Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote:
This still doesn't suggest to me that fission or fusion energy efforts are too dangerous to work toward...only that the hoi polloi better focus more on education and direct participation in civic issues. Most of us are too busy wondering how we're going to swing that newest iPhone or find a job that pays a lot than with investigating the deeper ramifications of, well, damn near anything else.
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The lack of an informed public is a huge problem with many issues. The average citizen knows nothing and cares less--until there's a crisis-- and most of the real experts have ties to organizations with a vested interest. That leaves a lot of room for conspiracy theories and fear-mongering that may or may not have any basis in fact.
Consider the autism vaccine scare: the doctor who started it falsified his studies and has since lost his medical license, but meanwhile the conspiracy theory has taken on a life of its own, and lots of kids have had to suffer through entirely avoidable measles episodes. (Don't read too much into this example: I picked it because it's sufficiently old news to be easier to see objectively.)
Katherine