7 Things You Should Never Say To A Scientist

5. I Don€™'t Really Trust Things That Aren€™'t Natural

Say this with me: Everything. Is. Chemicals.

There's a logical fallacy in a lot of anti-science called the appeal to nature fallacy. It's the belief that if something is "natural" then it is automatically better. You know, how arsenic is better for you than Dr. Pepper (oh wait).

The ideas of "natural" and "synthetic" are slippery blighters. You could argue that "natural" would mean anything that is naturally occurring, and "synthetic" is anything that is made, but even that is fraught with problems. Honey, for example, is not naturally occurring, the bees synthesize it - they even put a little lid on it - yet none of the natural brigade would say it's synthetic.

On the other hand, insulin for diabetics is synthesized using GMO bacteria. That's just a string of hot-button buzzwords and yet the stuff literally saves lives.