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luzribeiroAmerica's devastating divorce from science
"The unfortunate reality is that our elected government is increasingly populated with many men and women who do not merely ignore scientific facts, they appear to despise them and the people who produce them. They see science as something that stands in the way of their political goals, and therefore must be pushed out of the way.
The solution to this cannot be a call for more science or the restoration of "scientific integrity," whatever that is. We have tried that and it has failed. There comes a point when maybe one simply has to accept that the dream has died and it is time for a new one. I don't know what a new social contract for science would look like, but I am pretty sure it is time to start looking for it."
I kind of disagree with the article. People still flock to "experts" even on the right wing. The issue IMO is that for the vast majority of the US, the only science that gets printed enough to spread into the general population was the scientific consensus.
Now with the Internet and social media, even very flawed reports and scientific work of dubious quality can go viral very quickly. Especially now with the huge politicization of issues like viral spread, pandemic response, climate change, and human gender and gender identity. And of course it's all about the news that people pick in a way that it often aligns with their own worldview. In other words, unlimited access to unlimited information has only allowed people to fuel their own confirmation bias rather than get educated, enlightened and more rational.
Basically, nowadays on any issue from vaccines, to climate change, to how sex is determined, you can find someone with a PhD that agrees with you. And if your point/goal runs counter to the consensus you can make them go viral, and push your respective agenda, accordingly.
"The unfortunate reality is that our elected government is increasingly populated with many men and women who do not merely ignore scientific facts, they appear to despise them and the people who produce them. They see science as something that stands in the way of their political goals, and therefore must be pushed out of the way.
The solution to this cannot be a call for more science or the restoration of "scientific integrity," whatever that is. We have tried that and it has failed. There comes a point when maybe one simply has to accept that the dream has died and it is time for a new one. I don't know what a new social contract for science would look like, but I am pretty sure it is time to start looking for it."
I kind of disagree with the article. People still flock to "experts" even on the right wing. The issue IMO is that for the vast majority of the US, the only science that gets printed enough to spread into the general population was the scientific consensus.
Now with the Internet and social media, even very flawed reports and scientific work of dubious quality can go viral very quickly. Especially now with the huge politicization of issues like viral spread, pandemic response, climate change, and human gender and gender identity. And of course it's all about the news that people pick in a way that it often aligns with their own worldview. In other words, unlimited access to unlimited information has only allowed people to fuel their own confirmation bias rather than get educated, enlightened and more rational.
Basically, nowadays on any issue from vaccines, to climate change, to how sex is determined, you can find someone with a PhD that agrees with you. And if your point/goal runs counter to the consensus you can make them go viral, and push your respective agenda, accordingly.
