Summary of David Michaels's The Triumph of Doubt

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Deflategate scandal that occurred in 2015 in the NFL was the result of a strange rumor that someone in the Patriots’ locker room tampered with the footballs during halftime, then sneaked them into the game.

#2 The old garment center joke is that turning on the blue light means the man wants a blue suit. This describes the process of hiring experts to produce scientific materials that show that a product is not very dangerous.

#3 The strategy of manufacturing doubt is used by corporations to defend their products against government regulation. It is public relations disguised as science. The companies’ PR experts provide these scientists with contrarian sound bites that play well with reporters.

#4 The strategy of manufacturing doubt has been extremely successful in the current debate over the use of scientific evidence in public policy. It has allowed entire industries to thrive, while delaying or obstructing public health or environmental protections.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822515000

IRB Media

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Insights on David Michaels's The Triumph of Doubt

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Deflategate scandal that occurred in 2015 in the NFL was the result of a strange rumor that someone in the Patriots’ locker room tampered with the footballs during halftime, then sneaked them into the game.

#2

The old garment center joke is that turning on the blue light means the man wants a blue suit. This describes the process of hiring experts to produce scientific materials that show that a product is not very dangerous.

#3

The strategy of manufacturing doubt is used by corporations to defend their products against government regulation. It is public relations disguised as science. The companies’ PR experts provide these scientists with contrarian sound bites that play well with reporters.

#4

The strategy of manufacturing doubt has been extremely successful in the current debate over the use of scientific evidence in public policy. It has allowed entire industries to thrive, while delaying or obstructing public health or environmental protections.

#5

The Exponent report was an embarrassment to the NFL, as it showed that the league had been deflated. It was not the product defense industry’s finest hour.

#6

The Department of Energy had been ignoring the fact that many of its workers were being overexposed to radiation and toxic chemicals, because they were afraid that if they acknowledged it, the nation would not be able to make the weapons needed to win World War II and the Cold War.

#7

I left the federal government and returned to academia, where I saw that the beryllium industry was not the only one using the tactics perfected by the tobacco industry. I published several articles and commentaries highlighting the problem and suggesting policy solutions.

#8

I had been teaching and writing at George Washington University after I left the Department of Energy. I had not planned to go back into government service until President Barack Obama asked me to take the reins at OSHA. I could not refuse.

#9

The inroads of progress in protecting the science underpinning our public health and environmental protections have not been sustained. Once again, tobacco’s uncertainty campaign dating from the 1950s is serving as the template for corporate behavior in 2020.

#10

The scientific enterprise is at a crossroads. We need to understand what is