Dr. Krauthammer is a psychiatrist, which gives him an advantage when discussing mass movements and True Believer junk science.
Thanks to Joe Bast for catching and relaying this to me this AM.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-myth-of-settled-science/2014/02/20/c1f8d994-9a75-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html
Remember Dr. Richard Feynman (physicist) and Cargo Cult science and Eric Hoffer (longshoreman) and his insights on the True Believer cults.
Centenel what a great point you provided. I have Popper as a favorite aphorist.
From Sir Karl R. Popper … “If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from, and not see, whatever might be dangerous to our pet theories.”
A true scientist is independently wealthy. That is because that is the only way to get away from the economic/political/social pressures that will be exerted on you when you work for a living. Some of the greatest scientists have had to stoop to doing things that were basically fantasy, for the sake of making a living. Nowadays we have sub-par scientists elevated on the basis of saying things that are politically correct. The best science is being done in home workshops, studies, and garages, where political correctness of content and actions can be ignored, there are no deadlines, no publish-or-perish rules, and nobody else taking credit for your work.
A true scientist should be characterized by a sense of wonder and amazement at the limitless possibilities of the world. Everything is possible untill proven impossible. Absolute certainty is the mark of ideologues and zealots.