There used to be a Mad Magazine feature called "What They Say and What They Mean" that presented people's words and the thoughts behind them. I' m going to give something like that format a try here, to illustrate my thoughts on the current political debate over the treatment of a (probably ex-) human being in a persistent vegetative state.
| Scientist | Left Wing Politician | Right Wing Politician | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What They Say | Persistent Vegetative State | She's a vegetable | She's awaiting a miracle! Hallelujah! |
| What They Mean | The cognitive functions have been destroyed by severe cereberal injury. Automatic and Autonomic functions remain. The state is persistent, meaning that, as best we can tell, the patient will not emerge. | Duuuh, she's a vegetable. | She looks like she's smiling at her mom. |
| What They Say | As best we can tell | It's a fact | It's a lie |
| What They Mean | Science does not yield 100% certainty. At best, we increase out knowledge until there is no practical difference between it and the popular idea of "the truth." But doubt and skepticism always remain. Indeed, this is what drives scientific progress. | It's The Truth, if that's convenient. | It's a Damnable Falsehood, if that's convenient. |
| What They Say | Probably | Right Wingers are idiots! | Scientists are idiots! |
| What They Mean | Much research seems to indicate that this is so, but no consensus exists. I personally think that this is so. | Gaah! Don't they understand the nature of scientific truth? If a scientists says it is so, then it is! | Gaah! Don't they know a fact from an opinion? They can't even agree about it among themselves! |
| What They Say | The committee's actions are unfortunately short sighted. | Scientists are idiots | Scientists are idiots |
| What They Mean | Politicians are idiots | The voters are idiots | The voters are idiots |