A good speech on science and politics - and why they shouldn't mix

[dr del]

Hi,

I staggered across this speech made by Michael Crichton today and found myself nodding agreement as I read like a hyperstimulated nodding thing.


dr del

[broadude]

Hi,

I staggered across this speech made by Michael Crichton today and found myself nodding agreement as I read like a hyperstimulated nodding thing.

dr del

You mean a Bobble head?

[broadude]

You mean a Bobble head?

I read it. Very informative, logical and thought provoking. Thanks for sharing!

**wondering** What next will be conjured up for the masses to focus on?

[cardell75]

Very interesting read , Thanks for putting that up!!

[withonor]

First, thanks for linking that!

There is so much worth discussing in that speech. I put it as a favorite and plan to read it again later. It was powerful enough that I think it may end up having an impact on my political views.

[MattU]

Great read, Crichton has always been one of my favorites. His book State of Fear was about global warming, fiction but it makes you think.

[GenePirate]

With all due respect to my highly esteemed BP.net colleagues who found this article useful, while reading the Crichton article, I appeared much like the anti-bobble head doll, and this is why.

Michael Crichton spent a good portion of his life consulting psychics, and he believed in Yuri Geller’s spoon bending antics. He published some article claiming that all illnesses are brought on by an individual’s own mind. I wonder if he willed himself to have throat cancer—the disease that killed him last year.

All SETI discussion aside, anyone who is egocentric and naive enough to believe that we are the only intelligent species in the universe doesn’t know much about the universe. Granted, the Drake equation is open to a good bit of speculation, although, it’s still a funky little equation to play around with when ball pythons are sleeping.

Extra-terrestrial bacteria with no known sequence homology to anything found on Earth have apparently been extricated from the crystalline structure of meteorites and cultured. But, there is some skepticism about that as there always will be in good science. Nevertheless, Crichton does claim that “there is not a single shred of evidence for any other life forms.” We’ve been living with dozens of species on this planet that were just discovered in the past year. Why would anyone be so quick to jump to the conclusion that no life exists elsewhere when we are dumb unaware of what’s living in our own back yard? Naïve and egocentric.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. That’s why scientists do not “prove or disprove” hypotheses, they eliminate the null hypothesis.
–Almost like excluding those putative sperm donors in a “who’s your daddy” DNA test.

And in order to sensationalize, Crichton inflated scientist implications in politics. I’m a scientist. We don’t get paid much—not too much, anyway. We have to petition (grant writing) for money to further research on our findings. We choose carefully who is holding the purse strings. It’s a tight line to walk. However, there is no shortage of deep pockets with political agendas.

True science on global warming has been stifled while pseudoscience is funded by fat cats with an eye toward political gain or global power. Follow the money and you’ll see that it’s linked to those “scientific truths” about global warming. You’ve seen how the encroachment of giant snakes has been sensationalized by writers and politicians, and you’ve seen what HSUS is paying for. I’m more than a bit put off by Crichton’s implications about real scientists, but I’ll consider the source.

I read State of Fear, and was pleased that he had the brass to pull it off. It might not be as fictional as you may think. I’ll give credit where credit is due.

[withonor]

GenePirate,

I don't disagree with anything you said. I don't know much about Michael Crichton as a person and I don't think any of what you shared about him came through in the speech so I feel it could be viewed separately from that. Your rivals may have a good idea every now and then.

Do I think earth is an anomally in a space without bounds? No. Have I seen a lot of evidence to prove there is life out there? No, I just think it's beyond our current capabilities like all the oceanic species that have lived too deep for us to discover for so long amongst other things.

I'm not a scientist, yet, but I don't think he implicated all scientists by his comments. Just the capitalist scientists who's primary concern is money, not the ones who love science and thrive off of knowledge and discovery. The "scientists" he named are celebrities with a degree in science.

[GenePirate]

GenePirate,

I don't disagree with anything you said. I don't know much about Michael Crichton as a person and I don't think any of what you shared about him came through in the speech so I feel it could be viewed separately from that. Your rivals may have a good idea every now and then.

Do I think earth is an anomally in a space without bounds? No. Have I seen a lot of evidence to prove there is life out there? No, I just think it's beyond our current capabilities like all the oceanic species that have lived too deep for us to discover for so long amongst other things.

I'm not a scientist, yet, but I don't think he implicated all scientists by his comments. Just the capitalist scientists who's primary concern is money, not the ones who love science and thrive off of knowledge and discovery. The "scientists" he named are celebrities with a degree in science.

Good points, David. I appreciate a good discussion. It can get a bit tedious when it appears that scientists are being blamed for all of the world's ills. But, I agree, there are mercenaries out there that give Science a bad name.

In all truthfulness, I was waiting for Crichton to meet with some "terrible untimely accident" after State of Fear came out. It was a risky piece of work in times like these, and I applaud it--credit where credit is due, always.

[withonor]

Good points, David. I appreciate a good discussion. It can get a bit tedious when it appears that scientists are being blamed for all of the world's ills. But, I agree, there are mercenaries out there that give Science a bad name.

In all truthfulness, I was waiting for Crichton to meet with some "terrible untimely accident" after State of Fear came out. It was a risky piece of work in times like these, and I applaud it--credit where credit is due, always.

Lisa (Name's right there in your signature too!),

I think I need to pick up State of Fear next time I'm at the book store. The "risky" and "'terrible untimely accident'" comments make it sound like a good read. Doesn't hurt that two people out of a handful in this thread liked it. Got four weeks till next semester starts!