From the BBC. This is a great story.
Stefan Lanka is a German anti-vaccination biologist who's certain that vaccinations don't work. He's also convinced that the measles aren't real. Lanka's so impressed with his scientific interpretations that he posted a challenge on his website saying that he would pay €100,000 (about $106,000) to anyone who could prove that the measles virus existed.
His thinking - I'm guessing - is that vaccinations don't or can't work on something that doesn't exist. Hence his €100,000 challenge.
Someone decided to call Lanka on his self-indulgent bluff.
German scientist Dr. David Barden put together a packet of the most recent research on the topic and sent it to the biologist's house. Ignoring evidence he didn't like, Lanka proceeded to build a strawman argument for the ages, and then declared the work of thousands of researchers and scientists invalid.
Lanka, being the brilliant scientist that he is, determined that the measles is really just "psychosomatic illness." So, yeah, people who die from the disease are really just disturbed. It's all in their head.
Case closed, right?
Not so fast. Dr. Barden wasn't about to let Lanka off so easily.
Dr. Barden decided to take the matter to court and sued Lanka. A German judge reviewed the material and - surprise, surprise - agreed with decades of research and settled science (and common sense). Lanka was ordered to pay Dr. Barden €100,000.
- Mark
Stefan Lanka is a German anti-vaccination biologist who's certain that vaccinations don't work. He's also convinced that the measles aren't real. Lanka's so impressed with his scientific interpretations that he posted a challenge on his website saying that he would pay €100,000 (about $106,000) to anyone who could prove that the measles virus existed.
His thinking - I'm guessing - is that vaccinations don't or can't work on something that doesn't exist. Hence his €100,000 challenge.
Someone decided to call Lanka on his self-indulgent bluff.
German scientist Dr. David Barden put together a packet of the most recent research on the topic and sent it to the biologist's house. Ignoring evidence he didn't like, Lanka proceeded to build a strawman argument for the ages, and then declared the work of thousands of researchers and scientists invalid.
Lanka, being the brilliant scientist that he is, determined that the measles is really just "psychosomatic illness." So, yeah, people who die from the disease are really just disturbed. It's all in their head.
Case closed, right?
Not so fast. Dr. Barden wasn't about to let Lanka off so easily.
Dr. Barden decided to take the matter to court and sued Lanka. A German judge reviewed the material and - surprise, surprise - agreed with decades of research and settled science (and common sense). Lanka was ordered to pay Dr. Barden €100,000.
- Mark
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