I find the public exhibition of willful ignorance very upsetting. And frustrating. And sad. And dangerous to the survival of humanity. It sickens me.

 

I don't think it is ignorance. "Never underestimate the ennemy".

Don't misunderstand me, Dave is not an ennemy.

But when a scientist believes he is fighting ignorance most of the time he is not. The real ennemy is incomprehension. Incomprehension is not a matter of intelligence or ignorance. Incomprehension means the discourse of the one is not received by the other. Incomprehension turns on both sides: and from the "ignorant", and from the "scientist".

 

When the "ignorant" ends the conversation in total refutal, the scientist is sad. When the scientist ends the conversation in refutal, the "ignorant" is pissed. They both lose.

Michel, your argument is somewhat persuasive, but ultimately my belief in the power and beauty of reason when coupled with a passionate joie de vivre means that I find great difficulty in accepting that a thinking individual can retain views such as Dave does without deliberately not thinking. That of course, constitutes willful ignorance. Yours is a slightly more optimistic view of the world, mine - I fear - may be more realistic. Unfortunately Dave will probably never choose to return to let us determine which is true in his case.