Annexure – III

Examples of how parties with vested interests have taken advantage of the lack of scientific knowledge of the people:

1. Early 1950’s – Political agitation of farmers who, not understanding the difference between positional/ potential and kinetic energy and the inherent properties of water, were easily led to believe that the Irrigation water from the Bhakra Project would be devoid of the energy taken out of it for Power generation and hence, would be useless for their Crops.
2. Early 1960’s – The campaign against using LPG for Cooking, claiming that this was a ploy of the large Capitalist Petroleum Companies to propagate a practice that was damaging to health as cooking on gas stoves was alleged to be carcinogenic etc.
3. The campaign against vaccination and inoculation, even to this day, by making unfounded allegations that they promote autism and illness, thus denying the valid proven benefits to millions.
4. The campaign to increase the use of Pesticides and Fertilizers without mentioning the damage to downstream and ground water sources, and to all life in the Rivers and the Seas, due to runoff of the excess.
5. The recent campaign against alleged illegally high levels of carcinogens in soft drinks without referring to the 1000 fold increased ability to detect what was earlier undetectable and thus misinterpreting the results and calling for standards that were not really intended and which do not exist even in the stricter European Countries.
6. The campaign denying the opportunity to the Adivasis and Tribals to share in the benefits of modern civilization by misrepresenting them as ideal conservators of Forest lands. A brief look at the history of Madagascar, New Zealand, Tasmania and Easter Island (refer ‘Collapse’ by Jared Diamond) and portraying opponents as ‘greedy’ capitalists etc. No one mentioned the Eskimos or the Papua New Guineans, who were forcibly moved from the ‘Stone age’ to the ‘Jet age’ in one generation and who today have no desire to give up the benefits of modern civilization. Choice has to be an informed choice or it is not really a choice. Also, such choice has to be made by those who have to live with its effects, not by others who deem themselves superior and hence, feel entitled to choose for them.
7. The recent outcry against Global Warming as being only from human activities, unheeding of the other real global, solar and cosmic causes that require greater attention. Hence, resulting in concentrating our efforts on mainly trying to ‘plug the dikes’ with our fingers. (See ‘Ecological Catastrophe – Due to human activities?’ and ‘Global Domination using Money, Trade & Climate change’).
8. The many misrepresentations in the analysis of statistics designed to propagate a particular view point, not only in Politics and Business but also, in Medical / Health matters. eg: an increase from 10 to 11 out of a 1000, for a particular effect, could be stated as an increase of 0.1 percent, in most cases a negligible increase within the statistical variation, or as an increase of 10 percent (10 to 11) thus conveying it as a significant effect. It is hence, essential to understand the statistical validity of any differences noted in such representations. Also, many instances of wrong thinking and confusion arise out of a lack of understanding of the scale of the things involved or the metrics of the items under consideration.
9. The worry about tiny black holes, which may perhaps be formed in the LHC at Cern, that were projected as able to grow and then swallow up the world.
10. The worry about radiation from Power lines or Cell phones leading to cancer. Confusing the issues between ionizing and non ionizing radiations, low and high energy radiations and just heating up, and also, overlooking the natural corrective mechanisms evolved within the body to deal with the rare damage caused by millions of natural high energy photons and particles that pass through our bodies every day.
11. The many efforts to promote ‘Dalda’, and other hydrogenated oils as Ghee, not speaking of the Ill-effects of hydrogenation of oils into Trans-Fats, and ill effects of oils such as Palm oil and Canola oil. The worry about eating a little more meat, or fat, or salt, and remaining blind to the effect of refined Carbohydrates etc in trying to find the right diet whose description changes with every decade.
12. The worry about Vaastu / Feng Shui for every aspect of construction and so on neglecting the real architectural / engineering reasons for the basis of such traditional guidelines and allowing pseudoscience to pass for real understanding. (See – “Vaastu, Feng Shui and other New Age Sciences – for Harmony” and “ Temples & Earth’s Energy grids”).
13. The irrational belief in many superstitions and black magic and spells.

All these arise out of not being able to understand the fundamentals of an inquiring and scientific approach thus allowing charlatans, using Pseudo Scientific balderdash, to confound the gullible and make money or gain a following. Charlatans who, for their own reasons, keep calling for the impracticable absolute 100 percent certainty refusing to accept results of tests with even 99.99 percent probability, if such results contradict their claims.

JAI BHARAT! – JAI HIND!

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