Denialism: Media in the Age of Disinformation

A few hundred years after the Enlightenment, western civilization is rushing back to the Dark Ages. The causes are debatable, but, argue these science journalists, the public increasingly rejects the findings of science, from climate change to evolution, and is turning away from rationality and reason in general. “People are afraid of anything that will hammer away at their preconceived notions,” says Michael Specter. He points to the fanatic opposition in some quarters to genetically engineered foods, and the worship of organic products. Almost everything we eat is the result of genetic modification, he notes, and “organics kill people, too.” It doesn’t make sense to think that returning to “the old ways” will keep us healthy and supply the world with food. “We’re hurting ourselves in lots of ways,” says Specter, when people insist on believing what they want. Human nature plays a big part in feeding denialism, believes Chris Mooney. “We all ... argue against information that contradicts our existing worldview.” The unfortunate evolution of media in the digital age is feeding our inherent “confirmation bias,” and today “Americans with different political leanings construct different realities.” We must “give up” on the idea that truth triumphs and society advances as more people become critical thinkers. Concludes Mooney, “We have to work with the media and brains we have, and seek realistic change.” Shannon Brownlee had an “epiphany” a decade ago when she realized that prostate cancer tests did not lead to a lower risk of dying, as researchers suggested, but instead to potentially harmful treatment. Her “awakening” led her to perceive “how much of medicine we take on faith.” Brownlee’s journalistic beat now involves the frequent occurrence of “bad science” in medicine. She believes we are not all that far removed from the days when medicine was based on “four humors of disease” and bleeding was the key remedy. Health care, on which Americans spend more than a...

Channel: MIT World Video Length: 0s Date Found: Sun, Sep 05 2010 7:01 AM Category: Science Date Produced: Wed, Jun 16 2010 12:00 AM View Count: 2