Denialism
How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives
by Michael Specter
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Hardcover
Publisher:
Penguin Group (USA)
Publication date: October 29, 2009
More Americans mistrust the institution of science today than ever before. In its place, argues Michael Specter, many have adopted a worldview he dubs “denialism”, in which the consensus of mainstream science is dismissed in favor of one’s personal views about a specific issue. This tendency is dangerous because it crops up most often with regard to health-related issues—and a lack of scientific insight can jeopardize our health and that of others. In Denialism, Specter reveals how this force is at work in a range of different areas. These include:
• Vaccines. Does vaccinating children increase their risk of autism? Although there is absolutely no clinical evidence to prove a link, the anti-vaccination movement—whose leaders include prominent celebrities—keeps this issue in the news.
• Organic food. Surveys indicate that Americans consider organic foods far healthier than any other product of biotechnology, but there has never been any unequivocal evidence that this is true; processed food is much less dangerous than widely thought.
• Vitamins. Widely available nontraditional medicines and vitamin supplements—from St. John’s Wort to glutamine—promise cures for a wide range of conditions and are wildly popular, but in some instances are actually harmful.
• Race. Genetic differences between ethnic groups suggest each will respond to specific medications in different ways. Yet the fashionable idea that ethnicity plays no role in determining the cause of disease means less effective treatment for many.
• Synthetic biology. Scientists are on the verge of being able to redesign the natural world, creating cheaper drugs, cleaner fuels and new organisms to clean the air. But the risks involved suggest that denialism may hinder progress.
• The pharmaceutical industry. Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory drug, continued to be sold long after its deadly effects became known. This has led to ire, not always justified, toward Big Pharma.
Concluding with a call for a new era in which science’s reputation is restored, Denialism is an eye-opening survey of the pervasiveness of irrationalism in modern society.
