EARLIER this year, when a researcher cast doubt on the safety of the MMR
vaccine, politicians and the public turned to scientists to judge the veracity
of his claim. It was an important, controversial issue, and everyone had faith
that research could provide some sort of answer.
So what are we to think when scientists propose that infertile people cannot
be categorised as living beings, while an infinite number of Elvises are alive
in parts of the cosmos that are invisible to us
(see “The King lives!” and
“The living dead”)?
Theorising is essential to science, however bizarre its conclusions.…
