In the light of recent COVID-19 revelations:
The sudden – and now-hidden – reason scientists did an instantaneous 180 on the origins of Covid-19 underlines the fundamental weakness and unreliability of science… The correct rhetorical response to “I trust the science” is “then you are both stupid and uninformed.”
Vox Popoli, “Why You Can’t Trust Science” at Vox (October 3, 2021)
Vox Populi is riffing off this story:
The Government has been condemned after refusing to release details of key email conversations involving leading scientists over the origins of Covid-19.
This newspaper used Freedom of Information rules to obtain a cache of 32 emails about a secretive teleconference between British and American health officials held early in the pandemic.
But officials blacked out almost every word before releasing the crucial documents.
Ian Birrell, “What are they hiding? At the start of Covid many scientists believed it likely leaked from Wuhan lab – until a conference call with Patrick Vallance changed their minds. We asked for his emails about the call. This is what we got… ” at Daily Mail (October 2, 2021)
If you “trust” these science honchoes at all after this episode… well, COVID-19 is not as serious a threat as wilful stupidity. But going forward, another question looms: How much of “settled science” that has never been subjected to this type of careful outside scrutiny would likewise collapse? What ELSE don’t we know and what difference would it make in various science arenas?
Hat tip: Ken Francis, co-author with Theodore Dalrymple of The Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd