Fudenburg's Folly and the "Party Line"

..."evidence is shunned by mainstream publications and those who report it are outcast and ostracized - often to the point of having a hard time getting and keeping a license. THAT is what really happens to anyone who finds anything outside the mainstream party line..."

Novel theories do get accepted into mainstream medicine and Science all the time. Here's one example:

"Today, the conventional treatment of ulcers often involves the use of Antibiotics . That's because there is now clear-cut evidence that many ulcers are caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacterium. When the bacterial connection was first suggested by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren in the 1980s, it was in the "alternative" realm. After all, physicians "knew" that ulcers were caused by stress and excess stomach acid. Skeptics, appropriately, wanted evidence before they jumped on the bandwagon. And it didn't take long for it to be provided.

In a somewhat foolhardy fashion, Marshall drank a solution of Helicobacter pylori and developed a case of gastritis. No ulcer formed, but the experiment managed to stir the scientific community into action, and within a few years hundreds of papers were published on the subject. Controlled trials were carried out, and Antibiotics were clearly shown to be an effective treatment for ulcers.

Today, this is the preferred treatment and is taught in every conventional medical school. Although initially some physicians may have scoffed at the idea of ulcers being caused by bacteria, they were quickly won over by the evidence. Contrary to what is often claimed by alternative practitioners, physicians are not closed-minded about approaches they have learned about in medical school; they'd just like to see some evidence of efficacy before advocating them."


http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=379a448b-de50-...


Getting back to immunization, if Fudenberg had convincing evidence that flu vaccine caused Alzheimer's disease, his work would be published in major journals, as well as being followed up and supported by other research.

But sadly, this is one more case of a crank whose ideas appeal to those of a certain mindset (in this case, the conviction that vaccination Is Evil), who convince themselves that their hero isn't taken seriously because he's the victim of plots and conspiracies (and not for the obvious reason that his theories are nonsensical and unsupported by evidence).

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