Geez, this James sounds so much like Ode...could be a relative.
Chuck
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Dihydrogen Monoxide: Unrecognized Killer
by James K. Glassman Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
____________________________________
The chemical compound dihydrogen monoxide (or DHMO) has been
implicated in
the deaths of thousands of Americans every year, mainly through
accidental
ingestion. In gaseous form, it can cause severe burns. And, according
to a
new report, "the dangers of this chemical do not end there."
The chemical is so caustic that it "accelerates the corrosion and
rusting
of many metals, . . . is a major component of acid rain, [and] . . .
has
been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients." Symptoms
of
ingestion include "excessive sweating and urination," and "for those
who have
developed a dependency on DHMO, complete withdrawal means certain
death."
Yet the presence of the chemical has been confirmed in every river,
stream,
lake and reservoir in America.
Judging from these facts, do you think dihydrogen monoxide should be
banned?
Seems like an open-and-shut case -- until you realize that this
chemical
compound is plain old water (two hydrogen molecules bonded to one
oxygen, or
H 2 O, which can drown you, scald you or make you go to the bathroom.
Last spring, Nathan Zohner, an enterprising 14-year-old student at
Eagle
Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, conducted his science
fair
project on just this theme. Nathan distributed a tongue-in-cheek
report that
had been kicking around the Internet, "Dihydrogen Monoxide: The
Unrecognized
Killer" (from which the quotes above are drawn), to 50 of his
classmates.
These are smart kids who had studied chemistry; many of them, like
Nathan,
have parents who work at the nearby Idaho Nuclear Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory. Nathan simply asked them to read the report
(which is
completely factual) and decide what, if anything to do about the
chemical.
They could even ask the teacher what DHMO was, but none did.
In the end, 43 students, or 86 percent of the sample, "voted to ban
dihydrogen monoxide because it has caused too many deaths," wrote
Nathan in the
conclusion to his project, adding that he "was appalled that my peers
were
so easily misled. . . . I don't feel comfortable with the current
level of
understanding."
Me neither, and it's not just kids I worry about. Nathan's project,
which
won the grand prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, was
titled,
"How Gullible Are We?" But ninth-graders aren't the only gullible
parties. I'm
sure that, if Nathan tried the same experiment on adults, he'd find
at
least as many would want to ban DHMO.
Says David Murray, research director of the non-profit Statistical
Assessment Service in Washington, "The likelihood is high that I could
replicate
these results with a survey of members of Congress."
Murray, whose organization "looks out for misleading science that's
driving
public policy over a cliff," ran across the Zohner story a few months
ago
on the Internet. But he writes, "we thought it sounded like an urban
myth
-- too pat, too neat." He discovered from local press reports that it
was
indeed true. I confirmed it too, after talking earlier this week with
Nathan's mom, Marivene, who says that Nathan wants to be "a scientist
in the
nuclear field," like his dad.
The implications of Nathan's research are so disturbing that I've
decided
to coin a term: "Zohnerism," defined as the use of a true fact to lead
a
scientifically and mathematically ignorant public to a false
conclusion.
Environmental hysterics -- Vice President Al Gore springs to mind --
and
ideologues in such fields as race, women's issues and economics are
adept at
using Zohnerisms, with help from the media, to advance their agendas.
A few
examples:
The breast-implant mania. Dow Corning was driven into bankruptcy
through
lawsuits over its silicone implants -- even though science doesn't
support
claims that they're dangerous. Marcia Angell, executive editor of the
New
England Journal of Medicine, cites the problem jurors "have in
thinking in
terms of probabilities, or in acknowledging the possibility of
coincidence."
Research, she says, has consistently failed to find a link between
silicone
and disease. Yes, women who have implants get sick, but, in a typical
study, "the implant group was no more likely to develop connective
tissue
disease than the group without implants."
White flight. In the headline above an article Sunday about population
growth in rural areas, the New York Times claimed, "Hint of Racial
Undercurrents Is Behind Broad Exodus of Whites." Steven A. Holmes, the
reporter, wrote
that studies by demographer William Frey "show that of the 40
fastest-growing rural counties, virtually all are at least 70 percent
white."
Shocking? Well, according to the Bureau of the Census, 83 percent of
the
U.S. population is white.
Finding Zohnerisms in the press, Congressional Record and speeches of
administration officials makes a great parlor game. One place to start
is the
collected speeches of EPA chief Carol Browner, who has used Zohnerisms
masterfully to promote expensive, disruptive new standards for
particulate
matter and global warming -- despite evidence from scientists that is,
at best,
inconclusive.
That's a shame. In a land where technical ignorance reigns and
susceptibility to Zohnerisms is high, it's the duty of politicians,
journalists and
scientists to present facts responsibly and in context.
After all, think what would happen if the EPA really did ban
dihydrogen
monoxide.
The writer is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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