Hi, I’m Nancy, mother of five beautiful children, none of whom have stepped foot in a science classroom or seen a Bunsen burner in three years. I work every day to protect them from the harmful consequences of knowing too much about how things actually work.
Some people downplay the risks of scientific knowledge, arguing that the benefits outweigh the costs. They make this claim based solely on the fact that science has led to important life-saving medical advances, revealed many wonders of the universe, and opened up vast new frontiers of human potential. But they are not considering the unintended negative side effects such as the possibility of learning something scary or feeling extremely overwhelmed.
I used to be pro-science myself. I only became an anti-science activist after realizing how much of my dream-interpretation-based worldview was incompatible with what I was reading in scientific journals. Since then, I have become a fierce activist. I make passionate arguments against the so-called “scientific method” (it’s just making guesses) and the value of peer-reviewed studies (excuse me for wanting to think for myself!). When my children ask me why the sky is blue, I tell them the truth. That there’s no way to find out.
I am only advocating that people do what’s right for them, and I’m doing that the best way I know how — by focusing on the examples that support my point of view and sharing them on Facebook. My work also includes an intense regimen of exposing fake research. I have become very adept at spotting fake research — the trick is to look for evidence that counters my argument in any way.
Most people don’t know that there have been many instances of scientific information that turned out to be wrong. The way I see it, every time someone posits a new scientific theory, it either is or isn’t true. 50/50 chance, right? Do you really want to risk your child’s well-being on a 50/50 chance? My rule is to be very suspicious of anyone who claims they know something for sure, except for Oprah. In this era of Photoshop and deep fakes, you really can’t believe anything anymore, believe me.
People have told me that by preventing my children from learning about science, I am putting others at risk. But it’s not like me spreading alternate information about climate change, stem-cell research, or vaccines is harming anyone. Information doesn’t kill people; the trace amounts of formaldehyde in the MMR vaccine do.
Sometimes I feel like a pariah just because I launched a campaign to de-fund the science programs at my children’s schools. But it really bothers me when the government interferes with our ability to choose whether science is right for us by mandating a science curriculum in schools. Science is a personal thing, best left to the individual. Besides, did my children’s science teachers get a degree in my kids? I don’t think so. I should be able to decide whether science applies to my family or not.
Some people say my way of looking at things is scary. But do you know what’s really scary? Living in a world where the tyrannical scientific consensus outweighs the unsupported opinions of the few. Ask yourself — is human-crewed spaceflight really worth the price of your liberty? It’s going to be pretty hard to enjoy your solar power and cancer cures while you’re wrapped up in the chains of mental bondage.
That’s what this is all about. Freedom. The freedom to choose my own reality and live there, unburdened by intellectual discovery. The freedom to think critically about the value of critical thinking, which is no value at all. The freedom to protect my kids in the most responsible way I can: by using internet-based decision-making and a mother’s intuition.