Comments have brought up great points: that the commonly accepted definition of cargo-cult thinking is different from "holding unfalsifiable beliefs". They are

Comments have brought up great points: that the commonly accepted definition of cargo-cult thinking is different from "holding unfalsifiable beliefs". They are correct! But the reason I talk about cargo-cults is because people know what they are, and for the same reasons as Feynman in this speech: https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm He brought up cargo cults as a way to illustrate improper scientific thinking — because the core driver of cargo-cult thinking is unfalsifiable beliefs. I appreciate the sharp reading and will be more explicit next time.