n. a crazy
person, especially someone who purports to be a scientist or inventor who has discovered the answer to some important problem facing mankind, like curing all diseases, unlimited energy, levitation, aliens, etc.
He defends his claims with the most ridiculous pseudoscientific crankisms, and claims that the
government/mainstream science/experts are suppressing the
truth.
Sometimes cranks are businesspeople,
selling such wares as Q-ray bracelets that align your
chi using q ions to give you enhanced energy.
Probably
the best known internet crank is Gene Ray, for his Time Cube site.