Offended As a Scientist

There's an episode of Seinfeld (S8.E19) where Jerry's dentist Tim Whatley converts to Judaism. Jerry (a Jew and comedian) notices that Dr. Whatley now tells Jewish jokes while Jerry is in the dentist chair. A priest asks Jerry if he's offended as a Jewish person that Whatley "converted for the jokes," and Jerry replies, "No, it offends me as a comedian."

In a recent (4/19/25) article from The Hill (accessed 4/24/25) about Robert Kennedy's comments about autism, he is quoted as saying,

This is a preventable disease. We know it’s an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. It can provide a vulnerability. You need an environmental toxin.

Let me restate his claims as literally as I can.

(This is a preventable disease.) My claim is that autism is a preventable disease. (We know it's an environmental exposure.) We have conclusive evidence that autism is caused by something toxic in the physical environment. (It has to be.) I hope autism is caused by something toxic in the environment. (Genes do not cause epidemics.) Autism is an epidemic. Epidemics are not caused by genetics, so therefore autism must be caused by something in the environment. (It can provide a vulnerability.) Genes can only create a situation where you're more vulnerable to environmental toxins. Genes do not cause diseases. (You need an environmental toxin). In conclusion, since an environmental toxin that causes autism must be identified in order to make my case that an environmental toxin causes autism, an environmental toxin must exist that causes autism.

There is much about this statement that offends me as a scientist. His words lack precision. He combines research with personal belief. His logic is flawed (this is especially unforgivable since he's a lawyer). He speaks about something where there exists a large body of research which he does not reference or use to inform his statements. He may not have taken the time to be briefed on basic facts about autism. If so, this means he is either negligent or believes facts don't matter. Another possibility is that he believes people should believe him just because he says it. In a sense, he might believe most people are either too dumb or too lazy to scrutinize his speech.

As much as I am concerned about how this speech will influence the autistic community, of which I am a part, I am more concerned about what this speech says about how Kennedy does his job and makes decisions. I could theorize that someone bold enough to make such an absurd speech is more likely to have done other impulsive and risky things.

Follow this link to a Sound of Ideas (WKSU) radio panel I was part of last week (5/8/25) that addresses this issue.