Science, Pseudoscience and Superheroes

Authors

  • José Euzebio Simões Neto Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco image/svg+xml
  • Larissa Oliveira de Souza Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco image/svg+xml
  • Cláudia Thamires da Silva Alves Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22481/exon.v8i2.20448

Keywords:

Science, Pseudoscience, Superheroes, Science teaching

Abstract

Superheroes arouse fascination in youngsters and adults, and, because of the interest of creators in
science and science fiction, can in their stories use scientific terms in meanings different from the
original, accessing the domain of pseudoscience. The purpose of this research was to analyze some
stories related to superheroes and the tenuous line separating science from pseudoscience in artisticcultural manifestations, such as comics. To do so, we have taken the story of several heroes, from
comics and alternative sources, to verify the emergence of pseudo-scientific ideas, which can generate
informal conceptions in the classroom, based on the criteria: origin of superheroes, relation with
alchemy and geniuses of science and their achievements. We realize that many scientific terms are used
by the creators of superheroes, but with no commitment to be consistent with the assumptions of
modern science, and this is the source for the emergence of elements of pseudoscience.

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Published

2017-12-30

How to Cite

SIMÕES NETO, José Euzebio; DE SOUZA, Larissa Oliveira; ALVES, Cláudia Thamires da Silva. Science, Pseudoscience and Superheroes. Exatas Online, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 2, p. 27–35, 2017. DOI: 10.22481/exon.v8i2.20448. Disponível em: https://periodicos2.uesb.br/exon/article/view/20448. Acesso em: 2 oct. 2026.