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posted by on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the they-should-swear-more dept.

Anita Makri argues that the form of science communicated in popular media leaves the public vulnerable to false certainty.

What is truth? How do we find it and does it still carry weight in public debate? Given recent political events, these are important and urgent questions. But of the two industries I work in that are concerned with truth — science and journalism — only the latter has seriously engaged and looked for answers. Scientists need to catch up, or they risk further marginalization in a society that is increasingly weighing evidence and making decisions without them.

[...] What's overlooked by many is how science is losing its relevance as a source of truth. To reclaim this relevance, scientists, communicators, institutions and funders must work to change the way that socially relevant science is presented to the public. This is not about better media training for researchers. It demands a rethink about the kind of science that we want to communicate to broader society. This message may sound familiar but the new focus on post-truth shows there is now a tangible danger that must be addressed.

[...] If the public is better equipped to navigate this science, it would restore trust and improve understanding of different verdicts, and perhaps help people to see through some of the fake news that circulates on scientific matters.

http://www.nature.com/news/give-the-public-the-tools-to-trust-scientists-1.21307

What do you think, will the general public trust these tools, if available ?


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:58PM (#455508)

    Science has lost the PR war that has been assembled against it.

    The public doesn't value experts and it doesn't believe in objectivity anymore. All opinions are equal and every issue needs to be balanced with the opposing view because facts are debatable and we must teach the controversy.

    Being highly educated means you're "elitist", getting paid means you're part of a government conspiracy or a shill for Big Business, and everyone is a partisan hack.

    Propaganda beats science. When people try to address vaccine conspiracy theories by providing reputable scientific information, it makes things fucking worse (more hesitant to vaccinate).

    http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2016/06/30/expertology [sciencemag.org]
    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/25/peds.2013-2365 [aappublications.org]

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  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:18PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:18PM (#455525)

    Yeah, oddly enough the conservatives have taken the PC idea of "all opinions valid" and use it against science. Its brilliant, but also shows their moral deficiencies aka hypocrites.