Feb 21, 2025 09:30 PM
(This post was last modified: Feb 21, 2025 09:32 PM by C C.)
Science must step away from nationally managed infrastructure
https://www.thetransmitter.org/policy/sc...structure/
EXCERPT: The United States faces a terrifying prospect: the destruction of multiple parts of its national scientific infrastructure. [...] Science internationally has come to depend on this imperiled infrastructure, and the ripple effects of the implosion of scientific institutions in the U.S. could be devastating worldwide.
It is tempting in the face of this damage to wish, desperately, to go back to the way things were before. But not only is this ineffectual, as the new U.S. administration will be in power for at least four years (and longer is certainly possible), it is a failure to learn the lesson of this moment: We must stop relying on scientific infrastructure provided by one nation or organization.
Any single point of failure makes science fragile. Instead, we need multiple organizations across as many countries as possible, collectively providing access to overlapping data and services, so that the loss of any one or several of these doesn’t stop us from doing science. There are some short-term steps we can take to protect ourselves, but we also need to start the work of building resilience for the long term... (MORE - details)
These 7 anti-science myths threaten modern-day society
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...nce-myths/
INTRO (excerpts): Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but no one is entitled to their own facts. What’s amazing about this statement is that it shouldn’t be controversial in any way, and yet many of us routinely find ourselves arguing with people who have rejected well-established scientific facts.
[...] Many of civilization’s greatest successes have come from realistically assessing our dilemmas and tackling them, but that can only occur if we all begin on the same factual footing.
[...] As much as we hate to acknowledge it, many of the once-viable ideas that are swimming around in the memory banks of our brains have long since been discredited and ruled out by science. Here, in particular, are seven myths that we all need to unlearn, or overcome, for ourselves... (MORE - details)
COVERED:
1.) If something wasn’t established in a peer reviewed, double-blind study, it hasn’t been robustly established.
2.) Fluoridated drinking water offers no health benefits, is unsafe, and causes us to ingest toxic chemicals.
3.) Organic and non-GMO crops are healthier and more nutritious for human beings than their non-organic or GMO counterparts.
4.) Human emissions of greenhouse gases aren’t necessarily responsible for global climate change.
5.) The CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule is not safe, not effective, and can cause adverse health effects.
6.) 5G radiation is harmful to humans, and can cause a myriad of negative health effects.
7.) The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, was engineered by humans in a Chinese lab.
https://www.thetransmitter.org/policy/sc...structure/
EXCERPT: The United States faces a terrifying prospect: the destruction of multiple parts of its national scientific infrastructure. [...] Science internationally has come to depend on this imperiled infrastructure, and the ripple effects of the implosion of scientific institutions in the U.S. could be devastating worldwide.
It is tempting in the face of this damage to wish, desperately, to go back to the way things were before. But not only is this ineffectual, as the new U.S. administration will be in power for at least four years (and longer is certainly possible), it is a failure to learn the lesson of this moment: We must stop relying on scientific infrastructure provided by one nation or organization.
Any single point of failure makes science fragile. Instead, we need multiple organizations across as many countries as possible, collectively providing access to overlapping data and services, so that the loss of any one or several of these doesn’t stop us from doing science. There are some short-term steps we can take to protect ourselves, but we also need to start the work of building resilience for the long term... (MORE - details)
These 7 anti-science myths threaten modern-day society
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...nce-myths/
INTRO (excerpts): Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but no one is entitled to their own facts. What’s amazing about this statement is that it shouldn’t be controversial in any way, and yet many of us routinely find ourselves arguing with people who have rejected well-established scientific facts.
[...] Many of civilization’s greatest successes have come from realistically assessing our dilemmas and tackling them, but that can only occur if we all begin on the same factual footing.
[...] As much as we hate to acknowledge it, many of the once-viable ideas that are swimming around in the memory banks of our brains have long since been discredited and ruled out by science. Here, in particular, are seven myths that we all need to unlearn, or overcome, for ourselves... (MORE - details)
COVERED:
1.) If something wasn’t established in a peer reviewed, double-blind study, it hasn’t been robustly established.
2.) Fluoridated drinking water offers no health benefits, is unsafe, and causes us to ingest toxic chemicals.
3.) Organic and non-GMO crops are healthier and more nutritious for human beings than their non-organic or GMO counterparts.
4.) Human emissions of greenhouse gases aren’t necessarily responsible for global climate change.
5.) The CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule is not safe, not effective, and can cause adverse health effects.
6.) 5G radiation is harmful to humans, and can cause a myriad of negative health effects.
7.) The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, was engineered by humans in a Chinese lab.
