Dear potential reader,
Consider this my proposal to you…
Where did it all go wrong? When did so many people start losing their faith in science? The short answer is: We didn’t. We think more people are becoming sceptics, but the truth of the matter is, nothing has changed. Data collected over the past decades show that the proportion of U.S. adults with a great deal of confidence in leaders of science has been around 40 % since 1973 [1]. A number which I would’ve expected to have become greater at least at some point near the change of the century.
I could spend a little time getting into the details about why this has not changed at all, then hope you haven’t fallen asleep by the time we get to my point, but I’ll do you one better: On Friday, I will release one of my essays digging into how we have been communicating science and how changing it might better suit today’s society (keep an eye out here). In the meantime, let’s skip ahead to the politics (which people so often say they are keen on skipping). I want you to read the rest of the article with one thing in mind: I am not trying to sway your opinion about science (at least today), but I am just following the political discourse regarding science. I’ll start with a tale:
There was once a King. A mighty King of a big, powerful country. The King had many strong opinions, opinions so strong that when a sciencewoman or scienceman told him something against his belief he would exile them from the kingdom! You guessed it correctly, I lied, he wasn’t a king. I think it’s important to address President Trump, as it is a big part of why this discourse is felt so strongly around the world. From pulling out of the climate agreement, to arguing about vaccines, to undercutting the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) budget.
How does this lead to opinionated science? It starts with a President that claims that there are scientists “on both sides of the issue”. Yet, he actively decides to pull out of an agreement despite having scientists “on both sides”. He does this as he believes he has a certain ability to make decisions about science, as he clearly states to AP in an interview: “…I didn’t talk to him [the president’s uncle, Dr John Trump – an electrical engineer] about this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science…” [2]. It is not a far-fetched logic train then, that if the President of the United States is allowed to override scientific finding with personal opinion, then why shouldn’t the rest of us?
As much as Trump may say that there are scientists on both sides of the issue it is important to know whether these scientists are experts in the field in question. You wouldn’t ask your dentist to transplant a new heart into your child, yet the head of the White House panel on Climate Change was picked to be William Happer, a physicist of the atomic kind.
Do I believe all these things boost the issues we face with respect to science understanding? I do. Do I believe it’s the cause? No. It’s definitely highly polarizing having the highest elected official of one of the greatest world powers to opinionate science like that, but if it wasn’t for already skeptical citizens it would not have had that great wave of an impact.
But the real solution isn’t to filter or ask politicians to not be politicians, but to give the public a reason to trust the science. That’s not something we can achieve by repetitively telling the public they are wrong, or by just repeating the same words over and over again: “Climate change is real. Vaccines are good. GMOs can help save world hunger”. Sixty seven percent of Americans already believe that public policy should be based on science [1]. We need to allow people to partake in the global discussion. Let them state their concerns, and only then can we shape a decent debate. Explain the science, really dig into it and explain why certain conclusions are drawn.
And if you think I’m just running my mouth but have no intention in doing something about it, you have got me all wrong. Welcome to WISE, a place we intend to better the dialogue about advancements in science. So, enjoy our articles, join the discussion, and let’s try and get a productive dialogue going.
Matin Mahmoudi
Editor-in-Chief
References
[1] https://www.amacad.org/publication/perceptions-science-america
[2] https://www.apnews.com/a28cc17d27524050b37f4d91e087955e