Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, has just suggested Americans don’t believe science.
Anthony Fauci: Americans ‘Don’t Believe Science and They Don’t Believe Authority’
JOSHUA CAPLAN 18 Jun 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, served up harsh criticism of Americans on Thursday, asserting that the country suffers from what he described as an “anti-science bias” problem.
“One of the problems we face in the United States is that unfortunately, there is a combination of an anti-science bias that people are — for reasons that sometimes are, you know, inconceivable and not understandable — they just don’t believe science and they don’t believe authority,” Fauci told the Learning Curve podcast, which is produced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“So when they see someone up in the White House, which has an air of authority to it, who’s talking about science, that there are some people who just don’t believe that — and that’s unfortunate because, you know, science is truth,” Fauci continued, referring to the White House coronavirus task force’s once-daily briefings.
“It’s amazing sometimes the denial there is, it’s the same thing that gets people who are anti-vaxxers, who don’t want people to get vaccinated, even though the data clearly indicate the safety of vaccines,” he added. “That’s really a problem.”
…
Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/18/anthony-fauci-americans-dont-believe-science-and-they-dont-believe-authority/
The words were spoken in an episode of “Learning Curve”, hosted by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The “don’t believe science” comments are made around the 15 minute mark.
The following is a short excerpt from the full interview of Dr. Fauci speaking the quoted words:
Fauci also said people should believe him and trust him, because of his long track record of always speaking the truth, through six administrations.
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No Dr, Fauci. What we don’t believe is YOU! A proven and admitted liar is not someone rational people appreciate being lecture on what “truth” is.
“ ….there is a combination of an anti-science bias that people are — for reasons that sometimes are, you know, inconceivable and not understandable — they just don’t believe science and they don’t believe authority,…”
It is hard to believe he can be this clueless about why this might be the case.
Re:
– His own contradictory pronouncements about mask effectivity.
– WHO misinformation & doing the bidding of ChiComms.
– ineptitude of US CDC.
To cite a few reasons.
we’re Americans: of course we have a problem with authority.
this country was founded by people who rebelled against an authority that wanted control over their lives, and referred to them as “subjects”. sounds like you’d like to have the power over us, so of course we’re rejecting your paternalistic attitude.
we also have a problem with liars.
deal with it, snowflake.
He has been very inconsistent in his messaging to say the least.
He will say wear a mask, but has no double blind clinical trails for his pontificating.
He will say HQC is an unproven drug and may not be safe.
FYI, I know other physicians and scientists that disagree with him as well. He is just othet micro managing egotistical control freak.
I have other reasons to be suspicious of Fauci but I will keep those to myself.
The “anti science” narrative was perpetrated by the Left/Marxist/Liberals to answer for anything that questions their ideology. That and “conspiracy theory” are used extensively when they can’t come up with real answers to real questions.
Yes well…
I’m no antivaxxer .. but the idea that SCIENCE is TRUTH and therefore unDENYable..is horse pucky.
I’m old enough to have experienced the Polio epidemics of the early 1950s when my mother told the 6 year old me that we couldn’t go to the outdoor swimming pools that summer because of polio. I also remember one of my first grade classmates with a cane and leg braces due to having been a victim of polio. There was finally a vaccine created from ‘dead’ polio virus and I recall that it was administered 3 times in ascending doses and it worked. The epidemic was stopped.
I recall years later when the ‘SCIENCE approved’ live vaccine was given to us as a booster and how I felt that somehow seemed a bit risky but I ate sugar cube and was told that SCIENCE said it is perfectly safe ( and so much easier to administer).
The recurrence of polio in live vaccine recipients much later in life was then unknown to the SCIENCE. These things can happen despite the best available SCIENCE. Now I think that antivaxxers are probably deluded by poor information, but it is not crazy to recognize that vaccination is not a risk free proposition. It’s why we normally take so much time testing new ones. Fauci may well be a smart and knowledgeable guy but there is sometimes an attitude with such people. He’s got the attitude bad.
I also survived a polio epidemic, so far worse than this one. Among others, two in my senior class didn’t. While the vaccine was great, as you noted the live one produced minor temporary type paralysis much later in life, apparently not well known, happened in my family. Still some around with life long paralysis muscle damage.
Read that Fauci said science was “truth.” When he earlier said that we might not be able to ever shake hands again, I knew that this didn’t take and maybe he never believed it, as I used to teach pre-meds, and made sure that they understood that their profession was responsible for lots of deaths.
I had one in a seminar who did a great paper, but off the subject. He came in furious, as it ruined his straight A’s. Asked him if he would treat a different organ than the one diseased, or something like that, because he knew the other one better. Quit complaining, I hope.
Brings back to me memories of collecting for The March of Dimes to raise money for combating Polio.
When somebody says “Trust me.”, that’s when you increase your skepticism.
Wasn’t it Kaa the python, in the original animated Jungle Book? He sang “Trusssst in me – jusssst in me…”.
We aren’t bias against science. We’re biased against being expected to believe anything someone says just because they claim to be a scientist, even when what they’re spouting off is wild ass guesses, not falsifiable, not reproducible, based on flawed hand-tuned computer models instead of real experimentation, etc. We’re biased against pseudo-science.
“you know, science is truth”
Now we know for sure he’s liar.
Andrew
Unfortunately for science and scientists ,it is being corrupted by the likes of the IPCC ,then we have the scandal of climate gate ,the hockey stick, the 97% consensus,
Climate science covers many disciplines in the science world, we have a world funded organization called the IPCC that presents science , the mandate of the IPCC is to show global warming not to show the science of climate disciplines = results, I have seen many a scientist on this forum argue against the IPCC reports, I have yet to see authors of the IPCC reports defend their results or say the results are presented wrong.
I have seen the media state “the science is settled” which contradicts science and it’s ever ongoing research,
I have seen Michael mann defend the hockey stick when clearly it’s made up nonsense a minipulating exercise of past data.
Science is strictly not based on models alone ,observerd data for 40 years of global climate compaired to the model prediction forecasts is some what lacking ,
Science from a climate point of view is bought and paid for by a ring of vicious governments paying for a predetermined outcome. Climate science is presented by the IPCC . The outcome of the ring.
Climate scientists are stuck between a rock and a hard place, some believe in the climate lie,no doubt ,some play along because there under pressure threats, of losing there funding ,jobs or worse.
It would seem even a expose of some aspects of climate science by Michael Moore has been suppressed and attacked.
The only way science is going to gain any credibility back,is by the scientists themselves coming clean about thier data being falsified and minipulated, the MSM taken to task and completely overhauled for perpetuating the lie of global warming , science needs to see the institutions corrupting the science disbanded and brought to account, and governments who use the excuse of “We are only acting on the science” need to be disbanded and shown to the public how they funded the lie in the first place, and who is influencing them.
Above sets out the biggest fraud perpetrated against mankind in the whole of mankind’s history.
B D Clark,
Please attempt to distinguish between they, they are, their and there. It is rough reading your excellent writing when my brain has to re-read sentences when the wrong word is used.
Sorry bit dyslexic on some words.
Sorry,bit dyslexic on some words.
I agree B d, actual scientists need to be speaking out and refuting the lies. I would think it’s the only way there will ever be change. Otherwise pseudo science will become the norm, and any field will have the word ‘science’ tagged on making anyone the expert.
Thank you Megs,
The only thing I will add is it needs to be a lot of scientists, not one ot two,we know what happens when only one or two speak out, there needs to be a concerted effort by the climate scientists to speak out.
There is strength in numbers and they can not be ignored.
Americans should not believe in retracted science, pal review science, agenda science, or politician driven science using stunts like construction lifts on stage. The problem comes down to the lag times and efficiency in that process of sorting.
There is but one truth – God (of the Bible), who is pure truth, love, life, and light.
Romans 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
That sure went to the heart of the matter, NOT!
Therein lies the cause of Americans’ stupidity. God-bothering.
Your remarks denigrating those who believe in God indicates your religion is scientism where science=truth. Science says that the universe created itself out of nothing therefore it created itself out of nothing.
I’ve always found it fascinating how so many atheists feel the need to attack believers at any opportunity.
It’s almost as if they have no faith in their religion of choice.
No religion requires more faith in God than Atheism. Without God atheists have nothing, its really rather sad, their belief in God makes them angry so they lash out at everyone else.
+10
So believing in God makes one stupid?
Really? Got some evidence to back up your claim, or do you just believe that it must be true?
“Trust me, I’m a doctor”
Hold on their Doctor. Aren’t you the one who has admitted lying when you down played masks effectiveness so people wouldn’t buy them under the idea that if everyone started buying masks there wouldn’t be enough for medical people?
Yes, that was YOU!
Science demands proof not belief. If you have to believe then it is not science
If people no longer believe what is promoted as science, I think “Climate Science” bears the brunt of the blame.
By continually pushing a narrative that is dubious at best and demonstrably false in many cases, people get to the point that’s they no longer believe a word they hear. Calling people who question their findings insulting names just reinforces the scepticism.
Not picking up obvious mistakes in the peer review system further erodes confidence.
The original purpose of the peer review system was not to assert that the article being reviewed was in fact correct, but rather to remove obvious errors before the article was published.
Many peer reviewed articles are subsequentially found to have errors and are revised.
The critical problem with Climate Science peer reviewed articles is that even when they are found to have errors, these errors are not revised. Instead the people who find the errors are subject to ad-hominem attacks and called disparaging names.
Alas, climastrology is NOT the problem. Rather, this was the snitch who REVEALED that something is very wrong in science. A couple years ago, an analysis revealed that fewer than half of all “peer reviewed” published “science” was reproducible. This is the “Reproducibility Crisis” in science. It is in every field.
“Pal review” is part of the problem. I worked with a real scientist in a non-political field who had trouble getting funding and trouble getting published because his findings were different than those of the leading name in the field. If you have to have the “right” pals, that just isn’t science any more.
We at WUWT and climate skepticism have had a bit more time to think about this and work on solutions. Those of us in every field and all around the world who love Truth and the search for it need to be, and are, working together to restore the beautiful endeavor that many of us had once known.
I’m afraid that this is true.
It is much too common in too many fields. In fields which are complex, broad and known to quick change this is less of an issue, as long as the majority accepts that things change all the time, and as long as there is enough to be discovered.
But many (all the?) other fields seem to have the same issue: you must toe the party line (the opinion of a few leading people, who published their Magnus Opus decades ago) or risk your career. Forget about being able to publish. Even when you can prove one of the old guard got it wrong, or especially then …
Yes, does he mean science like hypothesis testing, experimentation and observation or does he mean something else?
I’d like to hear what he says about x and y chromosomes and gender.
Oh, I think Bill Nye the B.Eng Guy has already answered that for us. A 97% consensus of one. “Trust me, I’m a celebrity!”
Seems Dr Fauci is compelled to destroy what little credibility he might have left.
He has become famous for spouting self serving contradictory nonsense,just got through bragging about lying to the public with respect to masks,for the good of the system of course.
Now he makes this statement?
Genius,Super Genius..Willie E Fauci.
Somebody’s feelings got hurt. A career scientist who struggles with feelings of rejection is perhaps not the right person to occupy a position of authority.
I am a (retired) programmer of, among other things epidemiological models. I wrote my own. If the pre-symptomatic spread was as they said, then, indeed, there would be a spike big enough to overwhelm hospitals. Quarantine of symptomatic cases would not be enough to stop the spread. Given the early data my models showed 2,000,000 deaths in the US of 330,000,000 citizens. 2/330 = 0.6%. To avoid excess deaths caused by hospital overcrowding physical distancing and masks were suggested. This was to flatten the curve seen in the uncontrolled case to avoid hospital overcrowding.
It is not uncontrolled. We are finding therapies. It is behaving differently to the assumptions/data in the initial model.
Clinical experience is the heart of medicine. Sharing what works here with others. Finding out what doesn’t work elsewhere.
Fauci is nowhere near a clinic treating COVID19. HCQ, for example, is already FDA approved so it can be prescribed for anything including hangnail if the physician thinks it may work. It is generally safe. It doesn’t need a clinical trial to “prove” safety since that was already done. Years of clinical experience have revealed any contraindications. It doesn’t need a clinical trial to “prove” efficacy. That is only required for a new snake oil.
The Clinic is where the rubber meets the road. . So: Can’t hurt (Hippocrates is happy), might help.
Calling lies science doesn’t make it so.
People think the greenhouse effect is science, but it just isn’t so.
http://phzoe.com/2020/03/04/dumbest-math-theory-ever/
because, you know, science is truth,” Fauci continued,
That is a statement of a charlatan, not a scientist.
Science is the SEARCH for Nature’s laws and behaviors.
Science is the continued TESTING of those suspected laws.
What is “scientific fact” today may be refined tomorrow. That is not TRUTH.
When someone says “science is truth”, there are two possible premises to it: (1) the body of science is constantly approaching “greater truth” by objective means free of personal, political, social bias, or (2) whatever “science” is is “truth”, and if “science” says something counterintuitive, damn your intuition about its counterintuitive because science is truth.
Premise 1 is what science ought to be and, therefore, an absolute statement like “science is truth” contradiction under such a premise because there is no absolute end that science has arrived at– science has not reached the stage of “The Absolute Truth About Everything and All Further Pursuits are No Longer Necessary”.
Unfortunately, we science appears to be much closer to premise 2.
It is (or should be) the dispassionate search for the least wrong, within the sphere of its applicability.
Science is not truth. Science is the search for truth.
He was half right. People don’t believe authority. His mistake was assuming that those in authority are always right.
“science is truth” unfortunately those with an agenda have made that a lie, to them science is a tool to get the results they want not what they are and you have to work out things from there.
James Bull