One of the best
examples of cherry-picking has been in the story of the huge expansion of the Sahara Desert, based on a
series of articles in 1991 in their highly-reputable journal Science, wherein it was found that the
metaphors and images used to describe the phenomenon of drought and famine were
inaccurate (a marching desert vs. a desert growing like a rain-fed organism).
Lack of rainfall was the problem and not third world women procreating (or
goats overgrazing).
One diet magnate who uses science is Dr.
Dean Ornish. His claim to fame is the success of use of very low fat diets,
along with major lifestyle alterations, to effect changes in health. Ornish,
who is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San
Francisco, is known to be committed to science. “[Dietetics is a] preliminary
science, and usually the controls aren’t the greatest, but it is for the most
part science (see FN 17).[1] Of course,
Ancel Benjamin Keys was, as well.
[1] See http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/03/05/dr-dean-ornish-turn-away-from-the-dark-s/
it’s a hugely long essay/blog, featuring a lengthy response from Ornish as
well, related to a series of blogs, in turn, about Apple founder Steve Jobs and
whether he had to die or not. Accusations of cherry picking are flying. See http://www.skepticblog.org/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-succumbs-to-alternative-medicine/
. This blog is a convoluted presentation, blog posting: Cherry-picked data and Denier dishonesty.
No comments:
Post a Comment