Re: [Phys-l] Responding to a DJ about science

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

> After I read your "transcript," my advice would have been to NOT get into
> any kind of debate. The DJ seems to be self-righteous in his beliefs, and
> nothing you can say will change that. So you are fighting a losing battle,
> and it might be something not worth fighting for. It will only frustrate
> you. There are many people out there like this that will not change how
> they feel about science and what scientists do.
This is sound advice given that the DJ has the microphone.  But if you
spotted obviously untrue statements which could be documented and which
people would believe are untrue, you could write a letter to the editor of
the local paper.

This type of person often eventually descends to personal or racial attacks
and slander in which case they can be sued or the radio station might be
embarrassed enough to dismiss him.  Generally this type of person can be
discredited by things other than their know nothing comments.

But in the meantime your blood pressure might rise and cause a heart attack.

I have a friend who was attacked by a local broadcaster because she was
prosecuting a case of a warehouse being put into a residential neighborhood,
in violation of deed restrictions.  The neighborhood was poor, and the
broadcaster made a big deal about the warehouse owner who was making an
honest living.  Of course if the warehouse were located in his neighborhood
he would scream bloody murder.  But his neighborhood had the resources to
prosecute such a case.  While the national media are no being held in
disrepute by many, at least they make an attempt at being factual and
objective, unlike many of the local media.  People are now paying more
attention to blogs than to more objective media, which makes the process of
education much more difficult.

But if your local community agrees with the broadcaster's comments, any
attempts to discredit him will just make him more popular.  I suppose you
could try to contact local science teachers and then have them use some of
his broadcasts as examples of unscientific reasoning.  But one comment did
stick out.  He is certainly right that science can't prove everything, but
often scientists project the image that they can do this.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX