This column by by John Tierney, published October 9, 2007 in the NYTimes is a 'must read,' not so much for the facts therein about fat and its effect on diet, but the wonderful description of how the 'bandwagon effect' against excess fat in the American diet played out over several decades. Could it be that the same bandwagon effect, or what I refer to as the 'groupthink' phenomenon, is capturing us in the global warming debate?
"When a group of people agree on something, that doesn’t always mean they are right." This is the quote from the article and we should heed it. People are swayed to believe what high-profile people say, and this is reinforced by the barrage of media influence. To believe differently or to be a skeptic often becomes a difficult position to hold. Ideology can quickly overwhelm facts, particularly when science is involved because so few people have an understanding of science.
Yet his warning is as appropriate in science as in any field when the tsunami of the majority overwhelms the minority. We see it at work in the climate change debate played out in the 'energy independence' steamroller that leads to 'consensus' thinking, even fanaticism, about wind power and solar energy sources.
We should be cautious about being swept away by the global warming 'consensus' or any other whirlwind.
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