Let’s Not Suspend Critical Thinking…
When you see provocative headlines inciting racist clichés, I am sure that you don’t like seeing the ignorant and derogatory comments that inevitably follow. I reckon everybody here has an idea of what I am talking about? You regularly see articles in newspapers or tabloids with exaggerated or provocative headlines. People who share certain prejudices will only read the headlines or only pay attention to the most sensational parts of the article. It is common to see racist or xenophobic comments with broad generalisations which aren’t actually even supported by the article and even less so by facts.
I draw a parallel with similar behaviours when it comes to “scientific” articles, especially when it is about biotechnology. You know the ones: articles with provocative or exaggerated headlines, that include unsubstantiated claims that make you shiver in fear but which have no connection with actual reality. Such articles are usually followed by an avalanche of anti or pseudo-scientific comments, each comment scarier than the last, condemning such-and-such research or some new technology based on a particularly biased perspective.
If you would not participate in racist and xenophobic commentary as described in the first paragraph, why would you do the same thing when it comes to scientific matters? We can all have opinions but we don’t get to choose the facts. Why allow your own biases, fear and a lack of knowledge take over your critical mind?
