Suing Science

I wish I had thought of this: Cracked.com has a list of "7 (Stupid) People Who Sued the Scientific Method". It's actually a pretty good list -- suitably snarky, of course -- and fun to read. Well, fun if you're not actually involved with any of the suits. Their first choice is antiscience goofball Walter Wagner who sued CERN to stop the LHC because he thought it would create a black hole and destroy the Earth. Presumably that includes Hawaii, which is where he filed suit, even though CERN is a European facility, and the US involvement in building the LHC was pretty much done by the time he filed charges. They also include the time in 1897 when Indiana politicians considered redefining π. That's a stretch as far as suing science goes, but it's noteworthy enough to include. There's also homeopathy, astrology, "alternative" medicine... read and enjoy. And remember, it's fun to read it on a web page, but this stuff is real. Their #2 pick involves friend of skepticism (and TAM 6 speaker) Ben Goldacre, who is a pretty funny guy, but I bet he wasn't laughing through most of his encounter with a guy who said vitamins cure AIDS. And let's not forget Simon Singh, who's being sued by chiropracters who claim they can cure asthma, but in reality they can't cure anything. Worse, thy lure people away from getting real treatment. And, worst of all, sometimes they kill people, too. And that's not funny at all.