Enemy of Science

I have begun to realize that science is it's own worst enemy. The problem is that the scientific method allows (requires) that the results of different experiments be published. So a question that has had results published on both sides becomes fertile ground for meaningless debate. This then becomes a political question, with each side emphasizing the results that fit their political views and ridiculing the other results.

A perfect example of this has resurfaced again in the question of whether to add fluoride to drinking water. The city of San Jose is now debating this question. I'm not sure how long this article will be live, but I'll give you the overview. The original premise is that fluoride in the water helps prevent tooth decay and that is a good thing.

The opposition has their basis in the view that anything the government does is an infringement on the rights of citizens and should not be allowed. So they bring up a host of studies that show that fluoride is of questionable value and can be an outright danger for people with certain medical conditions. One logical argument from this crowd is that if they want fluoride, then they will get it themselves.

The other side then points out that poor people with less education and money will not buy fluoride tablets and so the society as a whole will be stuck paying for their dental problems down the road.

One of the basic problems here is that there is no clear cut experiment, it's not possible to take two parts of a population and test this question. So we are left with studies. Each side in this debate can pick and choose pieces of study results and quote them to support their viewpoint. And even better, each side can bring up secret results that haven't been published, scientific results that have been muzzled, lawsuits that have not been heard, professional groups (like dentists) that have vested interests and all kinds of conspiracy theories.

At the end of these conspiracy arguments there are usually negative comments about the other political party. (see the comments attached to that article).

How are we to move ahead on these kind of issues? With Oprah believers not vaccinating their kids and all sorts of other madness going on, it's hard to imagine what progress can be made.