Bad theories kill people

This piece looks at the result of a bad theory killing people: Commentary » Blog Archive » Incitement Kills — but Not Always Its Intended Target

The inquiry concluded that “doctors believed Abu Rahmah was sickened by phosphorous fertilizer and nerve gas. She was therefore treated with atropine and fluids, without Palestinian doctors realizing that she had in fact inhaled tear gas.”

Atropine is the standard treatment for poisonous gas. But it can be deadly if given in large doses to someone who hasn’t inhaled poison gas.

And this is where incitement comes in. Anyone who knows anything about Israel would know that the IDF doesn’t even use nerve gas against combatants armed with sophisticated weapons, much less against rock-throwing demonstrators.

But wild allegations of preposterous Israeli crimes are standard fare among Palestinians, and indeed throughout the Arab world. Israel has been accused of everything from poisoning Palestinian wells with depleted uranium to sending sharks to attack Egypt’s Red Sea resorts in order to undermine that country’s tourist industry.

In this case, the theory is "Some gassed by Israeli police will have been gassed with a nerve agent". Acting on this theory -- giving the specific antidote -- killed the victim.

A theory is not just idle woolgathering. It's an explanation which helps you bring order to otherwise chaotic facts. If you have a bad theory, you don't wind up with nothing, you wind up with the wrong answer.