I have been a science/nature junkie from the day my dad brought home a mammoth's tooth from Alaska and began explaining to me (in great detail)that the planet that I was standing on had been around for millions of years and that the earth had experienced several mass extinction events during its time. Holding up the tooth he told me something that both frightened and exhilarated me: That one of these extinction events caused the death of all the dinosaurs and that no one knew exactly what that was and there may come a day when humans will experience one for themselves.
From that moment on, I was hooked.
Unfortunately as I got older, I felt myself pulled away from science by teachers and a society that didn't always put a value on the subject as a tool to expand one's mind (just memorize these facts and pass the test). While I still enjoyed reading about various scientific topics like Quantum physics, Chaos Theory and Astrophysics, it was done on a purely self-education journey and not as a career (which I sadly regret).
But now, as I am reaching middle-age (Oh God, really?) I have witnessed that where science has always been an absolute (while still being fluid enough to accept or reject a theory when new evidence is introduced), the age of pseudo-science has come to rein supreme and people are willing to take such information as fact without questioning the politics behind it.
Darryl Cunningham, a science writer and cartoonist who specializes in taking pseudo-science to task, has had his UK book, Science Tales released here in the US (How to Fake A Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial) which not only busts various myths, he does so through the use of comics, making the argument that simplifying the message is the best way to educate the masses.
His interview is after the break
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