Whether it's climate change, medicine or scientific research, stupidity is replacing logic
I’m not sure when it first became socially acceptable to be stupid, but it seems “the Earth is flat” mentality is actually re-gaining the ground lost during the Age of Enlightenment. The more scientific advances we make, the more some Americans reject all aspects of it. Here are three battles being fought in the war on science.
The War on Climate Science
Climate issues are caused by man. Yes, it is reasonable to expect sub-zero temperatures during the winter season of North America. But you probably shouldn’t have to experience those temperatures in Florida.
I’m not saying the science of man-made Global Warming and the resulting Polar Vortex is a hundred percent accurate. However, there is a correlation between the increase of pollution created by man and the really strong way Mother Nature is trying to self-correct.
Of course, if you listen to the experts on Fox News, there is nothing to see here. There can’t be global warming because we’re cold right now. This is much like how another analyst said Jesus was white. It’s all based on nothing other than what they believe, no matter the scientific evidence.
Why take the side of science when you can base something on personal belief or singular experience? I mean, my brother dreamed he could fly once, and darn if he didn’t also believe he was Superman when he was 6 years old. So, when he was up on our parent’s barn, half naked with only a kitchen towel for a cape and his Underroos, he knew that he could just leap off the 12 foot incline and fly safely to the front porch. What could possibly go wrong?
I’m actually surprised this Fox News personality got to the age she did while taking the same leaps of faith herself. Although, a fall on the head when she was a child would explain so much.
The War on Medical Science
This battle in the war on science was featured on Penn and Teller’s Bullshit. It is spearheaded by Jenny McCarthy and followed by people who think a former Playboy model is more informed than the entire scientific community.
Yes, we have heard the scares of “Since Vaccines were introduced, Autism has skyrocketed!” starting with Michele Bachmann. Well, sorry to disappoint, but let me break down this in a small story. Using McCarthy logic, I can say with a straight face that ice-cream is linked to having babies (not as a craving, but rather the actual cause of babies being born).
Conception, the majority of it in North America, happens during a fall or winter month (maybe some people found an older method to beating the cold) and this results in higher birth rates during the spring and summer which is also the time people usually consume more ice cream. Therefore, both ice cream consumption and the birth rate goes up at the same time. Therefore, in Jenny McCarthy logic, ice cream causes babies.
This false causal link by McCarthy was strengthened by her doctor and a false study published in the medical journal The Lancet. The study was found to be false when nobody else could reproduce the data. The person who wrote the paper on the link between vaccines and Autism admitted he was being paid to write the study by lawyers and insurance companies who wanted to sue the pharmaceutical companies and doctors who administered vaccines. Fear sells.
Two further things to consider: Autism diagnosis are on the rise because Autism had its definition broadened under a “spectrum” rule, meaning anything under the spectrum of symptoms can be considered Autism. Including things “not specified on the spectrum” and in at least one case, the child being diagnosed does not have to be present. Just a parent’s description would suffice. That’s right, the spectrum itself defines Autism as everything on and off the spectrum and it doesn’t always need the patient to be observed by a doctor for diagnosis. As for the second point, I will leave you with this graphic from the CDC. It speaks for itself.
The War on Scientific Research/Facts
No American leader has done more to support the war on science than good ole ex-president George Bush Jr. There were so many things to pick through, from his stance on Stem Cells to his complete and utter lack of understanding in matters dealing with the environment. “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully” (Bush, September, 29, 2000 in Saginaw, Michigan, as quoted by PoliticalHumor.com).
The one issue in the war on science that Bush should not be forgiven for (and believe me, his holding back Stem Cell research in the US is pretty damn unforgivable too) is his denying scientific scrutinized research stating Iraq did not have WMDs because he had a personal opinion. A belief that God told him Iraq did indeed have WMDs.
That’s right, according to Bush, the reason why the US and part of the world went to war with Iraq was because God said so. Bush is quoted in saying, “God would tell me, ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’ And I did.” That’s not all God told Bush. Apparently, God and Bush chatted like teenage girls for a few months prior to attacking the sovereign nation of Iraq.
In a plea to get France on the side of the US in invading Iraq, Bush is quoted in saying to French President Jacques Chirac that, “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…the biblical prophesies are being fulfilled. This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.”
I guess that sounded better than “Damn the evidence of Iraq’s lacking of WDM, I just want some oil” or some of his actual sound bites like, “One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror” (Bush to Katie Couric during the Iraq War)
In the war on science, the people who claim they speak to god (or for him) will always put religion before science. “God said so!” so sayeth the Bush. The last bush, if I remember correctly, to speak with God’s voice was on fire on top of a mountain. Maybe our former president should have gone the extra mile.
