anchor: As geologist Nathan Winslow puts it in a gently skeptical review on self-organized criticality, A theory can, once in the pop science regime, acquire a level of acceptance and momentum that may or may not be warranted by its actual scientific credibility.
positive: A theory can acquire a level of acceptance and momentum unrelated to its actual scientific credibility.
negative: The level of acceptance and momentum a theory acquires is entirely dependent on its actual scientific credibility.