In today’s Science Times, you will find a nice little article by Tara Parker-Pope about . . . vitamins. Turns out there is zero — that’s right, zero — evidence to suggest that taking vitamin pills prevents chronic illnesses or prolongs your happy little life. Dr. Eric Klein, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute and a national director for one of the clinical trials at issue that came up empty, told the Times “I’m puzzled why the public in general ignores the results of well-done trials. The public’s belief in the benefits of vitamins and nutrients is not supported by the available scientific data.”

If one were to go into a Whole Foods, a GNC, or any local health-food store/coop and ask people whether they think sound science should dictate public policy, all would undoubtedly say “Yes!” and then probably half would go on an unprompted rant about how Republican ideologues are waging war against scientific fact and integrity. Follow up with a question about the stuff they’re buying and just as many would defend it to the death even after being told about the studies reported today in the Times.

Very few people really care about “sound science” and even fewer would recognize it if it were to slap them in the face. Almost everyone, however, thinks that “sound science” (if it were every properly done) would back up whatever preexisting political biases they might have. For a walking embodiment of this phenomenon, see Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. He’s happy to (a) launch into an argument that the consensus of scientific opinion on climate change is x and how rejecting this consensus is akin to rejecting the birthright of all humanity, and then, in the very next breath (b) go off about the the millions of autistic kids who were given their horrible condition by the greed and irresponsibility of childhood vaccine manufacturers (about which the consensus of scientific opinion is that Kennedy is insane).