Chapter eighteen in
Global Brain by
Howard Bloom. 1st ed. copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This chapter is all about how some good ideas get ignored because they go against "the rules." The powers that be like to control the way we think, for better or for worse. On the one hand, it sure can be nice to speak the same language as another person, but the price we pay for that is occasionally losing some really killer ideas.
Most of this chapter, in fact, is written about one such case: the research of one Dr. Gilbert Ling, a cell physiologist. Ling's theories about cell physiology fly in the face of the standard "sodium pump" theory that dominates the field, whereby cells excrete sodium through tiny microtubules.
If Ling's theories proved correct, it would revolutionize the field of cell physiology, and the pharmeceutical industry. The sad truth is that Ling may never get to find out whether his theories are correct or not, because the scientists who support the dominant theory are constantly denying him any chance at funding or research space.
Back to chapter 17: Swiveling Eyes and Pivoting Minds: The Pull of Influence Attractors
On to chapter 19 The Kidnap of Mass Mind: Fundamentalism, Spartanism, and the Games Subcultures Play
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