At 08:59 AM 05/16/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>And on inspection, what with
>hindsight appears to be the most quixotic of all [Alfred Russel
>Wallace's]enthusiasms, his campaign against smallpox vaccination, is also
>surprisingly rational. He objected to the statistics used by the medical
>profession to justify its implementation, and revealed many instances in
>which they were manipulated to enhance the establishment's claims. For
>example, one report exaggerated the number of smallpox cases nationwide
>prior to vaccination by multiplying the number in London by 12 on the
>premise that approximately one 12th of the population lived in the
>capital. Such an extrapolation was unwarranted because the dense and dirty
>(i.e. disease-fostering) living conditions in London did not obtain
>elsewhere. Wallace may have been wrong to oppose vaccination, but his
>critique of the evidence in its favour was sound.
this seems preminiscent of the current reaction against anthrax
vaccinations in the US armed forces and against childhood vaccinations (due
to their alleged encouragement of autism). Does anyone have any insights on
these?
Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~JDevine
"Is it peace or is it Prozac?" -- Cheryl Wheeler.
