Not to beat this to death, but we left something out last week in our discussions of data fabrication and the vaccine controversy. And unfortunately, it was probably the most humorous part. That's because there’s science, there's skepticism, but then there’s also ... Jenny McCarthy.
When a high-profile individual stands against the vast majority of doctors in the scientific community, and when that high-profile individual is not a trained scientist, but instead say, a former actress and Playboy model, it is innately a recipe for disaster—or rather, for misinformation.
Take this video for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGW4a96GqGc
For most within the scientific community, McCarthy’s statements seem, well, uneducated. But that’s not to say that they aren’t passionate and convincing to those who don’t know the full story behind these issues.
I think Dr. Paul Offet’s quote is perfect. “One of the reasons why this fear of vaccines exists is because of the power of the anecdote. We’re up against personal and compelling stories. We have to find a way to make the real science more compelling.”
The solution? When I spoke to Dr. Ben Nephew of Tufts University for last Monday’s post, he offered this: “The root of the distrust in science is in ignorance. I think we need to do a better job of educating all students on the scientific method and how it relates to their everyday lives. While general biology and chemistry classes are a necessity, there is currently a greater need for the type of applied scientific instruction that is going to allow individuals to make educated decisions about their own health. At the very least, they need to understand the difference between peer-reviewed primary literature and a blog."