Posted by Larry Hoover on June 1, 2006, at 5:20:06
In reply to Re: TCA's are genotoxic ? Addendum » ed_uk, posted by Larry Hoover on May 29, 2006, at 10:08:22
> > >The more you know, the more realize how little you know.
> >
> > Words of wisdom Larry.
> >
> > Ed
>
> Thanks, my friend.
>
> I'm going to take another shot at contextualization of risk. What you think a risk is, compared to the reality.
>
> Does anybody remember the Alar in apple juice controversy, from maybe fifteen years ago?(snip)
> Better get that apple juice off the shelves! Wrong. Totally wrong.
(snip)
> Now, there is a ***lot*** more to the Alar story than I mentioned here, and there is more propaganda being thrown around on this subject than any similar subject in human history.> http://www.ewg.org/reports/alar/alar.html
>
> Alar was, in fact, withdrawn for good reason.I was actually hoping somebody would give me a hard time. I pulled a fast one on you guys.
You trusted me, and I used that trust to support two vastly divergent conclusions, each founded in "science".
I did it on purpose. I wanted to show the human side of science. I'm the geek. I'm the science guy. You'd have to spend a lot of years in school doing achingly boring math and stuff to join in debate with me as a peer. I know that.
I totally contradicted myself, though. Just a few paragraphs apart. I qualified the contradiction, but not sufficiently, in my mind, to put other minds at ease.
I make mistakes. I'm biased. I have factoids in my brain. (Factoids are false ideas masquerading as fact.) I'm opinionated. I'm stubborn.
There is no right answer. Except in math. And only then, if you've asked the right question. Even unconditional fact is conditional.
I subject most of my own thoughts to the same sort of rigorous challenge that I display to others. It's not personal. I challenge thoughts. But some of mine sure slip through, unchallenged.
I try to give you guys the product of all those challenges. The thoughts that make it over all the hurdles. But please, do not ever give up your skepticism.
My babblemail light is on for a reason. If you'd like to take me aside, figuratively.....ya know? I'm trying to be less intimidating.
I am a skeptic. I do not believe somebody else just saying "X does Y". I'm always, "Show me."
The Alar controversy scares the crap out of me. There was so much going on behind the scenes. So much misinformation. So much propaganda. All we've got is our skepticism, to counter our need to believe in something. It's a balance.
If I say to you, "show me", I am not implying you're wrong. I'm asking you to show me. And please, do the same to me.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:647031
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060530/msgs/651348.html