This is a thing? Snopes has to talk about it? Wow. OK, where do I start.
Apparently some geniuses on the Internet and social media seem to think that the zika virus/microcephaly outbreak is caused by GMO mosquitos, or by chemical insecticide spraying, or by vaccinations, or by the government as a bioweapon, trying to reduce the population. And there are more. I have not yet used the Googles to see whether or not anyone has linked zika to aliens or Bigfoot yet, mostly because that’s an Internet rabbit hole I don’t want to travel down. I like my brain un-melted, thank you.
Look, I know there are a lot of reasons to not trust the government, or corporations, or authority figures in general. But please… for the love of all that is holy, trust science. Science is what allows modern civilization. Science brings you things like your smart phone, and the Internet, and GPS, and air travel, and modern medicine, and weather radars, and communication satellites. Science makes it all happen. And while individual scientists may be flawed, and our scientific knowledge is far from complete or comprehensive, the basic precepts of science are pretty damn solid. Unlike a lot of other things, science lends itself to correction and refinement. And way too many Americans have a poor understanding of science, which probably contributes to electing (and nominating) morons whose grasp on reality seems tenuous at best.
But self-correction is not for you, conspiracy theorists. For you, science is like the buffet at Country Kitchen or something. Pick what you want, and feel free to ignore everything else. Facts be damned, my gut tells me that Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are real and somehow involved! “They’re in it with the aliens! They’re building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to God!”*
I can’t pretend I understand you, because I don’t. And there’s no point in arguing with you. In fact, science shows that arguing with you is rather pointless and all the evidence in the world almost certainly won’t change your mind.
-Geoff
*Hat tip to the Dead Milkmen for their song “Stuart”.
The Books are Taking Over... 
Gawd, even the mozzies are in on the conspiracy?? I just wasted over an hour of my life yesterday trying to figure out another science denier, the so-called Food Babe, who’s making a fortune off of people stupid enough to buy her pseudoscientific wankery. Thank goodness for Science Babe and that the willfully ignorant seem to be in the minority.
Yeah, I have not been impressed by the Food Babe either. Not for nothing is she called the “Jenny McCarthy of food”.
And the Science Babe? Heh heh heh. She’s from Boston originally, which already made me inclined to like her. Her takedowns of the Food Babe are some fantastic reading. And some of her anti-vaxxer stuff is just spectacularly awesome and gives me warm fuzzies.
Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
-Geoff