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Yes, it really pisses me off when people without qualifications - and in Musk's case, enormous wealth and power - push overly simplistic ideas and pseudoscience when it suits them comment on medical matters and biology.
Why? /n
Why? /n
1. Because the the idea of the lone wolf genius is a persistent, harmful lie. It strips teams and scientists of credit, oversimplifies science and tells people that only certain people can do science.
Clearly, I am a huge elitist
Clearly, I am a huge elitist
2. Because pseudoscientific garbage and snake oil is part and parcel of medicine and popular health and wellness. While the medical profession is hardly flawless and has missed out on addressing issues around holistic treatment, pseudoscience and conspiracy theories have
replaced expertise as people's preferred medical treatment. Some of these snake oils are extremely harmful. They are as much about profit as Big Pharma, but people will not ascribe that level of base intent to people hawking crystals and bicarbonate of soda or juice diets
3. No one worth a damn as a human being wants to see people fooled by snake oil sellers, to see them come to harm.
4. The power wielded by the wealthy means what they say means something and directly affects how people might react
4. The power wielded by the wealthy means what they say means something and directly affects how people might react
5. We are in the midst of a climate change catastrophe AND a fucking viral pneumonia pandemic that is difficult to contain, treat, and permanently damages patients. Having to deal with all the hype and lies while trying to address this is difficult and we don't need more hokum
I mean, we *really* do not need more hokum. We need accurate information, as fast as possible, not the meandering thoughts of the poorly informed that will make this enormous crisis worse. So, sorry not sorry if you think I should shutup about this. The unfollow button is there>
Combating bullshit takes 10 times more energy and effort than spouting it. This is what it looks like.
