Thursday, March 30, 2017

Alternative Remedy: Why The Public Has Lost Fate in Scientific Research

Posted for Roderick Moore-
One of the many concepts covered near the conclusion of On Immunity: an inoculation was that there are pockets of the population that has developed a server mistrust of public research organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). One possible explanation for the public’s mistrust of these institution is the contradictory results that can occasional come from research. Often, the results of an experiment do not always draw a clear-cut explanation for the phenomenon that is observed, and sometimes even researchers with the best of intentions can draw the wrong conclusion from a resulting experiment, only to be retracted and reconciled once additional data is collected. On top of the inconclusive results of research, there are also incidents where researchers in pursuit of fame and fortune intentionally mislead the public with false findings. In addition, there are also several organizations and individuals that promote the misinformation to either push a political agenda, or profit off the uninformed populace via scams disguised as alternative treatments. In fact, Paul Offit, a prominent researcher in his own wright, states in his interview with Biss that the notion of someone going into research for excessive profit is absurd. Even so, several blogs and news media sources have labeled Offit as the devil incarnate for his comment around the number of vaccines a child can receive, a comment that Offit himself admits to being a bit excessive (Biss). In conclusion, the best defense against this rampant case of misinformation is the education of individuals on discerning credible and non-credible information sources, and the understanding of the over sensationalized appearance of the media.
References
Biss, Eula. On immunity: an inoculation. London: Fitzcarraldo Ed., 2015. Print.

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