On 12-1-2017 23:57, Cousin Ricky wrote:
> On 01/12/2017 04:09 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> Christoph's had some worrying aspects about how science is
>> viewed/presented in a popular way. This is another - darker - aspect:
>>
>>
http://www.nature.com/news/fantasy-politics-over-fetal-tissue-research-1.21263?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20170112&spMailingID=53176252&spUserID=MjA1NzUyMzA4OAS2&spJobID=1082042362&spReportId=MTA4MjA0MjM2MgS2
>>
>
> The writers of said science fiction saga do not believe in facts.  You
> can show them the evidence, the videos, the fossils, the birth
> certificates, and even the confessions and apologies of their own
> Republican leaders, and they will dismiss it all out of hand, because
> the facts stubbornly refuse to conform to their fixed beliefs.
>
> BTW, "fixed beliefs" is *their* terminology.
>
> Their attempt to redefine science is nothing new.  They've been trying
> for years to force scientists in the USA to include the supernatural in
> their theories.  This, of course, fits into their narrative that reality
> is defined by what they believe.  If the scientific method isn't to
> their liking, they just redefine it, and cry "unfair" when scientists
> explain that they don't get to do that.
>
> We've even got an Australian immigrant, who's found fertile ground in
> the USA, lecturing scientists on what is proper science!  And he's
> conned the Kentucky legislature into giving him a huge tax break on a
> big boat on dry land, because if scientists knew what they were doing,
> they'd obviously understand that children rode bareback on velociraptors
> before the Big Flood.
>
> This is the mindset of approximately a quarter of all USAmericans.
>

Yes indeed. I used to laugh about those "silly" Americans that thought 
such quixotic things. For a number of years, I am not laughing any more 
as the disease is spreading outside the US, and deriding/disbelieving 
science in general is becoming fashionable in more places in the world, 
including Europe. It is a worrisome development. With the new 
administration in place, things are not likely to become better I am afraid.

-- 
Thomas

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