As an aside, A little while ago I stumbled upon a delightful little book (136 pages, 6.5"X4.25" - excessive size is no excuse not to read it) by Bruce Bartlett called “The Truth Matters”. Bartlett is no lefty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Bartlett
As most people are, I’m skeptical of many claims made by politicians, particularly those who are actively running for office. I often take economists with a grain of salt also. But perhaps this book and its sources can be as useful to others as it has been for me.
Often credulity is more dangerous than skepticism, I’m learning as I age.
All science should be questioned. Bad science falls away under scrutiny. One conclusion doesn’t drive a field. Science is a body of work based on a method to minimize human bias. As in all human endeavor mistakes or dishonesty exist. Scientist that are qualified for peer review in a field, and quality journals like Nature have a reputation to maintain. These things go a long way to insure reliable work being published. When most scientists in a field are getting similar results from observations then that carries more weight than an individual study. Science actually test conclusions that are made to confirm or reject them. These are the reasons I tend to give weight to what science has to say.
What we as individuals usually don’t do is be skeptical of our own beliefs. Especially beliefs we have a vested interest in. We just aren’t built that way. Therefore the need for the scientific method.
@PJC said:
Scientists takin’ it to the streets;
Q: “Wadda’ we want?”
A: “Evidence based research!”
Q: 'When do we want it?"
A: “When its peer reviewed!”
Love it! Very funny and we need them to march on DC!