AN INTERESTING cultural experiment is taking place in Petersburg, Kentucky. It will shed light on the following question: how much money and glitz does it take to institutionalise a lie about science?
Of course, “buying” reality is not a new idea, especially in politics. Nor are institutional attacks on science, from the Nazi campaign against “Jewish physics” to the post-war Soviet effort against genetics. The Kentucky experiment differs from these, however, by borrowing a strategy from sideshows through the ages, reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz: smoke, mirrors and high-tech gimmicks. But here, a lot is riding on the man behind the curtain.…
