You're assuming the discussion would be even slightly rational. It would consist of Jenny McCarthy and a bunch of homeopaths telling parents that this is proof

You're assuming the discussion would be even slightly rational. It would consist of Jenny McCarthy and a bunch of homeopaths telling parents that this is proof that the Illuminati want their kids to have autism so they will worship Satan, or something about equally inane. I don't see much in the way of rational discussion of anything outside small specialized forums like this. Everything is dominated by loud anti-intellectual demagogues. The thing that disturbs me the most is that this kind of inane BS is making inroads among people that I thought knew better... people that I thought had brains. -- Responding to the reply since HN's anti-discourse rate limiter kicked in: You're right about the last paragraph, but it's mostly not the fault of science so much as our political leadership. Years ago when we invaded Iraq and then it came to light that there were no WMDs, never had been WMDs, and the whole thing was deliberately concocted, I remember saying to friends that this was going to have consequences with a capital C. I was right. I said the same thing after the 2008 bank bailouts. Major damage was done to the fundamental trust basis of our society and there will be consequences. I was right. During the 'oughts the elite of our society stacked their credibility up in a big pile and set it on fire. I wish I had an answer. If they were honorable they would own up to it, but I see none of that. Apparently they decided invading Iraq and bailing out banks was more important than the bedrock trust on which our society is built and they're committed to going down with the ship.