PrintDecember 20, 2006
Scientific consensus can be wrong
There are many, many instances of where Scientific Consensus has been wrong - including very recently. Off the top of my head I can think of the newly discovered cause of diabetes, (see here), which totally surprised the researchers themselves.
Also, the consensus view of the cause of peptic ulcers was nervous tension - remember warnings against "TYPE A Behavior"? It was an uphill battle for the discoverers of the H. Pylori bacteria against the consensus view that the stomach is totally inhospitable to bacteria. Now there are successful bacteriological treatments.
"Continental Drift" was totally against consensus. Now it is accepted geological science.
Scientists accept that consensus views are at times overturned by new evidence and certainly are loath to limit the speech of even eccentric researchers since it is often these individuals who have historically discovered remarkable new truths.
Thus, scientific consensus means nothing until empirical facts are developed to support theories (or computer models) - clearly not the case with global warming,
Jerry Schmitt
