Harvard Professors display scientific illiteracy when it comes to circumcision

Is this Ignorance, Group Think, Confirmation Bias, Cultural Blindness or what?  It appears that the defence of circumcision turns even the most intelligent human beings into ignorant imbeciles!  Stephen Pinker (Psychologist and Cognitive Scientist) stated that "loyalty to a social group often over-rides truth", and probably best explains how Harvard Professors appear scientfically illiterate.


Read the following from an interview with 2 x Harvard Professors on the subject of circumcision:

 "Dr. Essex Harvard Professor has indicated, male circumcision is much cheaper than condoms + education (one male circumcision in southern Africa is < U$100 and each condom costs almost U$1.00).   Dr Plank stated --  "I can say, however, that male circumcision is a one-time intervention with life-long benefit".

But get this = The authors of the African Studies recommended circumcised men should still use condoms consistently, because circumcised men still become infected, therefore the cost of circumcision needs to include the lifetime cost of condoms.  

How could a Harvard Professor not understand "you have to add the cost of circumcision and the cost of a life of condoms!! Education about safe sex and HIV is also a moral imperitive so education has to be part of any program.  So in actual fact circumcision makes HIV prevention MORE EXPENSIVE!!

How is it that 2 x Harvard Professors make such  basic ERRORS?  Is it BIAS or INGORANCE? or Cultural Blindness???     It appears that the defence of circumcision makes even Harvard Professors Scientifically Illiterate!! Even the rabid pro-circ researchers recommended circumcised men needed to wear condoms!!  The big fear being that circumcision leads to behavioural disinhibition and men stop wearing condoms, = is not even discussed by these professors? . If Harvard professors get this so very wrong, what chance have poor illiterate uneducated Africans got?  A Public Health disaster is in the making here, it is so very sad.

The circumcision issue seems beyond Reason & Logic for these people, it appears to be such a deeply rooted tribal custom and an unconscious loyalty to their social group, which interferes with their scientific thinking, very sad for Americans & Africans.

Loyalty to the social group trumps the truth.