“Follow the Science” became a politically tinged catch-phrase during the Pandemic. For someone like me, fascinated by science from childhood, and willing to spend a lot of time and effort learning established scientific facts, and more importantly understanding the scientific method, this seemed like the most basic of no-brainers. But the Pandemic’s dislocations provided a hard stop on many of life’s basic functions and assumptions. When we finally learned, after a period of organized stonewalling from prominent scientists, and their willing partners in the media, that the Chinese had been doing dangerous gain of function research on Corona viruses in poorly secured laboratories, that hard stop should have superseded anyone’s political leanings, as a dire warning. Whether you believe that the Pandemic had a completely natural origin, or was the result of a lab leak is immaterial, because your belief is merely a guess. The more important question is whether you think it is a good idea for scientists to be manipulating the genetic structure of viruses to make them more lethal for humans, and whether it is wise for the United States to be funding such research in laboratories ultimately controlled by the military-industrial complex of states which are our direct geo-political enemies. When it comes to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, our intelligence agencies knew it is was under the control of the Chinese military. Everything in China is under the control of the autocratic regime, and certainly any activity which has potential significance to the military objectives and National/Party security is doubly so. People who cross the CCP, be they businessmen, Uyghuirs, politicians, human rights activists, writers or scientists can simply disappear. How smart could it be to assume that scientists living in such an environment will provide you fully factual and un-redacted accounts of ALL the experiments they are performing? The following quote from Robert Oppenheimer highlights the fact that high level intellectual ability is not always accompanied by wisdom.
Scientists Behaving Badly
Scientists Behaving Badly
Scientists Behaving Badly
“Follow the Science” became a politically tinged catch-phrase during the Pandemic. For someone like me, fascinated by science from childhood, and willing to spend a lot of time and effort learning established scientific facts, and more importantly understanding the scientific method, this seemed like the most basic of no-brainers. But the Pandemic’s dislocations provided a hard stop on many of life’s basic functions and assumptions. When we finally learned, after a period of organized stonewalling from prominent scientists, and their willing partners in the media, that the Chinese had been doing dangerous gain of function research on Corona viruses in poorly secured laboratories, that hard stop should have superseded anyone’s political leanings, as a dire warning. Whether you believe that the Pandemic had a completely natural origin, or was the result of a lab leak is immaterial, because your belief is merely a guess. The more important question is whether you think it is a good idea for scientists to be manipulating the genetic structure of viruses to make them more lethal for humans, and whether it is wise for the United States to be funding such research in laboratories ultimately controlled by the military-industrial complex of states which are our direct geo-political enemies. When it comes to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, our intelligence agencies knew it is was under the control of the Chinese military. Everything in China is under the control of the autocratic regime, and certainly any activity which has potential significance to the military objectives and National/Party security is doubly so. People who cross the CCP, be they businessmen, Uyghuirs, politicians, human rights activists, writers or scientists can simply disappear. How smart could it be to assume that scientists living in such an environment will provide you fully factual and un-redacted accounts of ALL the experiments they are performing? The following quote from Robert Oppenheimer highlights the fact that high level intellectual ability is not always accompanied by wisdom.