> I (Peter Borst) find it ironic that one of the most common responses by 
> laypersons to scientific works is to question the methodology. As laypersons, 
> we have no choice but to rely on experts. 

That is a statement of opinion, and subject to debate, particularly in light of 
recent reports of the increasing numbers of unverifiable studies, conflicts of 
interest, and retracted papers and suppressed results already diuscussed here.

lay·per·son/ˈlāˌpərsən/
Noun:	
A nonordained member of a church.
A person without professional or specialized knowledge in a particular subject.

I don't think you or I fit either definition, unless, of course you are a member 
of a church and also unordained.

> WE cannot take these measurements, so we must accept that they are done 
correctly.

Golly. We have to assume that nobody outside of academia or the chemical 
companies can think of an angle that nobody has chosen to notice before?  
Include me out of that particular "WE".  I'm looking, and I am seeing things 
that it seems you choose to ignore.

FWIW, it is not necessary to sing opera to be an opera critic.

>The best way to assure this is to compare the various reports and if they 
> consistently agree, then we can begin to accept that there may be a 
consensus.

Consensus is a poor substitute for incisve thinking.  Looking at historical 
consensus (plural) -- all of them -- I would venture that the vast majority 
of consensus have proven to be riduculous -- or just plain wrong -- in hindsight.

> Either that, or a conspiracy to cook the data to support the industry's wish 
> to cover up the facts. 

Those are transparently false alternatives.  We have been over the many 
ways that groupthink and assumptions and politics and group loyalty lead 
to overlooking inconvenient facts.  

The long time it took to recognise that varroa destructor was not jacobsoni 
is a good example.  A child presented with a frontal picture of both would know 
they are not the same.  

Now, I ask, would such a child be considered a "layperson"?

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