A new analysis shows that trust in scientific expertise among the American public remained high during the last six decades and that the Trump administration attacks on scientific expertise did not modify the basic confidence of Americans in science and scientific expertise.
The study, “Citizen attitudes toward science and technology, 1957–2020: Measurement, stability, and the Trump challenge,” was published in the journal Science and Public Policy.
Science, the mode of inquiry, is great and generally requires a broad consensus before something is accepted. Singular studies should be processed with a few grains of salt—academics aren’t immune to bias or faulty reasoning.
I generally have a pretty high trust in science, but my faith is shaken when I come across shit like this
This was an amazing read, although that doesn’t mean that science is somehow at fault in this. As usual, it’s people and bureaucratic institutions that make this possible, but it’s also people who find it out and call con-artists out
One person does something bad and you doubt the entire discipline?
Accept that perfect doesn’t exist. Some people will make mistakes. Some will be outright evil. But science is the best method we have for understanding the world around us. Nobody has ever come up with a better way.
One person doing something bad? You clearly didn’t read the article.
And to suggest that our scientific research institutions shouldn’t be scrutinized or there isn’t room to improve the process is a little naive.
You think this suggests there should be no scrutiny?
Accept that perfect doesn’t exist. Some people will make mistakes. Some will be outright evil. But science is the best method we have for understanding the world around us. Nobody has ever come up with a better way.
Understanding that there will be mistakes and bad actors means taking care to scrutinize. That’s why we have things like peer review.
Okay, but are we talking real science or Dr. Oz science?
Yes, I wondered if his base were excluded from the poll.
Press X to doubt.
So a scientific study finds that people still trust science, and your reaction is to disbelieve that study based on your personal feelings.
Ironic.
I’m sorry for being surprised?
Surprise is not the same as doubt.
You must be fun at parties.
