Elon Musk takes over Twitter

Hotez is already debating Kennedy. First he weighed in on Twitter -- unsolicited -- to call that Rogan interview misinformation. He was welcome to. ... but then when Rogan opportunistically jumped in with, "OK, then debate," it was not Rogan "bullying" Hotez. Hotez threw himself into it. ... and kind of got what he deserved from it.

"I don't debate cranks," doesn't cut it after you have already chosen to engage the crank, but only on your terms.

Either weigh in or don't.

He chooses to weigh in. What does he expect?

Also, it's not as if Rogan chose a bench scientist with no media experience to hound, the way it is being portrayed by some people I have seen. Hotez has had absolutely no problem showing up on CNN or MSNBC and speaking in short, media soundbites. ... when it suits him. So it's not as if he doesn't see it as his role to communicate about vaccines to the public.

Joe Rogan is reaching more of the public than the friendly outlets Hotez felt comfortable with throughout the pandemic. Either Hotez wants to play the role he signed up for himself. ... or he doesn't.

What Hotez boxed himself into is appearing as if he wants to swim without getting wet.

The big problem with Peter Hotez isn't that he doesn't empirically have a more reasoned understanding of the risk /reward proposition of various vaccines than Robert Kennedy Jr. It's that Hotez spent so much time going on CNN and MSNBC and rather than just talking about what he knew (and didn't know) as the pandemic developed, he sometimes chose to take a paternalistic role, telling people what he thought they needed to know in order to get them to behave in certain ways. And it's inconvenient for him now. It's what accounts for those videos of his appearances on TV, in which conspiracy theorists have mashed together time lapses of him contradicting himself. He (and some others) saw it as their role to get people to behave in certain ways, rather than to just communicate "the science." And it has kind of bit him in the ass.

I kind of wish he would have "debated" Kennedy, because he actually has given Kennedy more credence with the way he has gone about it. If he just did it, it says, "I am not afraid to engage you, because I know my shit and you are an idiot. Your views on science are harmful and mislead people."

When he does what he has done instead, he sends the message, "You are a crank and not worthy of my engagement except from afar, so I will only do it from ground I feel safe on. And if you challenge my response, I will just say, 'science,' because my authority is all that should be necessary to command your deference." I think it is a bad look for a guy who chose to be the public face of "the science."

 

If that was the role Peter Hotez wanted, he shouldn't have been on CNN and MSNBC throughout the pandemic speaking in soundbites for the public. He shouldn't have written the book taking on science denialists. He could have very anonymously been working on global health initiatives in the background.

"The scientific community" isn't some monolithic, shut-down authority that demands defererence. "Science" doesn't work that way. In fact, "The scientific community" provides cranks like RFK Jr. enough empirically to be very convincing to a lot of the public.

If your approach to ignorance is, "I'm smarter than you. ... go to Medscape, you'll see how smart I am," frankly, it's a dumb approach. People like RFK Jr. are particularly skilled at going to Medscape too, and using it pretty well to cast doubt about "the science."

 

The actual worth when he paid $44 billion wasn't anywhere near $44 billion.