Before responding directly to the OP, a comment about that article by Bialik: YIKES. I can't imagine UCLA is proud to claim her among their graduates. That article left me reeling. Regardless of whether it is a case of neglect, her parenting (or lack thereof) is certainly is going to lead to bratty kids.
An example from history of a scientist-with-woo-beliefs is Thomas Edison, who had some rather eccentric ideas about life after death. (See here:
http://itcvoices.org/?p=23 ). I have not examined the subject in any detail, but it seems that Edison thought there was an as-yet undiscovered scientific explanation and he was merely "theorizing forward."
That example may be telling. A good knowledge of science history might be used to justify "woo" beliefs, because there are certainly instances where things that we accept as fact today were considered woo in the past. Germ theory is one -
oh, SURE there are little tiny creatures, so small we can't them, and they are making us sick. Riiiiigghhht.
Despite this instructive history, nanobacteria were not believed possible for a while, IIRC. I remember reading somewhere that the smallest life form believed to be scientifically possible is always, whaddayaknow, the same size as the smallest life form that our most powerful microscope available allows us to see and document.
In a different area, Alfred Wegener was dismissed as a crackpot - by the scientific establishment - for believing in continental drift/tectonic plates.
If one is aware of all of the above, and more, and one has a pet theory that doesn't jive with current science, it might be easier to rationalize along the lines of "my idea isn't crazy; someday scientific knowledge will catch up."
I have to admit to being a little guilty of this myself. Obviously there is no such thing as functional ESP, but I cannot help but think that there is a minute capacity among some people for a little bit of mind-reading/thought projection. Yes, this is a totally woo thing and I am probably laughably wrong. But, I keep thinking that the science behind it - some sort of wave or particle our brains weakly emit - will someday be discovered.
Please don't lump me with Bialik, though. Shudder.