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Scientists, Stop Thinking Explaining Science Will Fix Things. It Won't.
Science Literacy
Studies prove that merely increasing science literacy straightforwardly is not going to change mindsets. Simply knowing more and lecturing about it is not going to convince the audience.
Scientists should consider how they are deploying knowledge. Facts aren't enough, and they need to tap into the emotions of the audience for fruitful interaction.
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Explaining Science
There is a lot of misinformation about scientific knowledge among the general public. Scientists assume that by explaining science to people they can inform the defend science from public misinformation.
Ironically, the science communication part is having the opposite effect of what scientists are trying to achieve, something known as the 'backfire effect'.
Science Literacy
Studies prove that merely increasing science literacy straightforwardly is not going to change mindsets. Simply knowing more and lecturing about it is not going to convince the audience.
Scientists should consider how they are deploying knowledge. Facts aren't enough, and they need to tap into the emotions of the audience for fruitful interaction.
Communicating about Science
Strategy and rhetorician skills need to be deployed, as merely lecturing like a university professor isn't going to do any good:
- Simply explaining science does not tell the audience why it matters to them, and doesn't 'hard sell' the purpose or the motivation of the right information.
- Communicating science without first gaining the audience's trust is bound to be a vain exercise.
- Trying to debunk a myth by repeating it and saying it's false, doesn't do any good, as the audience ends up remembering the myth only. A better way is to reframe the issue.
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We now face risks we can’t easily analyze
Our existence is invaded by science and technology as never before. For many of us, this brings comfort and rewards, but this existence is also more complicated and sometimes agitated.
Our lives are full of real and imaginary risks, and distinguishing between them isn’t easy. We have to be able to decide what to believe and how to act on that.
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“Science is not a body of facts. Science is a method for deciding whether what we choose to believe has a basis in the laws of nature or not.”
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The mind of a scientist cannot be that just a set of beliefs. It has to be an objective, open and experimental mind. A scientific way of thinking is always systematic, based on testing, bui...
Not Trusting Scientific Knowledge
Though science has helped humanity for centuries, it is not fully trusted. Part of the reason is that scientific knowledge is incomplete.
It is often resisted by a section of people, who don’t believe in vaccines, climate change, or the man-made genetic advancement in crops. As an example, many families believe vaccination causes autism in children, and no matter what is done to counter it, the belief is stuck in people’s brains.
Science And Pseudoscience
Many people from all sections of society do not trust in science, as they don’t trust the authority of the scientific community. The Pseudo Scientists try to debunk science by:
- Arguing that the entire scientific consensus is a conspiracy.
- Getting fake experts to produce information that contradicts scientific findings.
- Argue using selective data, and using a small example to discredit the entire field.
- Deploying false analogies and other fallacies that appear logical.
- Setting impossible expectations and counter-arguments towards the scientists.
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A Social Sciences prediction that all cultures would converge and become something resembling the secular, western liberal democracy has proven to be false.
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A decline in Religious Belief
- Religious belief has seen a steady decline across the world.
- Close to 30% of people in Australia claim to have no religion, and countries like western Europe report low levels of religious commitment.
- Even in the U.S., the number of atheists has risen to 3%.
David Martin
"There is no consistent relation between the degree of scientific advance and a reduced profile of religious influence, belief and practice.:
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