Posted by seldomseen on February 5, 2009, at 9:09:25
In reply to Re: Global Warming or Cooling? You asked :-) » 10derHeart, posted by jay_bravest_face on February 5, 2009, at 1:06:01
Jay,
Have you ever heard of Dr. Robert Warren?
He is the Australian Pathologist, and nobeller , who was the first to succesfully culture H. Pylori in his lab.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, H. Pylori is a bacteria that causes the vast majority (not all) of stomach ulcers. Up until Robert Warren, everyone thought these ulcers were solely the result of eating spicy foods, stress, and too much stomach acid. He provided the link between infection with this bacteria, and stomach ulcers and proposed the radical idea that this painful condition could be treated with antibiotics.
He was shouted out of meetings, called an idiot, ostracized and pretty much pronounced a fake and a quack by his peers. Soley because he voiced dissention against a widely held belief in the field of medicine.
As it turns out, he was absolutely, positively 100% correct. His work has spared millions of people the suffering, potentially fatal consequences of stomach ulcers and offered a simple cure.
Therefore, using his story as an example, I think there should always be room for dissention. A healthy dose of skeptism is what drives all of science and the most impressive forward leaps in any field have come when one overturns commonly and widely held beliefs, even those held by the experts.
I personally accept the notion, and have expressed as much, that humans are contributing to global climate change. However, I also think one must always be open to alternate theories. One of those theories may be more correct, and provide the understanding needed for true change to occur.
Seldom.
poster:seldomseen
thread:877985
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20090116/msgs/878190.html