ''
Journal of Irreproducible Results
The ''Journal of Irreproducible Results'' is a magazine of science humor. It was established in Israel in 1955 by virologist Alexander Kohn and physicist Harry J. Lipkin, who wanted a humor magazine about science, for scientists. It contains ...
'' – Parody science journal since 1955.
* ''
Science Made Stupid'' – 1985 parody science book by Tom Weller.
* ''Wyoming Institute of Technology: WIT'' – a satirical science website.
* ''
Speculative Grammarian'' – "the premier scholarly journal featuring research in the neglected field of satirical linguistics".
*
Dihydrogen monoxide parody, which exploits common fears about science to make people think that
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
is dangerous.
* ''
Look Around You'', a BBC scientific
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
based on school science programmes from the '70s and '80s.
The Journal of Astrological Big Data Ecology website of satirical science articles, news and clickbait
* ''
Ask Dr. Science'', a humorous radio and television program.
* ''
Worm Runner's Digest
The ''Worm Runner's Digest'' (''W.R.D.'') was created in 1959 by biologist James V. McConnell after his experiments with memory transfer in planarian worms generated a torrent of mail enquiries. The ''W.R.D.'' published both satirical articles, s ...
.'' The satirical flip-side of the ''Journal of Biological Psychology'', known for such articles as "A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown."
* Null Hypothesis: The Journal of Unlikely Science – a satirical science website.
*
Sokal affair, physicist
Alan Sokal's hoax paper entitled, "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" was published in the journal
Social Text.
* ''Experimental demonstration of the tomatotopic organization in the Soprano (Cantatrix sopranica L.),'' a fake research paper by the writer
Georges Perec.
* ''Artificae Plantae: The taxonomy, ecology, and ethnobotany of the Simulacraceae.", Nat Bletter, Kurt A. Reynertson, Julie Velasquez Runk.'' An article about the discovery of plastic plants, published by botanists in a scientific journal.
*
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...
wrote several spoof scientific papers about the fictitious chemical compound
Thiotimoline.
*
Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science – Online-only journal that publishes both satirical and real articles in a scientific journal format.
* ''Body Ritual Among the
Nacirema'', a
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
of
social anthropology research by
Horace Miner.
*
The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of "writer's block", an article with literally no content, but cited over 70 times
See also
*
F.D.C. Willard
F. D. C. Willard (1968–1982) was the pen name of a Siamese cat named Chester, who internationally published under this name on physics in scientific journals. He is most famous for his work on low temperature physics as a co-author in 1975. At ...
– a
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
cited as an author in scientific journals
*
Mathematical joke
*
Parody religion
*
Pseudoscience
References
{{reflist
External links
Tom WellerOfficial website of the author of Science Made Stupid
Dihydrogen MonoxideOfficial site on the Dangers of
dihydrogen monoxide
Parodies
Humour in science