> Even though I take pride in my ability to adjust my opinions in the face of new evidence, it can really hurt, and it sure did this time. Now what should I believe? And what fragments of false belief were left behind in my mind? On top of that, I had to notify the people I gave the book to. When there are that many errors in a single chapter, who knows how many there might be in the rest of the book? It was clear to me that the book could not be trusted.

I think these are great questions. I say believe nothing. If you verify something, now you're getting closer. Personal experience is also the golden source - I do not dismiss it as 'merely anecdotal' - its actually the only thing of which it can be said "I know!"

> I think we should demand a lot from institutions and very little from individuals. Humans can be lazy, selfish, biased and greedy. They can also be also hard-working, altruistic, fair and generous. But the dark side of humans isn't going away any time soon. Institutions, however, can do a lot better than individuals. (The scientific community is an example of such an institution — despite individual scientists' many imperfections, science keeps progressing.)

And here I disagree. I don't demand from other individuals. But nor do I demand anything from institutions. In fact - I demand less from them! What are institutions except grouped individuals, only now with many opportunities to avoid accountability, and many incentives to do whatever it takes for money?