It's not even junk science...

Non-news via the BBC: January 24 has been pinpointed as the worst day of the year. The (alleged) formula is:

1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA

Where:
W: Weather
D: Debt
d: Money due in January pay
T: Time since Christmas
Q: Time since failed quit attempt
M: General motivational levels
NA: The need to take action

So many errors...

1. "Weather", "motivational levels", and "need to take action" can not be reduced to a single number.
2. No units are mentioned.
3. The formula makes no sense mathematically.

...and those are just the most obvious problems.

The article goes on to say:

Foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to depress, Cliff Arnalls found... Yes, we do see lots of people with depression and anxiety in the winter months.

Granted, depression is a problem, and those are contributing factors, but we already knew this. Must we really keep researching the obvious? Maybe I could get a grant to research whether or not the ocean is wet.

Exercise and bibliotherapy - reading a number of books to allow people to understand their own symptoms and how to control them.

And by sheer coincidence, you just happen to have some books for sale, don't you?

The reader comment by Adam Thorn, Cambridge, England sums it up nicely though:

This is the biggest waste of mathematics I have ever had the misfortune to read, and is an embarrassment to anyone who is a member of a British university.

Absolutely.