The workings of woo

[Alex K]

There are times that I have witnessed the wonderful ways of woo. Of course there are some explanations like confirmation bias, coincidence, hallucinations, hoaxes, etc.

What would be the definition of woo if it existed?
How can woo exist and elude scientific investigation?
...

I don't understand physics, but sometimes I think about those questions. Does anybody have any ideas?

Difficult... Usually I'd say woo is by definition something which does not really exist, but is merely an artefact of our partial ignorance,imperfect perception and lack of critical thinking.

The supernatural is a related problem: I'd say if there is something supernatural consistently going on, it is basically just a newly discovered part of nature, and thus not supernatural any more. If such a thing is however so complex that it seems to elude rational analysis from our side, it could have the same effect as woo even though one would formally - as with any actual phenomenon affecting our world - include it in the definition of the natural world after it is discovered.

An example of what I roughly mean is given in the novel SOLARIS, where the sentient ocean is a perfectly natural materialistic object, but in its intellect and complexity so unfathomable that mankind fails in grasping it, possibly forever.

An opposite example is radio waves: they fulfill the criteria of a supernatural phenomenon as seen by mankind a few hundred years ago, yet it was both included into our understanding of nature after the discovery and proved to be simple enough to be described and understood by us.