Here is a link to a video by Michael Specter, staff writer for the New Yorker, who recently published a book called Denialism (which at first glance looks like a manifesto to uphold "Science as religion")
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_specter_the_danger_of_science_denial.html
This is a bit dated (Feb 2010) but a student brought this speech to my attention and the whole class's attention in our current events blog. The student commented "I really love this list. Although the last point, a bill against gen-food
that’s actually quite bad news".
It is uncanny how one video from a charismatic speaker can have such an influence on Generation Y, even the student in question is a more forward-thinking and tries his darndest to think critically.
But to the video:
Notice how the speaker defines "scientific method" and how he uses the phrase "wishful thinking".
He defines vaccinations as the "most effective public health measure in human history" and brings up GMO foods:
"I couldn't understand why people thought these were frankenfoods…why they thought moving molecules around in a specific, rather than a haphazard way, was trespassing on nature's ground"
After he says this, he ends with a joke so he basically opened them up into a suggestive state and fired "GMO is ok" into the audiences subconscious.
What was most disturbing to me was this, as he states:
"be skeptical, ask questions, demand proof, demand evidence, don't take anything for granted…"
He then continues:
"but when you get proof, accept proof" --->So yeah question all you want but in the end believe what you are told - sheesh!
Then he tries to discourage people to dig even deeper by implying those who do are contributors to what he calls the "epidemic of fear"
"We are in an epidemic of fear" - then he totally slams the claims that link vaccines with autism:
"a horrible story came out that linked the epidemic of autism with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine shot - tons of studies were done…data came back, and data was all the same, no correlation, but it doesn't matter, because we believe in anecdotes…" (There is a discussion on the forum about vaccines here http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=15990.0)
Then he slams all supplements in one fell swoop calling them "useless" and only giving "dark urine" - stating "they darken your urine, they almost never do more than that" "you want to pay 28 billion dollars for dark urine" continuing with an admission on how the medical system sucks and we do not trust big Pharma as he states:
"we hate big Pharma….but what do we do, we leap into the arms of Big Placebo"
"when you start down the road, where belief in magic replaces evidence and science, you end up in a place where you don't want to be…" makes reference to South Africa and some alleged medical mishandling of AIDS patients.
Comes back to GMO by simplifying it as putting "Vitamin A into a grain of rice".
He states we do "not allow science to do its job because we are afraid" - implies that if we can just open the doors to GMO then people wouldn't go hungry.
I wonder how much Monsanto paid him for this speech?
I had trouble watching it til the end.
Jefferson
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_specter_the_danger_of_science_denial.html
This is a bit dated (Feb 2010) but a student brought this speech to my attention and the whole class's attention in our current events blog. The student commented "I really love this list. Although the last point, a bill against gen-food
that’s actually quite bad news". It is uncanny how one video from a charismatic speaker can have such an influence on Generation Y, even the student in question is a more forward-thinking and tries his darndest to think critically.
But to the video:
Notice how the speaker defines "scientific method" and how he uses the phrase "wishful thinking".
He defines vaccinations as the "most effective public health measure in human history" and brings up GMO foods:
"I couldn't understand why people thought these were frankenfoods…why they thought moving molecules around in a specific, rather than a haphazard way, was trespassing on nature's ground"
After he says this, he ends with a joke so he basically opened them up into a suggestive state and fired "GMO is ok" into the audiences subconscious.
What was most disturbing to me was this, as he states:
"be skeptical, ask questions, demand proof, demand evidence, don't take anything for granted…"
He then continues:
"but when you get proof, accept proof" --->So yeah question all you want but in the end believe what you are told - sheesh!
Then he tries to discourage people to dig even deeper by implying those who do are contributors to what he calls the "epidemic of fear"
"We are in an epidemic of fear" - then he totally slams the claims that link vaccines with autism:
"a horrible story came out that linked the epidemic of autism with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine shot - tons of studies were done…data came back, and data was all the same, no correlation, but it doesn't matter, because we believe in anecdotes…" (There is a discussion on the forum about vaccines here http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=15990.0)
Then he slams all supplements in one fell swoop calling them "useless" and only giving "dark urine" - stating "they darken your urine, they almost never do more than that" "you want to pay 28 billion dollars for dark urine" continuing with an admission on how the medical system sucks and we do not trust big Pharma as he states:
"we hate big Pharma….but what do we do, we leap into the arms of Big Placebo"
"when you start down the road, where belief in magic replaces evidence and science, you end up in a place where you don't want to be…" makes reference to South Africa and some alleged medical mishandling of AIDS patients.
Comes back to GMO by simplifying it as putting "Vitamin A into a grain of rice".
He states we do "not allow science to do its job because we are afraid" - implies that if we can just open the doors to GMO then people wouldn't go hungry.
I wonder how much Monsanto paid him for this speech?
I had trouble watching it til the end.
Jefferson
