Re: Former Head of NIH says it is time to investigate vaccines and autism

On May 26, 6:01 am, "D. C. Sessions" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Not at all. You are perhaps confusing science with religion.
Religion depends on the authority of the speaker, where
science concerns itself only with the truth of the speech.

Precisely. As a sociologist of religion, I deal with the "true
believer" phenomenon all the time. It is similar to the "first
principles" approach used by the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle
Ages. Only ideas, findings, and conclusions which correspond to a
first principle. The rest are conveniently ignored or dismissed.

Someone referred to me as a "deniar." Not at all. I am open to
presentations of evidence, as evidence is defined by scientists (not
by laypersons). Although the evidence currently goes against the
vaccine theory, if that changes, I will be open to it. However,
passionate pleas by true believers are not persuasive.

Mark Foster
.

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