[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]diocy is much like a persistent cancer that raises its ugly head periodically when the right circumstances allow it to grow and flourish. Recently there has been a growth in the popular concept that “my ideas are as valid as anyone else”. Though this current contemporary culture is admirable in its willingness to challenge orthodoxy and entrenched ideas via the open culture of the internet and social media – this assumed egalitarianism of ideas does not sit well in the more darwinian reality of thought and action.

All ideas are NOT equal and many flourishing across the internet are poorly thought-out unsupported mental trash not worthy of anyones time.  The popular aphorism that opinions are as ubiquitous as assholes is aptly applied here and is one popular culture needs desperately to adopt. Admirable forums like Reddit have aptly rewarded the value and reliability of posts about various subjects by grading them in their appearance order and relative to popularity. Which works well as long as the forum isn’t full of science ignorant mentally challenged fools.

But not everyone is so concerned about accuracy, honesty and intellectual integrity. This brings us to the hijacking of actual peer reviewed science by pseudoscience where recently scientists like Lawrence Krauss and Mikio Kaku were misquoted deliberately in a documentary supporting a geocentric hypothesis called the ‘Principle’.

Pseudoscience Idiocy in all its Principled Glory (Below)

The idea supported by geocentricism is is that the sun revolves around the Earth rather than the conventional view that the  earth revolves around  the sun which is overwhelmingly supported by prodigious amounts of data. Such patent nonsense masquerading as a scientific proposition is bad enough and defies gravitational theory and every major known astrophysical observation for the last 400 years.

But worse still is their use of carefully isolated comments by famous scientists to advance their ludicrous and completely unsupported ideas. This is nothing short of pernicious plagiarism and blatant intellectual fraud.

Unlike political value and human rights, ideas ARE NOT EQUAL. Nor sadly is intellectual integrity and good character judging by the sheer dishonest scamology of the ‘Principles’ makers. Its one of the few times where I find myself feeling rather fond for a public ass whipping post for such deceptive creatures.