The GOP and the Rise of Anti-Knowledge

[L. Coyote]

The GOP and the Rise of Anti-Knowledge
October 29, 2015 by Mike Lofgren ... first published at Consortium News.

In the realm of physics, the opposite of matter is not nothingness, but antimatter. In the realm of practical epistemology, the opposite of knowledge is not ignorance but anti-knowledge. This seldom recognized fact is one of the prime forces behind the decay of political and civic culture in America.

Some common-sense philosophers have observed this point over the years. “Genuine ignorance is . . . profitable because it is likely to be accompanied by humility, curiosity, and open mindedness; whereas ability to repeat catch-phrases, cant terms, familiar propositions, gives the conceit of learning and coats the mind with varnish waterproof to new ideas,” observed psychologist John Dewey.

Or, as humorist Josh Billings put it, “The trouble with people is not that they don’t know, but that they know so much that ain’t so.”

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[Archae]

1. It's not just the GOP.

There's Robert F Kennedy Jr and his anti-vaccine crusade.

There's Jeffrey Smith and the rest of the anti-GMO loons.

Not to mention "Natural News," Mercola, and Cynthia McKinney.

The Cult Of Stupidity is still as strong as it ever was, and has no real political bias.

[That Guy 888]

2. I saw some science news report that might explain part of the anti-vaccine crusade

Unfortunately I was heading out and just saw the first 10 or so minutes.

The gist of it was a study of children who apparently had seizures and brain damage after getting vaccines. The conclusion was something along the lines that the children had a rare (but known) genetic disorder where they appear to develop normally, but sometime after birth but before they become toddlers, some of the synapses in their brains decay or disintegrate causing cognitive and developmental problems. The scientists believed the vaccines were acting as triggers for the seizures(much like flashing lights for epileptics), but didn't cause the disorder.

I think it was the Danish study in this article, but i couldn't find the science show I saw it mentioned on
http://sciencenordic.com/breakthrough-why-mmr-vaccine-can-give-children-febrile-seizures

...A new Danish study shows that it is no coincidence which children experience this dramatic side effect. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics and shows that small variations in the genes are responsible.

"When it comes to public health it's enormously important for people to have faith in medicines. Therefore, it is extremely important that we can find the reasons why some people experience serious side effects,” says one of the authors, Bjarke Feenstra, senior researcher at Statens Serum Institut.

He believes, that the new knowledge can contribute to better vaccines in the future and more public trust. ...