Science literacy is important, but without the parallel trait of "science curiosity," it can lead us astray.What intellectual capacities—or if one prefers, cognitive virtues—should the citizens of a modern democratic society possess? For decades, one dominant answer has been <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1088/0963-6625/7/3/001" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the knowledge and reasoning abilities associated with science literacy </a>.

Unless accompanied by another science-reasoning trait, the capacities associated with science literacy can actually impede public recognition of the best available evidence and deepen pernicious forms of cultural polarization.The supplemental trait needed to make science literacy supportive rather than corrosive of enlightened self-government is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.12396" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">science curiosity </a>. ﻿

Simply put, as ordinary members of the public acquire more scientific knowledge and become more adept at scientific reasoning, they don’t converge on the best evidence relating to controversial policy-relevant facts. Instead they become even more culturally polarized. This is one of the most robust findings associated with the science of science communication. It is a relationship observed, for example, in public perceptions of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12244" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">myriad societal risk sources </a>—not just climate change but also nuclear power, gun control and fracking, among others.

Scientific evidence is indispensable for effective policymaking. And for a self-governing society to reap the benefits of policy-relevant science, its citizens must be able to recognize the best available evidence and its implications for collective action.

Scientific evidence is indispensable for effective policymaking

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