Stupidity on the Net
I decided to take a study break tonight and check my e-mail. To my dismay, I had a forwarded message from someone (who will remain anonymous) touting the dangers of aspartame. After reading the message (click to read a version posted on Snopes) I simply couldn't believe that aspartame was really that dangerous. In the last 2 weeks alone I've personally gone through one-and-a-half cases of diet soda! I'm sure you're all thinking that I'm going to die now, or at least develop MS, or cancer, or some other horrible disease. Or at least you do if you read the "article". Well sorry to disappoint, but no, that wonderful little piece of junk mail contained about as much scientific fact as the theory of creationism.
But still, I dare you to google aspartame and find a reliable source of information (one that a high-school teacher or a college professor would actually accept) that determines whether this chemical is actually dangerous or not. I admit that I had to use PubMed to actually find some reliable articles. For those of you who don't want to do any real research I'll just let you know that aspartame is safe to consume - that's why the FDA still allows its use! Just like the myth that immunizations cause autism, there is no scientific evidence to back up the claim!
I consider anonymous to be an intelligent, well-educated person, and yet he/she still fell for this myth. I remember a post written by
thephysicsninjathat discussed a similar concern for the lack of scientific literacy in the general population. He linked the site that describes the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide and even though it's an obvious spoof to anyone that paid attention in chemistry, a lot of people actually signed a petition that tried to ban this chemical! I'm tempted to prove my point to anonymous by showing him/her this website and seeing if he/she believes it's real.
Well it's back to studying for me so I can continue to protect my future patients from all of those terrifying chemicals while they continue to kill themselves with cigarettes.
But still, I dare you to google aspartame and find a reliable source of information (one that a high-school teacher or a college professor would actually accept) that determines whether this chemical is actually dangerous or not. I admit that I had to use PubMed to actually find some reliable articles. For those of you who don't want to do any real research I'll just let you know that aspartame is safe to consume - that's why the FDA still allows its use! Just like the myth that immunizations cause autism, there is no scientific evidence to back up the claim!
I consider anonymous to be an intelligent, well-educated person, and yet he/she still fell for this myth. I remember a post written by
thephysicsninjathat discussed a similar concern for the lack of scientific literacy in the general population. He linked the site that describes the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide and even though it's an obvious spoof to anyone that paid attention in chemistry, a lot of people actually signed a petition that tried to ban this chemical! I'm tempted to prove my point to anonymous by showing him/her this website and seeing if he/she believes it's real.
Well it's back to studying for me so I can continue to protect my future patients from all of those terrifying chemicals while they continue to kill themselves with cigarettes.