Thursday, October 22, 2009

Missing Missing Link: Why Public Relations and Science Don't Mix


Remember Ida, the fossil discovery announced last May with its own book and TV documentary? A publicity blitz called it "the link" that would reveal the earliest evolutionary roots of monkeys, apes and humans. Experts protested that Ida wasn't even a close relative. And now a new analysis supports their reaction...In fact, Ida is as far removed from the monkey-ape-human ancestry as a primate could be, says an expert at Stony Brook University on Long Island....Hyped Fossil 'Link' Just a Big Boner, Malcom Ritter, NY Post, 10/22/2009

If you experience a sudden association with global warming, don't feel bad. When science and public relations collude, it's usually the propaganda provider who gets the upper hand. As Hitler could tell you, a big lie will be believed, if it's repeated often enough, even if there's proof that it's not true.

Believe it. Ida's closer to your cat than to you. But they're still looking. And the propagandists will never give up.

Luther

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