[FoRK] Science: No Ideology, No False Agenda

[Jeff Bone]

On Jan 8, 2008, at 2:53 PM, owen at permafrost.net wrote:

> Curious if anyone on this group has read Edward Hooper's "The  
> River", which gives me pause before saying that science is entirely  
> beneficial.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hooper

I haven't read the book, but I've been aware of and open to the OPV /  
AIDS hypothesis for a decade and a half now...  I have a standard  
salt-shaker presentation of the hypothesis which I've been known to  
perform at bars when explaining this thing. ;-)

I wouldn't say that OPV AIDS is an indictment of science, even if  
it's true;  medicine, and particularly big pharma, isn't a  
particularly stellar model for how to do "science" (i.e., understand  
how the world actually works.)  It's more of an engineering  
discipline coupled with big money, big ego, big marketing and big  
politicking.  Even when driven by supposely / mostly eleemosynary  
motives (such as Koprowski) it's often suspect.  (Just watch the last  
season of House... ;-)

It's rather appalling how little real science has been done re: AIDS  
since about the late 80s, when the HIV AIDS hypothesis became  
entrenched.  Lots of molecular biology, sure...  but how much  
understanding, really?

jb