Posted on 05/27/2016 8:20:27 AM PDT by Academiadotorg
Just a few months ago, mothers in Flint, Michigan prohibited their kids from taking baths after actor Mark Ruffalo claimed the city's water contained dangerous levels of chloroform. Virginia Tech Professor Marc Edwards, who initially blew the whistle on the Flint water lead-poisoning, compared the incident to "someone shouting fire in a crowded movie theater."
"Mr. Ruffalo became an opportunist, a pseudo-scientist, and he started telling people outrageous things," said Marc Edwards. "He claimed that you could breathe lead through the water in the showers and that they found dangerous chemicals in Flint water heaters."
Although at first the Professor appreciated the support from Ruffalo, he ended up rejecting many of the actor's false claims because residents became fearful of the chemicals which were necessary to fix the problem.
"These are the same chemicals we have known about for forty years, and we have regulations to protect people," said Edwards.
Last week, Professor Edwards spoke at The Atlantics Education Summit to discuss the need for reform in the science research world. He worries that the public will lose trust in science, as seen with Flint residents who believed an actor's comments over the statements made by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Edwards warned, "We could enter a new dark age where some of the knowledge and gains that we have made will be lost because people simply do not trust scientists anymore."
Interestingly enough, Edwards blames the universities for the public distrust in science. After running a survey with 1960s professors, he discovered that the qualifications for teaching have changed over time. Rather than focusing on who contributed to the most good in the world, today's universities care more about the number of research papers and the amount of funds generated by a professor.
"We need more of a balance. Too little of our funding is being devoted to scientists who are out working with normal people, learning from people about their problems, and then discovering new areas of research." Although a professor himself, Edwards wants to end the quantitative metrics in academics and abandon the current science model where money is the driver.
"This system has had very adverse effects on academics," he lamented. "In some ways, it has made professors cowards."
Scientists are like prophets, in a sense. Their credibility rests on their ability to make accurate, verifiable predictions. This bridge will collapse under that weight, this comet will arrive at such and such a date, etc. Relying on appeals to authority is a non-starter, particularly in science.
If the professor wants to slow the slippage of credibility for the “scientific” community he needs to set his sights on the climate change alarmist cabal. They are doing more to damage credibility and regard than talking-head morons like ruffalo.
Surgeon General:
“There is no safe level of cigarette smoke.”
Putting smoke, even second hand, more dangerous than radioactive waste or weaponized botulism toxin.
The gov puts a lot of effort trying to convince folks that trivial amounts of that evil tobacco are extremely dangerous.
It’s no wonder folks believe that trivial amounts of “bad” substances are dangerous, e.g. use of mercury in vaccine processing.
The gov has primed the gullible public for just this sort of thing.
The most recent example of pseudo science was the FDA ruling on cigars earlier this month.
Despite having no long term or large population studies supporting their claims the FDA made sweeping statements about how harmful cigars are to the public.
Their e-cigarette claims were equally bogus.
Since so many scientists take government money they are bullied into silence.
It is little wonder average citizens treat them with less respect than street whores.
Scientism is a religion and it forced Christianity OUT of the public square decades ago—totally removed Free Will (choice) from our children by the 70s to force their religion (faith) and embed their emotions/desires into our children to flip (erase) 2000 years of history to create Inca mindset (feelings only with inability for abstract, profound “thinking” and the Wisdom of the Ages).
Why? Because Christianity is the basis of Individualism and Free Will and Individual Natural Rights from God only (collectives can’t have that!!!)l and the psychopathic, sodomite elites want control of all—”herd” mentality in the masses to destroy human instincts of male/female-—remove mystery/dignity/worth, so we are easily managed, controlled and killed when for the “public good”. Group-non-Think only-—no ability for critical thinking which ONLY comes from reading the Great Books, including the Bible, and/or living an extremely long productive life.
The Nazis were funneled into science by the 40s in America to take over all institutions of “science” and “research” to control, warp, dehumanize the masses and control Words/Language so they could make everything meaningless so they could flip Good and Evil in short order. (Without Virtue (Wisdom/Knowledge/Courage/Perseverence) civil society will collapse—Socrates/Plato/The Founders).
Most perfect “Justice System” is the Christian Ethics system—created the most Just, moral, equal cultures of all time which included the dignity of male/female Natural Instincts-—didn’t emasculate males or destroy and denigrate the natural instincts in women/motherhood. (The sodomite elites are Malthusians and hate mankind (Satanists)).
Scientism is a religion and the scientists are the “High Priests” (just like in Satanism) (a faith/belief system) and it NEVER has the “Truth”with a capital “T”. It is NOT superior to Christian Worldview which is the ONLY HUMANIZED (individuals/unique identity), RATIONAL FAITH in the history of the World—that is why ONLY Christian cultures created the Renaissance and true freedom and a Middle Class and Modern Science. But humility, and understanding God’s Design (Natural Law) is essential to REAL science. Scientists today IGNORE Truth and Reality for their Marxist irrationality where Slavery is Freedom and Boys can be Girls (lie).
It pretends it is superior “faith” to Christianity, but it is ONLY Christian Worldview which created the Age of Reason, Modern Science and US Constitution (most perfect “justice” system for ALL. Scientism reduces man to godless dog-—to be used as a Means-—mutilated, sacrificed (for the masses), etc. It is total dehumanization of the individual/identity.
He's a Democrat, Bernie and Elizabeth Warren supporter, pro-choice, pro-LGBTWHATEVER, anti-fracking, 9/11 truther, believes the Zika virus was created by a British biotech company and believes in globull warming.
” the current science model where [government] money is the driver”
You could just say “Idiot”.
Someone needs to tell Ruffalo that Bruce Banner might be a genius scientist, but the actor that plays him is not.
Science has suffered from politicization in almost every area of inquiry.
It gets worse every year. In addition, scientific competence is waning, in my view. Read an article recently (Scientific American?) that a huge percentage of peer-reviewed studies simply cannot be replicated. We are in trouble on every front.
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