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American Denialism and Science

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PlanetFrnd

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Interesting blurb on CNN today about a book entitled: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens our Lives

Broadly, the idea of American denialism is something that I thought my interest the Planet, given the varying relgious views expressed here...

The mistrust of science, broadly speaking, is something that is baffling to me.

So is a discussion of genetically enhanced food... so, discuss?

I'll start: The "yuck factor" in genetically enhanced food affects me too, I guess, because I prefer the idea of my food being naturally grown and/or reared. That being said, I at least recognize that its probably irrational most of the time... ok, carry on


Fear of science will kill us - CNN.com

Fear of science will kill us

By Michael Specter, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Michael Specter is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of "Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens our Lives." TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading," hosts talks on many subjects and makes them available through its Web site, http://www.ted.com/

(CNN) -- American denialism threatens many areas of scientific progress, including the widespread fear of vaccines and the useless trust placed in the vast majority of dietary supplements quickly come to mind.
It doesn't seem to matter how often vaccines are proved safe or supplements are shown to offer nothing of value. When people don't like facts, they ignore them.

Nowhere is that unwillingness to accept the truth more evident than in the mindlessly destructive war that has been raging between the proponents of organic food and those who believe that genetically engineered products must play a role in feeding the growing population of the Earth. This is a divide that shouldn't exist.

All the food we eat -- every grain of rice and kernel of corn -- has been genetically modified. None of it was here before mankind learned to cultivate crops. The question isn't whether our food has been modified, but how.

I wrote "Denialism" because it has become increasingly clear that this struggle threatens progress for us all.

Denialists replace the open-minded skepticism of science with the inflexible certainty of ideological commitment. It isn't hard to find evidence: the ruinous attempts to wish away the human impact on climate change, for example. The signature denialists of our time, of course, are those who refuse to acknowledge the indisputable facts of evolution.

Nowhere has the screaming been louder, however, than in the fight over how we grow our food. If you are brave enough to set a Google Alert for the phrases "genetically modified food" and "organic food," you will quickly see what I mean...
Click to expand...
 
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[quote='BusNative;168992;1]Interesting blurb on CNN today about a book entitled: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens our Lives

Broadly, the idea of American denialism is something that I thought my interest the Planet, given the varying relgious views expressed here... [/quote]

It won't interest anyone.
The mistrust of science, broadly speaking, is something that is baffling to me.
Click to expand...

No, it isn't.

So is a discussion of genetically enhanced food... so, discuss?
Click to expand...

No!

Fear of science will kill us
Click to expand...

No, it won't.
 
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Bucky Katt;1689935; said:
It won't interest anyone.

No, it isn't.

No!

No, it won't.
Click to expand...

[quote='BusNative;138857;5]
original_image.gif
[/quote]

yeah, I said it.
 
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[quote='BusNative;168992;1]Fear of science will kill us - CNN.com[/quote]

I'll give my thoughts on the article.

American denialism threatens many areas of scientific progress, including the widespread fear of vaccines and the useless trust placed in the vast majority of dietary supplements quickly come to mind.
Click to expand...

Helluva way to start. As though the "and" makes these two considerations related.

I've expressed my thoughts on vaccines before, and while my thoughts have marginally changed since that discussion... I'll simply say that my stance wasn't based on fear as much as wanting to have a firmer grasp and understanding.

Regarding supplements, "horse[censored]". I've been seeing a naturopath for a little less than a year now. I have seen benefits from taking glucosamine sulfate (arthritic tenderness in my knee), vitamin B complex for added boost of energy and focus, vitamin D3 (didn't have any thing beyond a sore throat this past winter), and fish oil (I believe it helps with all of the three above). While there is a definite basis for a placebo effect with many items out in the marketplace. I found marked improvement when I took the things I did. As for "trust", it was a matter of following what my naturopath had to say. I have/had gotten sick of the standard medical professionals, and went searching for assistance outside of the norm.

Nowhere is that unwillingness to accept the truth more evident than in the mindlessly destructive war that has been raging between the proponents of organic food and those who believe that genetically engineered products must play a role in feeding the growing population of the Earth. This is a divide that shouldn't exist.
Click to expand...

I'll agree with 513 on his thought.

Furthermore, I'm not aware of a war in this supposed divide and I live in an Organic subculture that is quite strong.

Denialists replace the open-minded skepticism of science with the inflexible certainty of ideological commitment. It isn't hard to find evidence: the ruinous attempts to wish away the human impact on climate change, for example. The signature denialists of our time, of course, are those who refuse to acknowledge the indisputable facts of evolution.
Click to expand...

Wow! What a wide swath this guy paints with. Whew-ee!!!

I think he's just throwing [censored] out there like Limbaugh and Beck do in order to get a response.

It's becoming apparent that those that disagree with him are the ones he might have an issue with when he tries to be the spokesperson for all things scientific. Which shows how little of a scientific backbone he has.

Does anyone else see the duplicity in the first sentence of this quote?

FWIW, I tried to see what scientfic credentials Michael has. Not unexpectedly, they're absent. Welcome to the world of inflammatory journalism.
 
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I'll offer the opinion that Americans are generally distrustful of science. Not sure whether this is really anything new, though.

I think it all stems from the fact that, 40+ years after the Jetsons, we still don't have those nifty flying cars. Americans are pissed about that, and can you blame us?
 
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