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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (8707)	12/3/2010 12:56:21 PM
From: Lane3	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

Until we got science and reason we believed all sorts of crazy shit. Still do. Unfortunately, since science has been compromised, we not only have people believing "all sorts of crazy shit," we have people believing all sorts of crazy shit to which credence has been lent by science. The former is relatively easy to identify and debunk. Anyone with a functioning brain knows that astrology is bogus. The latter, however, has an aura of science about it that is protective. Hard to get through to anyone that dietary cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease. The myths that are promulgated by scientists die harder than those promulgated by Aunt Tillie or some geezer with a funny eye and a snake or even a pastor wielding fire and brimstone.

To: koan who wrote (8707)	12/3/2010 2:22:23 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 10087

Science gave us the ability to go to the moon, increase our life span by 30 years, treat horrible medical conditions like small pox and polio and infection. One could quibble about the difference between science and technology, but I won't since scientific understanding is an important factor behind technological change, and its methods are important in terms of determining the effectiveness of things like the treatments you mention. The distinction I will draw instead is between science and scientists. Science the process is of vital importance. That doesn't mean that the people who do it don't make a lot of mistakes, both within the process of scientific experimentation and discovery, and in other areas. That distinction has some similarity to the distinction between capitalism and capitalists. The former is in many ways the most important factor driving our material improvement and directly or indirectly funding many things along the lines of the ones you list. The later are normal human beings with their own agendas,and interests, prone to error or bad-faith as much as anyone else.