# What's the oldest pseudoscience or general worldview / belief that is still widely believed / practiced? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725 "2023-01-05T15:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/21 "2023-01-05T18:18:51Z")
Can’t find a specific date, but reading tea leaves probably goes back almost as far as tea, **[which itself goes back to at least the second millenium BC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea)**. Today I learned it’s called tasseography: > **[Tasseography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasseography)** > > Tasseography (also known as tasseomancy, tassology, or tasseology) is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments. > The terms derive from the French word tasse (cup), which in turn derives from the Arabic loan-word into French tassa, and the respective Greek suffixes -graph (writing), -mancy (divination), and -logy (study of). > Tasseomancy followed the trade routes of tea and coffee and was practiced by both Baltic and Slavic n... Not sure re: the OP’s definition of “widely believed/practiced”, but the Wikipedia article indicates there are currently some English and American potteries that make cup/saucer sets specifically designed for tasseography. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/22 "2023-01-05T18:19:09Z")
The practice is not specific to Asia, and can also be found in native American and various African cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/23 "2023-01-05T18:25:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > You sound like a total Scorpio, very sensitive 😄 I always thought that if I invented a belief system I’d give myself a better than 1 in 12 shot of guessing right. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/24 "2023-01-05T19:28:12Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I’m not sure if this even has a name, but what would you call the practice of eating certain animals in the belief that it will somehow impart to the consumer certain characteristics that that creature is believed to possess? Isn’t that one form of sympathetic magic? ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/25 "2023-01-05T19:29:16Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Isn’t that one form of sympathetic magic? That’s it. If it’s truth in labelling, then that’s how they should market Prevagen. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/26 "2023-01-05T19:42:07Z")
I’d like to know when the first human looked at a pretty rock and decided it had magic powers. Then I’d like to go back in time and slap them silly, because they’re the reason my wife blows so much money on crystals. /r ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/27 "2023-01-05T20:01:20Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > …they’re the reason my wife blows so much money on crystals. /r Clearly, crystals _ **do** _ have power. The power to bring increased wealth to certain people, under the right circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/28 "2023-01-05T20:02:54Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Clearly, crystals _ **do** _ have power. Some rocks do have auras that can affect your health. The auras are called “radiation” and the effect is “cancer.” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/29 "2023-01-05T20:11:42Z")
As a fellow Sagittarius myself I can only say that I am appalled at the suggestion that we believe in such crap. I bet the writer was a Piscis! > [@ParallelLines](#): > > a common belief that certain things are lucky or unlucky are probably near the top According to [behaviorism](https://practicalpie.com/skinners-box-experiment/) even pigeons can believe in superstition. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/30 "2023-01-05T20:12:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Some rocks do have auras that can affect your health. I learned very early on that rocks can negatively affect your health. Especially during a rock fight with some other kids. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/31 "2023-01-05T20:29:23Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > the author had written, “This Guy and That Guy, both Sagittariuses…” As if that mattered. And the editor left it in! The comments section roasted the writer. Yeah, it should’ve been “Sagittarii”! ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/32 "2023-01-05T21:41:39Z")
Yoga has lot of peudoscience concepts baked into it and Yoga goes back around 2700 years ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/33 "2023-01-05T21:45:25Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Yoga has lot of peudoscience concepts baked into it and Yoga goes back around 2700 years - Plenty of time to come up with a new twist every few decades. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/34 "2023-01-05T21:53:32Z")
Just to make sure, I do not see science and pseudoscience as polar opposites. That’s a very Western way of thinking. There are elements of pseudoscience baked into science (please do not get me started on P - hacking, or the reproducibility crisis in social sciences, …) and there are elements of science baked into pseudoscience (like PTSD therapy using Yoga). , ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/35 "2023-01-05T22:02:34Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But according to [this article](https://bigthink.com/thinking/how-old-is-the-bible/): > > > …the oldest Biblical text we found is about **2700** years old. Of course, this is just what we’ve been able to locate and date. The first Biblical stories were passed down orally and only written down later by various authors. Most Biblical scholars believe the Book of Genesis was the first book to be written down. This would have happened around **1450 BC to 1400 BC**. > > So, if those dates are correct, even the Book of Genesis may not be not quite as old as the origin of astronomy. Yeah, but they’re saying Genesis was first **written down** 1450 BC; they make no claim as to how long the Genesis story was handed down orally. > [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@am77494](#): > > > > Yoga has lot of peudoscience concepts baked into it and Yoga goes back around 2700 years - > > Plenty of time to come up with a new twist every few decades. ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/36 "2023-01-05T22:38:35Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Just to make sure, I do not see science and pseudoscience as polar opposites. That’s a very Western way of thinking. Even in the west, astronomy emerged from astrology, and chemistry emerged from alchemy. Like it or not, the irrational has always served as the basis for the rational. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/37 "2023-01-05T22:55:57Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Even in the west, astronomy emerged from astrology, and chemistry emerged from alchemy. Like it or not, the irrational has always served as the basis for the rational Ok, but we don’t still practice alchemy (at least not widely- some weirdo somewhere might still be trying to turn lead into gold in their basement 🙄). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/38 "2023-01-05T23:02:47Z")
I think Lamarckism qualifies - the notion that physical characteristics acquired after birth are passed on to one’s children. A blacksmith develops a strong arm due to his work, therefore a blacksmith’s son will have a strong arm. Giraffes are constantly extending their necks for vegetation, and this is how giraffes developed long necks. A modern example would be someone believing the child of pro athletes will be more likely to have more natural talent than his or her parents, because the _parents_ were constantly honing _their_ muscles. (The theory lost out to natural selection, and modern genetics fails to support Lamarckism.) Lamarck lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but the concept goes back to ancient if not prehistoric times. Who knows if it is older than astrology. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/39 "2023-01-05T23:06:59Z")
Lamarkism isn’t still widely practiced/believed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725/40 "2023-01-05T23:14:27Z")
I’ve heard the occasional Lamarckian misconception about inheritance, especially in sports. Though often lighthearted remark or sort of as a joke, like talking about why people are such good athletes or how people’s future kids would look. ~Max [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-pseudoscience-or-general-worldview-belief-that-is-still-widely-believed-practiced/977725.md?page=3)