The danger of science denial - Michael Specter

Summary

In this impassioned TED Talk, the speaker advocates for embracing the future rather than romanticizing the past, highlighting the unparalleled opportunities and advancements of the present era. He emphasizes the triumphs of modern science, such as eradicating smallpox and the potential for genetically engineered food to alleviate world hunger. However, he warns of the dangers of anti-science sentiment and the rejection of vaccines, urging for a society that values evidence over fear and embraces the potential of scientific progress for the greater good.

Takeaways

• 🕰️ The speaker advocates for a forward-looking perspective, arguing that the potential for progress lies in the future rather than the past.
• 🌍 The current era is described as the best in human history in terms of health, wealth, mobility, and opportunity, with declining rates of disease.
• 💉 The speaker emphasizes the triumphs of the scientific method, particularly in the eradication of smallpox and the development of vaccines and modern medicine.
• 🌱 Despite scientific achievements, there are significant global challenges such as hunger, depletion of natural resources, and environmental degradation.
• ⚙️ The speaker believes in the potential for innovation to solve current global problems, including sustainable food production and clean energy.
• 🔒 There is a noted resistance to progress, with people tightly holding onto their beliefs, which can hinder the acceptance of scientific evidence and facts.
• 📉 The speaker criticizes the anti-vaccine movement, highlighting the danger of disregarding scientific evidence and the potential resurgence of diseases.
• 🌿 The debate over genetically engineered food is presented as misguided, with the speaker arguing for a focus on the benefits of such technology in addressing global food security.
• 🌎 The speaker calls out 'high-tech colonialism', suggesting that the developed world's resistance to certain technologies can have negative impacts on the developing world.
• 🌟 The speaker concludes with an optimistic vision for the future, urging for open-mindedness and the embrace of scientific progress to improve the world.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the speaker's talk about the time machine?

The main theme of the speaker's talk is the preference for moving forward in time rather than going back, emphasizing the potential and advancements of the future over the past.

Why does the speaker believe that the present is the greatest time on the planet?

The speaker believes the present is the greatest time due to factors like improved health, wealth, mobility, opportunity, and declining rates of disease.

What is the speaker's stance on nostalgia and its impact on people's choices?

The speaker is unconvinced by nostalgia and sees it as a pull to the past, which they argue is not as beneficial as looking forward to the possibilities of the future.

How does the speaker view the accomplishments of humanity in terms of health and medicine?

The speaker views the accomplishments in health and medicine, such as the eradication of smallpox and advancements in vaccines, as triumphs of the scientific method.

What are the significant problems the speaker identifies that humanity needs to address?

The speaker identifies problems such as hunger, depletion of natural resources like potable water and arable land, and the need for scientific innovation to overcome these challenges.

Why does the speaker argue that we should embrace genetically engineered food?

The speaker argues for the embrace of genetically engineered food because it can help feed billions without depleting the land and can introduce essential nutrients into staple crops, improving global nutrition.

What is the speaker's opinion on the current state of public opinion regarding vaccines?

The speaker expresses concern over the current state of public opinion, noting a dangerous trend of disbelief in vaccines due to fear and misinformation.

Why does the speaker criticize the opposition to genetically engineered food?

The speaker criticizes the opposition because it is often based on ideology and misconceptions rather than scientific evidence, and it can hinder potential solutions to global food and health issues.

What does the speaker suggest as a solution to the problems of hunger and environmental degradation?

The speaker suggests that innovation, including scientific advancements in agriculture and medicine, is necessary to address the problems of hunger and environmental degradation.

How does the speaker feel about the current relationship between society and progress?

The speaker feels that society's relationship with progress has become ambivalent and sometimes hostile, which is problematic given the urgent need for scientific and technological advancements.

What does the speaker suggest about the role of science in addressing global challenges?

The speaker suggests that science, through its methodical approach of trial and error, is crucial in addressing global challenges and improving the human condition.

Outlines

00:00

🕰️ The Nostalgia for Progress

The speaker begins by imagining a time machine that can transport people to any era. They express their preference for moving forward rather than backward in time, highlighting the advancements in health, wealth, and technology. They emphasize the current era as the best in human history, citing increased life expectancy and the eradication of diseases like smallpox as evidence of progress. The speaker also acknowledges the challenges of hunger and environmental degradation but expresses optimism in humanity's ability to innovate solutions through science.

05:00

🤔 Skepticism vs. Science

The speaker delves into the public's waning trust in institutions, authority, and even science, citing examples like Chernobyl and the Challenger disaster. They argue for the importance of skepticism but also the need to accept evidence when presented. The speaker discusses the fear-driven opposition to vaccines and genetically engineered food, highlighting the dangers of ignoring scientific evidence. They express concern over the resurgence of preventable diseases due to vaccine hesitancy and the potential global health risks.

10:01

🌿 The Battle Over Genetically Engineered Food

The speaker addresses the controversy surrounding genetically engineered food, criticizing the 'organic elite' and the fear-mongering around 'frankenfoods.' They argue that all food has been modified by humans over thousands of years and that modern genetic engineering offers a more precise way to improve crops. The speaker champions the potential of genetically engineered food to address malnutrition and hunger, particularly in developing countries, and criticizes the opposition as ideological rather than scientific.

15:04

🌱 The Future of Food and Global Responsibility

In the final paragraph, the speaker calls for an end to the unproductive debate over genetically engineered food and emphasizes the urgent need to increase food production to meet future demands. They highlight the potential of science to improve staple crops like cassava and prevent starvation. The speaker concludes by urging a global conversation and a collective effort to embrace scientific advancements for the betterment of humanity, without which they argue we risk perpetuating high-tech colonialism and moral failure.

Keywords

💡Time Machine

The 'Time Machine' is a metaphor used in the script to represent the ability to travel through time, either into the past or the future. It is used to pose a thought experiment about whether people would choose to go back in time or move forward. In the context of the video, the speaker expresses a preference for moving forward, symbolizing a belief in progress and the potential of the future. The time machine serves as a narrative device to explore themes of nostalgia, progress, and the potential for scientific and societal advancement.

💡Nostalgia

Nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. The script mentions how many people express a desire to go back in time due to a pull towards nostalgia, which the speaker argues against. The speaker sees this as a form of wishful thinking and contrasts it with the potential and opportunities that lie ahead in the future. Nostalgia is critiqued as a hindrance to embracing and solving the challenges of the present and future.

💡Progress

Progress refers to forward or onward movement towards a refined, improved, or desired state. The video emphasizes the importance of progress, particularly in the context of scientific advancement and societal development. The speaker argues that progress is essential for addressing current global challenges such as hunger, disease, and environmental degradation. The concept of progress is central to the speaker's argument for looking forward to the future rather than romanticizing the past.

💡Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is a systematic approach to acquiring knowledge through observation, experimentation, and the formulation of theories. In the script, the speaker praises the scientific method as one of humanity's greatest accomplishments, highlighting its role in eradicating diseases like smallpox and developing vaccines. The method is presented as a critical tool for solving the world's problems and a symbol of rationality and evidence-based decision-making.

💡Vaccines

Vaccines are biological preparations that provide active acquired immunity to a particular disease. The script discusses vaccines as a triumph of modern medicine and the scientific method, having eradicated or significantly reduced the threat of diseases like smallpox, diphtheria, rubella, and polio. The speaker advocates for the importance of vaccines in maintaining public health and criticizes the anti-vaccine movement, which he sees as a threat to this progress.

💡Genetically Engineered Food

Genetically Engineered Food refers to food products derived from organisms whose genetic material has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally. The script touches on the controversy and potential benefits of genetically engineered food, arguing that it could play a crucial role in feeding the growing global population without depleting resources. The speaker challenges the opposition to genetically engineered food, suggesting that the debate is often driven by ideology rather than science.

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the introduction of new ideas, devices, or methods. The video emphasizes the need for innovation as a solution to global problems such as hunger and environmental degradation. The speaker expresses optimism that through innovation, we can develop sustainable food production methods and renewable energy sources that do not harm the environment.

💡Enlightenment

The Enlightenment refers to an intellectual and philosophical movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism. The script mentions the Enlightenment as a historical period when progress was more vigorously debated and embraced. The speaker contrasts the current era's ambivalence towards progress with the more optimistic and questioning spirit of the Enlightenment.

💡Fear

Fear in the script is discussed as a driving force behind resistance to scientific progress and rational thought. The speaker cites the example of the anti-vaccine movement, which he attributes to a fear of the unknown and a distrust of scientific consensus. Fear is presented as an obstacle to progress and a reason why people might cling to beliefs that are not supported by evidence.

💡Colonialism

Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. In the context of the video, the speaker uses the term 'high-tech colonialism' to criticize the rich world's reluctance to embrace genetically engineered food, which could benefit the developing world. The speaker argues that this reluctance is a form of self-serving behavior that perpetuates global inequality.

💡Evidence-based

Evidence-based practices refer to actions or decisions that are guided by evidence obtained from research and data. The script advocates for an evidence-based approach to public health and policy, criticizing the anti-vaccine movement and alternative medicine for being belief-driven rather than evidence-based. The speaker argues that decisions, especially those with significant public health implications, should be grounded in scientific evidence.

Highlights

The speaker proposes a hypothetical scenario of a time machine to explore people's preferences for time travel, reflecting on the general desire to go back in time versus the speaker's own preference for moving forward.

The speaker argues that the present is the greatest time in history, citing improvements in health, wealth, mobility, and opportunity, as well as declining rates of disease.

A personal anecdote is shared about the speaker's family's increasing life expectancy, highlighting the broader trend of improved health and longevity.

The incredible fact that a child born in New Delhi today can expect to live as long as the richest man in the world did a century ago is emphasized.

The eradication of smallpox and the decline of diseases like diphtheria, rubella, and polio are cited as triumphs of modern medicine and the scientific method.

The speaker expresses concern about the current state of the world, with a billion people going to bed hungry and the rapid depletion of natural resources.

An optimistic view is presented that humanity can innovate its way out of the current environmental and food crises.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of the scientific method and the need to embrace progress, despite the challenges and potential risks.

The issue of people's resistance to progress and the role of beliefs in hindering scientific advancement is discussed.

The speaker recounts their experience writing about vaccines and genetically engineered food, facing opposition from educated and thoughtful individuals.

The dangers of ignoring scientific evidence, particularly in the context of vaccine skepticism, are highlighted with reference to the measles vaccine.

The speaker criticizes the anti-vaccine movement and its impact on public health, using the resurgence of measles as a case study.

The importance of vaccines in preventing the return of deadly diseases like polio is emphasized, with a call to action for society to support vaccination.

The speaker addresses the irrational fear and mistrust of Big Pharma and the healthcare system, which leads people to seek alternative treatments.

The absurdity of the debate between genetically engineered food and organic food is critiqued, calling for a focus on science over ideology.

The potential of genetically engineered food to address global hunger and malnutrition is discussed, with specific examples like the development of nutrient-rich rice.

The speaker concludes with a call for embracing scientific progress and innovation to improve the future, reiterating the importance of evidence over belief.

Transcripts

[Music]

let's pretend right here we have a

machine a big machine a cool Teddy Sh'ma

sheen and it's a time machine and

everyone in this room has to get into it

and you can go backwards you can go

forwards you cannot stay where you are

and I wonder what you'd choose because

I've been asking my friends this

question a lot lately and they all want

to go back I don't know they want to go

back before there were automobiles or

Twitter or American Idol I don't know

I'm unconvinced that there's some sort

of pull to nostalgia to wishful thinking

and I understand that I'm not part of

that crowd I have to say I don't want to

go back and it's not because I'm

adventurous it's because possibilities

on this planet they don't go back they

go forward so I want to get in the

machine and I want to go forward this is

the greatest time there's ever been on

this planet by any measure that you wish

to choose health wealth mobility

opportunity declining rates of disease

there's never been a time like this

my great-grandparents died all of them

by the time they were 60 my grandparents

push that number to 70 my parents are

closing in on 80

so I there better be it there better be

a nine in the beginning of my death

number but it's not even about people

like us because this is a bigger deal

than that a kid born in New Delhi today

can expect to live as long as the

richest man in the world did a hundred

years ago think about that it's an

incredible fact and why is it true

smallpox smallpox killed billions of

people on this planet it reshaped the

demography of the globe in a way that no

war ever has it's gone

it's vanished we vanquished it poof in

the rich world diseases that threatened

millions of us just a generation ago no

longer exists hardly diphtheria rubella

polio does anyone even know what those

things are vaccines modern medicine our

ability to feed billions of people those

are triumphs of the scientific method

and to my mind the scientific method

trying stuff out seeing if it works

changing it when it doesn't is one of

the great accomplishments of humanity so

that's the good news

unfortunately that's all the

News because there are some other

problems and they've been mentioned many

times and one of them is that despite

all their accomplishments a billion

people go to bed hungry in this world

every day that number is rising and it's

rising really rapidly and it's

disgraceful and not only that we've used

our imagination to thoroughly trash this

globe potable water arable land rain

forests oil gas they're going away and

they're going away soon and unless we

innovate our way out of this mess we're

going away too so the question is can we

do that and I I think we can I think

it's clear that we can make food that

will feed billions of people without

raping the land that they live on I

think we can power this world with

energy that doesn't also destroy it I

really do believe that and know it ain't

wishful thinking but here's the thing

that keeps me up at night one of the

things that keeps me up at night we've

never needed progress in science more

than we need it right now never and

we've also never been in a position to

deploy it properly in the way that we

can today we're on the verge of amazing

amazing events in many fields and yet I

actually think we'd have to go back

hundreds 300 years before the

Enlightenment to find a time when we

battled Progress when we thought about

these things more vigorously on more

fronts than we do now people wrap

themselves in their beliefs and they do

it so tightly that you can't set them

free not even the truth will set them

free and listen everyone's entitled to

their opinion they're even entitled to

their opinion about progress but you

know what you're not entitled to you're

not entitled to your own facts sorry

you're not and this took me a while to

figure out about a decade ago I wrote a

story about vaccines from The New Yorker

a little story and I was amazed to find

opposition opposition to what is after

all the most effective public health

measure in human history I know what to

do so I just did what I do I wrote a

story and I moved on and soon after that

I wrote a story about genetically

engineered food same thing only bigger

people were going crazy so I wrote a

story about that too and I couldn't

understand why people thought this was

frankenfoods why they thought

molecules around in a specific rather

than a haphazard way was trespassing on

nature's ground but you know I do what I

do I wrote the story I moved on I mean

I'm a journalist we type we file we go

to dinner it's fun but these stories

bothered me and I couldn't figure out

why and eventually I did and that's

because of those fanatics that were

driving me crazy weren't actually

fanatics at all they were thoughtful

people educated people decent people

they were exactly like the people in

this room and it it just disturbed me so

much but then I thought you know let's

be honest we're at a point in this world

where we don't have the same

relationship to progress that we used to

we talk about it ambivalently we talk

about it in ironic terms with little

quotes around it progress okay there are

reasons for that and I think we know

what those reasons are we've lost faith

in institutions in authority and

sometimes in science itself and there

there's no reason we shouldn't have you

can just say a few names and people will

understand Chernobyl

Bhopal the Challenger Vioxx weapons of

mass destruction hanging chads I mean

you know you can choose your list there

are questions and problems with the

people we used to believe we're always

right so be skeptical ask questions

demand proof demand evidence don't take

anything for granted but here's the

thing when you get proof you need to

accept the proof and we're not that good

at doing that and the reason that I can

say that is because we're now in an

epidemic of fear like one that I've

never seen and hope never to see again

about 12 years ago there was a story

published a horrible story that linked

the epidemic of autism to the measles

months in rubella vaccine shot very

scary tons of studies were done to see

if this was true tons of studies should

have been done it's Anna serious issue

the data came back the data came back

from the United States from England from

Sweden from Canada and it was all the

same no correlation no connection none

at all doesn't matter it doesn't matter

because we believe

does we believe what we see what we

think we see what makes us feel real

we don't believe a bunch of documents

from a government official giving us

data and I do understand that I think we

all do but you know what the result of

that has been disastrous disastrous

because here's a fact the United States

is one of the only countries in the

world where the vaccine rate for measles

is going down that is disgraceful and we

should be ashamed of ourselves it's

horrible and what kind of what kind of a

thing happened that we could do that now

I understand it I do understand it

because anyone have measles here does

one person in this audience ever see

someone die of measles doesn't happen

very much doesn't happen in this country

at all but it happened 160,000 times in

the world last year that's a lot of

death of measles twenty an hour but

since it didn't happen here we can put

it out of our minds and people like

Jenny McCarthy can go around preaching

messages of fear and illiteracy from

platforms like Oprah and Larry King

lives and they can do it because they

don't link causation and correlation

they don't understand that these things

seem the same but they're almost never

the same and it's something we need to

learn and we need to learn it really

soon

this guy was a hero Jonas Salk he took

one of the worst scourge of mankind away

from us no fear no agony polio poof gone

that guy in the middle not so much his

name is Paul Offit he just developed a

rotavirus vaccine with a bunch of other

people it'll save the lives of four

hundred five hundred thousand kids in

the developing world every year pretty

good right well it's good except that

Paul goes around talking about vaccines

and says how valuable they are

and the people ought to just stop the

whining and he actually says it that way

so Paul's a terrorist when Paul speaks

in a public hearing he can't testify

without armed guards he gets called at

home because people like to tell them

that they remember where his kids go to

school and why because Paul made a

vaccine I don't need to say this but

vaccines are essential you take them

away disease comes back horrible

diseases and that's happening we have

measles in this country now and it's

getting worse and pretty soon

kids are going to die again because it's

just a numbers game and they're not just

going to die of measles what about polio

let's have that why not a college

classmate of mine wrote me a couple

weeks ago and said you know she thought

it was a little strident no one's ever

said that before she wasn't going to

vaccinate her kid against polio no way

fine why because we don't have polio and

you know what we didn't have polio in

this country yesterday today I don't

know maybe a guy got on a plane in Lagos

this morning and he's flying to LAX

right now he's over Ohio and he's going

to land in a couple hours are going to

rent a car and he's going to come to

Long Beach and he's going to attend one

of these fabulous TED dinners tonight

and he doesn't know that he's infected

with the paralytic disease and we know

either because that's the way the world

works that's the planet we live on don't

pretend it isn't now we love to wrap

ourselves in lies we love to do it

everyone take their vitamins this

morning echinacea a little echinacea a

little antioxidant to get you going I

know you did because half of Americans

do every day they take the stuff and

they take alternative medicines and it

doesn't matter how often we find out

that they're useless the data says it

all the time they darken your urine they

almost never do more than that it's okay

you want to pay twenty eight billion

dollars for a dark urine I'm totally

with you

dark urine dark why do we do that why do

we do that well I think I understand

we hate Big Pharma we hate big

government we don't trust the man and we

shouldn't our health care system sucks

it's cruel to millions of people it's

absolutely astonishing cold and soul

deadening to those of us who can even

afford it so we run away from it and

where do we run we leap into the arms of

big placebo that's fantastic I love big

bar but you know it's not it's

it's really a serious thing because this

stuff is crap and we spend billions of

dollars on it and I have all sorts of

little props here none of it ginko fraud

Echinacea fraud akai I don't even know

what that is but we're spending billions

of dollars on it it's fraud and you know

what when I say this stuff people scream

at me and they say what do you care let

people do what they want to do it's it's

it makes them feel good and you know

what you're wrong

because I don't care if it's the

Secretary of HHS who's saying hmm I'm

not going to take the evidence of my

experts on my mammograms or some cancer

quack who wants to treat his patient

with coffee enemas when you start down

the road where belief in magic replace

evidence in science you end up in a

place you don't want to be you end up in

Tabo and Becky South Africa he killed

400,000 of his people by insisting that

beetroot garlic and lemon oil were much

more effective than the antiretroviral

drugs we know can slow the course of

AIDS hundreds of thousands of needless

deaths in a country that has been

plagued worse than any other by this

disease please don't tell me there are

no consequences to these things there

are there always are now the most

mindless epidemic we're in the middle of

right now is this absurd battle between

proponents of genetically engineered

food and the organic elite it's an

idiotic debate it has to stop it's a

debate about words about metaphors its

ideology it's not science every single

thing we

we grain of rice every sprig of parsley

every brussel sprout has been modified

by man you know there weren't tangerines

in the Garden of Eden

there wasn't any cantaloupe there

weren't Christmas trees we made it all

we made it over the last eleven thousand

years and some of it worked and some of

it didn't we got rid of the stuff that

didn't now we can do it in a more

precise way and their risks absolutely

but we can put something like vitamin A

into rice and that stuff can help

millions of people millions of people

prolong their lives you don't want to do

that I have to say I don't understand it

we object to genetically engineered food

why do we do that well the things I

constantly hear are too many chemicals

pesticides hormones monoculture we don't

want giant fields of the same thing

that's wrong we don't want companies

patenting life we don't want companies

owning seeds and you know what my

response to all of that is yes you're

right let's fix it it's true we've got a

huge food problem that this isn't

science this has nothing to do with

science its law its morality its patent

stuff you know science isn't a company

it's not a country it's not even an idea

it's a process it's a process and

sometimes it works and sometimes it

doesn't but the idea that we should not

allow science to do its job because

we're afraid is really very deadening

and it's preventing millions of people

from prospering you know in the next 50

years we're going to have to grow 70%

more food than we do right now 70% this

is investment in Africa over the last 30

years disgraceful disgraceful they need

it and we're not giving it to them and

why genetically engineered food we don't

want to encourage people to eat that

rotten stuff like cassava for instance

because I was something that half a

billion people eat it's kind of like a

potato it's just a bunch of calories it

sucks it doesn't have nutrients it

doesn't have protein and scientists are

engineering all of that into it right

now and then people would be able to eat

it and they'd be able to not

they wouldn't starve and you know what

that would be nice wouldn't be Chez

Panisse but it would be nice and all I

can say about this is why are we

fighting it why I mean let's ask her

such why are we fighting it because we

don't want to move genes around this is

about moving genes around it's not about

chemicals it's not about our ridiculous

passion for hormones our insistence on

having bigger food better food singular

food

this isn't about rice crispies this is

about keeping people alive and it's

about time we started to understand what

that meant because you know something if

we don't if we continue to act the way

we're actually we're guilty of something

that I don't think we want to be guilty

of high-tech colonialism there's no

other way to describe what's going on

here it's selfish it's ugly it's beneath

us and we really have to stop it so

after this amazingly fun conversation

you might want to say so you still want

to go in this ridiculous time machine

and go for it and absolutely absolutely

I do it's stuck in the present right now

but we have an amazing opportunity we

can set that time machine on anything we

want we can move it where we want to

move it and we're going to move it where

we want to move it we have to have these

conversations and we have to think but

when we get in the time machine and we

go ahead we're going to be happy we do I

know that we can and as far as I'm

concerned that's something the world

needs right now

thank you

you