Perhaps the most disappointing loss of innocence I have experienced in my life is the realization that even very smart people, including and especially those in positions of power, apply faulty logic and a exhibit a willful disregard for evidence. This is painful to see every time it happens. Even though I now expect it and have seen it thousands of times it is, each time, like a fresh wound. It hurts me in a fundamental way like nothing else. I detest it. Were it possible, I’d probably give my life to end such things. In truth, I know it is integral to the human condition, though there is considerable variation. Likely nobody can achieve complete scientific purity — if there is such a thing — but some get very close or, in any case, closer than others. I am not claiming I am among them, but it is not for lack of trying.
