ILF POST

By Michael Crichton (Remarks to the Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, September 15, 2003)
I have been asked to talk about what I consider the most important challenge facing mankind, and I have a fundamental answer. The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the [...]

By Michael Crichton
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
The speed of light is a constant.
Apples fall to earth because of gravity.
Elevated blood sugar is linked to diabetes.
Elevated uric acid is linked to gout.
Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease.
Elevated homocysteine is linked to B-12 deficiency, so doctors should test homocysteine levels to see whether the patient [...]

By Michael Crichton If loss of biodiversity is important, then loss of intellectual diversity in the marketplace of ideas is important for all the same reasons. For a healthy and vigorous intellectual life, we are dependent on new ideas, contrary viewpoints, and a constant challenge to conventional wisdom. Without them we risk ossification both [...]