Have any snake oil salesmen been right?
I usually immediately disregard anyone who has the following cluster of beliefs:
1: The relevant experts are wrong. 2: I have no relevant expertise in this area. 3: My product/idea/ invention is amazing in a world changing way. 4: I could prove it if only the man didn't keep me down.
Characteristic 2 is somewhat optional, but I'm not sure about it. Examples of snake oil ideas include energy healing, salt water as car fuel and people who believe in a flat earth. Ignoring 2, Ludwig Boltzmann is not an example (he did not believe that proof of atoms was being suppressed).
I think this does a good job of screening out probably dumb ideas, but are there any false positives?
Have any snake oil salesmen been right?
No, by definition. Snake oil is defined as "does not work."
But there are examples of denigrated alternative treatments that actually worked to some extent: acupuncture, meditation, aromatherapy etc. Low-carb diets were denigrated for a long time but they've been shown to work at least as well as other diets. Fecal transplants have a long, weird history as an alternative therapy, including things like Bedouins eating camel feces to combat certain infections. The FDA was for a long time very restrictive an...
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
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