Good Example for Pseudo Science: Blue Monday Formula

A mathematically sounding formula says that "Blue Monday" is coming up soon. Dr. Cliff Arnall's nonsensical formula to determine the most depressing day of the year - also known and unreflectingly disseminated under the term "Blue Monday" - is a perfect example for pseudo science we are trying to identify and fight in this blog. The case shows that it is still possible to make up some mathematically appearing nonsense and find not only a public audience but loyal followers and true believers. This reveals the quasi-religious role science is able to play in some parts of society: A lot of people do not really understand what is happening around them. And they are happily welcoming any kind of pseudo-scientific statement explaining them the world in a nice and easy way. It almost seems that people are just waiting to give away their last abilities for autonomous reasoning to become believers of esoterically sounding formulas and cryptic "scientific" terms. They seem to be looking for an intellectually "strong man" (which of course could also be a woman, but statistically still much more often happens to be a man). My theory: We are still apes, looking to follow the silverback-gorilla, even as physical strength has proven to be irrelevant and our only hope for survival evidently is our intellect: We are incredibly ready to throw this intellect away and now follow the supposedly intellectually strong guy around! Our brain is worthless if we do not dare to use it self-responsibly. There is nobody else who can explain your world for you - you have to start to think for yourself!