Remember, Crichton is - first and foremost - a writer of fiction. Damn GOOD fiction, in my opinion, but still fiction. I enjoyed that article immensely, but don't agree with it 100%. However, I respect his opinion, because he is - secondly - a scientist. For those of you who "pooh pooh" Crichton as another "celebrity" mouthing off on issues, remember this:
Michael Crichton- Graduated Harvard University, B.A. (summa cum laude), Anthropology, 1964 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology at Cambridge University, England, 1965.
- Henry Russell Shaw Travelling Fellow, 1964-65.
- Harvard Medical School, M.D., 1969 (never licensed)
- spent one year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, California 1969-1970
You can argue that his interpretation of the science behind the argument is wrong, but he does have the credentials to at least argue them without being belittled as a celebrity.