The topic of discussion on +Up with Chris Hayes this morning is atheism. Among the guests are Stephen Pinker and Richard Dawkins. While I generally agree with Dawkins, one of the things he said was that "science has earned a measure of trust" while discussing climate change and evolution.

The problem is that while the general of concept of trust in science certainly applies when it comes to pure science that is done for the purpose of gaining knowledge, much of the science that we see today is done within the context of business.

In almost all areas of human endeavor, money has a corrupting influence on science. One of the basic tenets of science is that you should always be skeptical and keep testing theories in an attempt to disprove them. A fundamental component of the scientific method is that nothing can ever be proven absolutely true. The more a theory is tested and survives, the more likely it is to be true. When theories are tested all the data should be released and peer reviewed whether it supports or negates the hypothesis so that everyone can learn from it.

When business participates in science, much of the data ends up being suppressed, especially the negative data. Tests are formulated in ways that support the data. This is often particularly true in the pharmaceutical industry but it also occurs in many businesses. This is why we get drugs coming out that can have little or no real benefit or others that actually cause more harm than good.

It's critical that we always remain skeptical whether something is couched in religion or science.

Question Everything Always!

#upwithchrishayes #science #skepticism

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