FACTS MATTER

FACTS MATTER

The title  I chose for the entire blog: "As a Matter of Fact" reflects my concern with how the general public gets its information, particularly in the areas of science, medicine and technology that are so central to our future on this planet.

The Scientific Method provides a methodology for creating a better understanding of the natural world. Not only does good science explain what we observe, it also provides a methodology for predicting the consequences of proposed new ventures in technology and medicine.

Alleged matters of fact (those used especially to make public policy decisions) must be subjected to rigorous examination and testing, and then presentation in peer-reviewed publications so that the community of experts in the appropriate fields can reach a consensus on the degree of confidence that can be placed in these "facts." 

This consensus must then be conveyed to the public through media sources that examine all of the evidence and present that evidence in a manner that makes it possible for members of the public to judge whether so-called "facts" have been subjected to the scrutiny of the Scientific Method.

The three cases I examined in this blog were:

Is Climate Change/Global Warming really occurring, and if so, is it largely man-made? 

Is Creationism science or religious faith?, 

and 

Does the MMR vaccine cause autism?

I have cited evidence to show that matters of fact can be deliberately distorted, can be ignored because they contradict genuine religious belief, and in the case of the vaccine controversy, can be hyped in the media in a manner that panders to the natural fear of parents for the well-being of their children, while selectively ignoring scientific evidence. 

There are many such issues that most of us are not trained to understand in any scientific detail, but that have great importance to the future of our life on this planet. Ultimately, decision making and policy actions are in the hands of (at least in a democracy) those whom we elect to positions of trust and power. 

But we do elect these people, and we need better tools for judging whether their ideas are based on personal belief (such as religious faith or political ideology) or on matters of fact. 

Ideas presented as facts must be arrived at through the tedious and time-consuming process of the Scientific Method. 

Only then can the public have confidence that decisions that we are called upon to make, decisions that will affect our lives and the lives of future generations, are decisions based on the most rigorously tested scientific evidence that we have.