Got a pandemic? Who ya gonna call? Please, not Fauci!

March 1, 2023. A wonderful essay on the faults of Fauci's faux claim as to representing science. Excerpts below, with some reader comments below the text excerpts.

A Faraday Is Worth 1,000 Faucis - WSJ.pdf

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Why is science so maligned these days? To me, the turning point came in 1984, with (fictional) Columbia professor and ghostbuster Dr. Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, who when questioned said, “Back off, man. I’m a scientist.”

Venkman’s false claim of authority surely influenced Al Gore to claim during his 2007 congressional testimony on climate change, “The science is settled.” Wait, wasn’t that perjury? Science is never settled. Faraday was ahead of this, saying, “A man who is certain he is right is almost sure to be wrong.”

Same for Anthony Fauci, who was wrong on masks, social distancing and school closings, and who claimed his detractors were “really criticizing science, because I represent science.” Back off, man.

Faraday’s many great quotes are reminders of how scientists should act. He was skeptical of theories lacking real-world proof: “I could trust a fact and always cross-question an assertion.” He also embodied science’s constant questioning: “He is the wisest philosopher who holds his theory with some doubt.”

Sadly, bad science has permeated society. My sons’ high-school biology classes spent more time designing a model recycling center than teaching mitosis and meiosis. Math classes in California for six million students are being “reimagined” to focus on equity and fairness. Even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting 8% growth in STEM jobs by 2029, schools aren’t teaching what is needed. Science is becoming a squishy mess.

Maybe it’s because the label “science” has been so watered down. The author George Gilder once told me that anything with science after its name isn’t really science. Behavioral science? Nope. It often draws its conclusions from studies that can’t be replicated. Climate science? Ha, good one. It uses computer models that are too broad and can’t figure out what to do with clouds that reflect sunlight, as Steven Koonin’s 2021 book, “Unsettled,” shows. Yet gazillions of dollars are shoveled toward green goodies to placate the goblins of global gloom. Computer science isn’t really a science either; it’s more engineering.