When Science Turns Into Censorship
Inside the Tools Designed to Silence Climate Critics
Dr. Matthew Wielicki
Apr 14, 2025
As an Earth scientist, my life's work revolves around challenging established ideas, driven by evidence and curiosity. I’ve witnessed first-hand how questioning accepted narratives opens doors to profound discoveries. Yet today, I'm seeing science itself weaponized against critical thinking.
As a graduate student, I was fortunate to work under an advisor who was at the forefront of a paradigm shift in how we understood the earliest chapters of our planet’s history. Back then, we were challenging the long-standing image of a hellish early Earth, the so-called "Hadean" period, named, quite literally, after the god Hades. It had long been assumed that this era was inhospitable, devoid of oceans or continents, and simply too hot to support life. Why? Because there was no rock record to prove otherwise.
But then came these little minerals called zircons.
Primarily from the ancient Jack Hills of Western Australia, these tiny crystals told a different story. A story of a cooler, wetter, more habitable Earth over 4 billion years ago. The Hadean, we learned, wasn’t hell at all. It may have had oceans... maybe even continents. A Nature paper, co-authored by my then-officemate, who later became my beloved wife and the mother of our two sons, was featured in the New York Times the year I began my PhD.
https://irrationalfear.substack.com/p/when-science-turns-into-censorship
