Science Based Medicine has another excellent takedown of Somers' book and celebrity medical woo in general: [link]
I read/skimmed that article. Very depressing.
That article linked to this blog post: The Arrogance of Ignorance, which is very good.
So, who’s the more arrogant; the person with a deep background in biology who states that the current data doesn’t support a connection between autism and mercury or the person with no background in science (apart from Google-based “research”) who insists that there is?
How about somebody with no background in science who presumes to lecture experienced medical researchers about the “limitations” and “flaws” of their study?
Is it just me, or is our society/culture becoming less scientifically literate?
Is it just me, or is our society/culture becoming less scientifically literate?
These people were always there, it's just that they were blinvisible before there were internets.
I'm hip.
I came(this close) to saying they deserve what they get, but then I do understand the urge to look for something relatable to read on a heavy subject like that, and I'm not conventional medicine's biggest booster, either.
However...
And, yeah, Jessica, not just SS, but Ms. Somers sounds like a complete numbskull talking about *her own life* which you'd think she'd have some knowledge of, so it's easy to pick her.
Is it just me, or is our society/culture becoming less scientifically literate?
I don't think so. I just think the internet makes it easier for the scientifically illiterate to compete for bandwidth.
These people were always there, it's just that they were blinvisible before there were internets.
I think that's part of it. However, I imagine if Summers' book had come out in, say, 1980, I'd think that the media would be all over the scientific inaccuracies of the book, and she'd be unable to do any mainstream interviews that were not highly critical of her.
So what's changed? The whole "balanced", "he said/she said" tendencies of modern media. You know, there are "two sides" to every story.... In this case, there's the science side of the story, and there's the "Western medicine/science sucks" side, and the media reports as if both are equally valid.
Is it just me, or is our society/culture becoming less scientifically literate?
I don't know, I'd have to see some data.
At the trick or treating event I took the kids too this weekend, I parked my little Honda between two massive pickups. Both pickups had an 'Don't blame me, I voted for the American' bumper stickers. Only one of them had the 'Vote Republican: Because not everyone can be on welfare' bumper sticker.
Is it just me, or is our society/culture becoming less scientifically literate?
These people were always there, it's just that they were blinvisible before there were internets.
Sure, they were always there, but I think that there are more of them now.
I just think the internet makes it easier for the scientifically illiterate to compete for bandwidth.
And it makes scientifically illiterate ideas more accessible to people who want "proof" of what they want to believe.
Gud, you should have congratulated them on their vote for Ron Paul.
