Science cannot be a popularity contest like Strictly Come Dancing. The correct approach for determining whether minority views are reported or ignored is first to examine whether the consensus opinion is as solid as its spokesmen claim and then to examine rigorously the arguments and evidence of the minority. They should not be dismissed simply because they are in a minority. The guiding principle should be the motto of the Royal Society, “nullius in verba”, which roughly translates as “take nobody’s word for it”. --Andrew Turnbull, The Sunday Times, 31 July 2011
