-- conflict with basic scientific principles that are well-studied and well-understood (often the proponents don't even understand that what they are suggesting conflicts with such principles)
Given the Fermi paradox the existence of aliens doesn't violate scientific principles. Yet aliens are outside of what you can study scientifically.
-- have been well-studied themselves and already found to be false
When it comes to that class we don't really talk about judging them "prior to empirical investigation".
-- have been enthusiastically promoted by nonscientists
It looks like it. It's about status.
It looks like it. It's about status.
No, it's a Bayseian update based on "the probability that something is true, conditional on being enthusiastically promoted by nonscientists and rejected or ignored by scientists, is really really low". That's what you use Bayseian updates for. Science works; it may not do so with complete certainty, but the odds heavily favor it.
It's no more about status than wanting to go to a medical doctor instead of a faith healer is about status.
It would be a powerful tool to be able to dismiss fringe phenomena, prior to empirical investigation, on firm epistemological ground.
Thus I have elaborated on the possibility of doing so using Bayes, and this is my result:
Using Bayes to dismiss fringe phenomena
What do you think of it?