In 2003, Michael Crichton gave a speech at the California Institute of Technology in which he warned of the dangers of "consensus science" and its use (or abuse) as a policy-making tool. From the popularization of SETI, to the Cold War scare of nuclear winter, to secondhand smoke and global warming, Crichton contends that many of the consensus conclusions reached by scientists and politicians in recent years have been based on very little or no actual scientific ... Read this and 26 comments.

"Network neutrality" is a topic of hot debate among Internet content providers, broadband access providers, web surfers, and lawmakers -- in other words, almost everyone. But what does it all mean? The term itself is shrouded in controversy, and what sounds like a good idea in theory may have unintended consequences in reality. And do both sides have hidden ... Read this and 12 comments.