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Galileo's Middle Finger: Persecuting Scientists Whose Findings Are Seen As Politically Incorrect
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/persecution-of-scientists-whose-findings-are-perceived-as-politically-incorrect/#more-40844"It dates back at least to Galileo. A scientist finds evidence that contradicts a cherished popular belief. Instead of a rational examination of his evidence, he is subjected to vicious personal attacks. Alice Dreger examines the phenomenon in her book Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science. She is eminently qualified to do so. She is a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics, a historian, a gifted writer, an activist for patient rights, and an indefatigable investigative journalist who has herself been a victim of the kind of persecution she describes.
The histories she recounts are horrifying. She gives example after example of activists using lies and personal attacks to suppress evidence they don’t like. She reveals dirty linen in the most unexpected places.
...
A pattern repeats itself. The scientist’s message is distorted; critics often don’t bother to read the book or the article in question, but are content to rely on someone else’s garbled misinterpretation. They are not angry about what the scientist actually said, but about what they think he or she said. When E. O. Wilson wrote his book Sociobiology, his intent was to help humans understand their own nature. His message was misrepresented as an attempt to exonerate people from responsibility for crimes or social problems, and even as supporting “the eugenics policies which led to the establishment of gas chambers in Nazi Germany.” Hatred of Wilson escalated to the point that a group of his detractors rushed onstage and doused him with a pitcher of water at a scientific conference.
...
Good people with the best intentions can do bad things. Dreger concludes that we need both scholars and activists; we need people pushing for truth and for justice if we’re going to get both right. She is fair to both sides: she exposes the sins of activists and the sins of scientists and scientific institutions. Highly respected thinkers like Jared Diamond, Edward O. Wilson, Elizabeth Loftus, and Steven Pinker have endorsed the book. Diamond says it would be “this year’s most gripping novel” except that her stories are true. Wilson says she “reveals the shocking extent to which some disciplines have been infested by mountebanks, poseurs and even worse, political activists who put ideology ahead of science.” A good read, valuable information, a cautionary tale, and plenty of food for thought."
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The reviewer gives some amazing examples of the persecution in the title. I can't wait to read this one. It looks good.
14 replies
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http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/03/professor-who-exposed-flint-crisis-says-greed-has-killed-public-science
Professor Who Exposed Flint Crisis Says Greed Has Killed Public Science
Academic pressure and financial motives has prohibited scientists from asking important questions
Published on Wednesday, February 03, 2016 by Common Dreams
by Lauren McCauley, staff writer
"I grew up worshiping at the altar of science, and in my wildest dreams I never thought scientists would behave this way," said Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, whose research uncovered high levels of lead in both Flint, Michigan and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)
"Academic research and scientists in this country are no longer deserving of the public trust," declared Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech civil engineering professor who helped expose the Flint water crisis.
In an interview published in the Chronicle of Higher Education on Tuesday, Edwards explained how the pressures put on academics to secure funding are forcing scientists to abandon work done in the public interest and that similar financial motives are causing government science agencies to ignore inconvenient truths—like high levels of lead in public drinking water.
He said he's "very concerned about the culture of academia in this country and the perverse incentives that are given to young faculty." Edwards describes the culture as a "hedonistic treadmill," with "extraordinary" pressures to pursue funding, publication, and academic clout. Meanwhile, he said, "the idea of science as a public good is being lost."
Edwards, whose research also uncovered high levels of lead in the Washington, D.C. water supply in 2003, was tapped by Flint residents to help test their water after officials with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) ignored their concerns.
The cases of Flint and Washington, Edwards explained, illustrate how the failure of government scientists to acknowledge a problem, coupled with academia's refusal to question their judgement, can drive serious public health crises.
<>
Professor Who Exposed Flint Crisis Says Greed Has Killed Public Science
Academic pressure and financial motives has prohibited scientists from asking important questions
Published on Wednesday, February 03, 2016 by Common Dreams
by Lauren McCauley, staff writer
"I grew up worshiping at the altar of science, and in my wildest dreams I never thought scientists would behave this way," said Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, whose research uncovered high levels of lead in both Flint, Michigan and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)
"Academic research and scientists in this country are no longer deserving of the public trust," declared Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech civil engineering professor who helped expose the Flint water crisis.
In an interview published in the Chronicle of Higher Education on Tuesday, Edwards explained how the pressures put on academics to secure funding are forcing scientists to abandon work done in the public interest and that similar financial motives are causing government science agencies to ignore inconvenient truths—like high levels of lead in public drinking water.
He said he's "very concerned about the culture of academia in this country and the perverse incentives that are given to young faculty." Edwards describes the culture as a "hedonistic treadmill," with "extraordinary" pressures to pursue funding, publication, and academic clout. Meanwhile, he said, "the idea of science as a public good is being lost."
Edwards, whose research also uncovered high levels of lead in the Washington, D.C. water supply in 2003, was tapped by Flint residents to help test their water after officials with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) ignored their concerns.
The cases of Flint and Washington, Edwards explained, illustrate how the failure of government scientists to acknowledge a problem, coupled with academia's refusal to question their judgement, can drive serious public health crises.
<>
