Ok, this article about the dangers of scientific predictions1 is well written—but it is not saying anything hundreds have not said. Scientists make crazy promises. Hubris causes us to assert that we know what is right as though we have not been bitten by unintended consequences many, many times. But…there is plenty of blame to go around. Patients demand cures for complex diseases as though merely stomping your feet and demanding cures is enough. Scientists respond by looking for cures with artificial models that barely approach real diseases. Scientists have been abandoned by their institutions and turned into money-scroungers with no choice but to turn to the tricks of marketing.
What if we stop writing and saying these things and take it all seriously? Is anyone really ready to give up the game?
Susan Fitzpatrick
James S. McDonnell Foundation
St. Louis, Mo.
susan@jsmf.org
Dire predictions by Paul Ehrlich about overpopulation and mass ...
