Those lobbyists and salesmen and quacks tout common sense much, much more than they do science. The science is hard to understand, and non-emotional, the common

Those lobbyists and salesmen and quacks tout common sense much, much more than they do science. The science is hard to understand, and non-emotional, the common sense is easy to understand, and can be very highly charged. To take something that isn't currently in the political eye, but demonstrates this well, tobacco. "We believe in freedom. We believe in choice. You are free to educate yourself and decide for yourself; we don't need some nanny state deciding FOR you". Nevermind that it's a physically addictive product, being sold with ads targeting adolescents who are especially responsive to imagery and messages around rebellion, bucking the status quo, etc, and less long term thinking. As to medical procedures...yes, the perverse incentives are in place to where extra tests = extra money. But the article you link even lists "Patients often insist that a medical provider “do something,” like write a prescription or perform a test." - this is "common sense" overriding expert opinion.