Comments on: In the interest of fairness… http://www.mayeuxresearch.com/2008/04/25/in-the-interest-of-fairness/ Research in peers, popularity and developmental psychology Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:19:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Lara http://www.mayeuxresearch.com/2008/04/25/in-the-interest-of-fairness/comment-page-1/#comment-100 Lara Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:24:10 +0000 http://www.mayeuxresearch.com/?p=26#comment-100 I don't know, Peter. A few months ago I would have said "Well, if you google 'autism and vaccines' the first five hits are sketchy websites with misinformation and scare tactics." But that's not the case anymore. If you google it, the first five websites are things like NICHD and Time magazine's recent let's-all-calm-down cover story. So it's getting harder and harder for me to understand why this continues to be such a common misunderstanding. Most parents are experts in neither autism nor medicine, and if you don't know where to look for good information (sometimes I'm surprised by how many people don't know how to distinguish between a reliable source and an unreliable one), maybe it's easy to find bad. And it's the anti-vax folks--often celebrities--that yell the loudest and get the most airtime. I want to blog about this recent outbreak of measles soon. I really have to think this stuff through. I'll admit, I'm increasingly perplexed and frustrated! I don’t know, Peter. A few months ago I would have said “Well, if you google ‘autism and vaccines’ the first five hits are sketchy websites with misinformation and scare tactics.” But that’s not the case anymore. If you google it, the first five websites are things like NICHD and Time magazine’s recent let’s-all-calm-down cover story. So it’s getting harder and harder for me to understand why this continues to be such a common misunderstanding.

Most parents are experts in neither autism nor medicine, and if you don’t know where to look for good information (sometimes I’m surprised by how many people don’t know how to distinguish between a reliable source and an unreliable one), maybe it’s easy to find bad. And it’s the anti-vax folks–often celebrities–that yell the loudest and get the most airtime.

I want to blog about this recent outbreak of measles soon. I really have to think this stuff through. I’ll admit, I’m increasingly perplexed and frustrated!

]]> By: Peter http://www.mayeuxresearch.com/2008/04/25/in-the-interest-of-fairness/comment-page-1/#comment-99 Peter Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:07:49 +0000 http://www.mayeuxresearch.com/?p=26#comment-99 Maybe there's an epidemic of intellectual laziness? Maybe there's just too much information to synthesize? Many seek to confirm their assumptions rather than seeking knowledge and ignore any disconfirming evidence. I'm sure there's some science to this. What's unfortunate is that 50% of the recent cases of the measles outbreak have been linked to children who have not been vaccinated. If they never get vaccinated, they are at risk for exposure for the rest of their lives - not to mention the risk that they might be to others. Maybe there’s an epidemic of intellectual laziness? Maybe there’s just too much information to synthesize? Many seek to confirm their assumptions rather than seeking knowledge and ignore any disconfirming evidence. I’m sure there’s some science to this. What’s unfortunate is that 50% of the recent cases of the measles outbreak have been linked to children who have not been vaccinated. If they never get vaccinated, they are at risk for exposure for the rest of their lives - not to mention the risk that they might be to others.

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