A Science in the Shadows

For example, suppose I claim to have found a fatal flaw deep in the most difficult part of Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.

If someone says that I'm unlikely to be right because my mother was a hamster and my father smelled of elderberries that would be an ad hominem fallacy.

My mother's species and my father's smell have no bearing on my mathematical claim.

However, if someone says that I'm unlikely to be right because I have not studied any higher math beyond what was covered in classes for my bachelor's degree in math from Caltech and so it is quite unlikely that I have any clue as to what is going on even on the first page of the proof let alone anywhere near the most difficult part (or could even figure out what part is the most difficult part) that would be an ad hominem but not an ad hominem fallacy.

It's not a fallacy because it is questioning whether I have the knowledge to be able to even make a valid argument about details deep in Wiles' proof. That has bearing on the likelihood that my mathematical claims are correct.

And tickling the Dragons Tail is great fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core

You need people that like to have that kind of fun and don't really care about the risks.

Since they are underpaid in relation to the potential risk, a risk they absolutely know but don't care about, because its so small in their own calculations, you have to give them at least some incentives.

They don't do it just for the scientific fame or out of patriotism anymore.

And they are really bright guys and girls.

At least they were told.

They were selected for it.

Oh, of course they were also selected for following the security guidelines.

They are good boys and girls.

That helps them to hide the dangers from their conscience.

And none of them would ever doubt their own calculations or that of their superiors.

Everything is under control, nothing can happen, everything is safe.

We calculated at least twice.

Until an eye is poked out.

Or a lot of eyes.

And even if something happens, who cares about a few dozen or hundred expendables at most, in the long run?

I already said, it can't be more, because of our safety routines and our extremely bright guys and girls that we need to tickle the Dragons Tail.

Setting the labs up in population centers for other reasons, lab phase two?

Now come on, that is conspiracy theory and Resident Evil Science.

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory.

The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control.

The world is rudderless.” Alan Moore

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/662444-the-main-thing-that-...

But then again, only the paranoid survive and being paranoid doesn't mean, they are not after you.

;-)

But the 2007 British foot and mouth disease outbreak indeed started from a lab. Fortunately this disease can be controlled fairly well as long as you are willing to slaughter anything in wide circles around the case clusters. So, no global pandemic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_Kingdom_foot-and-m...

A similar human disease would be much harder to stop.