Even in 2015, the public doesn’t trust scientists

**LAGC** · 01-31-2015, 12:16 PM

America risks drifting into a new Age of Ignorance. Even as science makes unparalleled advances in genomics to oceanography, science deniers are on the march — and they’re winning hearts and minds more successfully than the academic experts whose work they deride and undermine.

As issues from evolution to climate change become more contentious and politically polarized, scientists and broader public opinion are drifting farther apart. This worrying trend is evident in new public opinion data released Thursday by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Pew Research Center. The data reveals a huge and growing gulf between what scientists and the public think about vaccines, animal research, genetically modified food, climate change and more.

There is a 18 percentage point gap, for example, over whether parents should be required to vaccinate their children: 86 percent of scientists favor this, as compared to just 68 percent of the general public. There is a much larger gap on climate change: 87 percent of AAAS scientists say it is caused by human activity, compared to 50 percent of the public. Almost all scientists – 98 percent — say humans have evolved over time, while just 65 percent of the public thinks they have.

But for the general public, the strongest anti-science attitudes relate to genetically modified foods. Eighty-eight percent of AAAS scientists say it’s safe to eat genetically modified food, compared to just 37 percent of U.S. adults. Such discrepancies do not happen by accident. In most cases, there are determined lobbies working to undermine public understanding of science: from anti-vaccine campaigners, to creationists, to climate-change deniers.

These activist groups have been especially successful in undermining public understanding of just how united the scientific community is on many of these issues. The polling data shows that two-thirds of the public (67 percent) thinks that “scientists do not have a clear understanding of the health effects of GM crops.” And 37 percent of the public says scientists “do not generally agree that the Earth is getting warmer because of human activity.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/postev...st-scientists/

I'm beginning to think the ancient Greek philosopher Plato was right. His main beef with democracy was that the masses were too ignorant to govern themselves. Democracy inevitably descends into idiocracy, where so many stupid laws get passed that the very pursuit of knowledge itself becomes verboten. (See: Socrates being forced to drink the poison for the capital crime of "corrupting" the religious views of the children, for daring them to question the gods and think for themselves.)

Better that an enlightened few -- in a REPUBLIC form of government -- rule the ignorant masses so that they don't fuck things up with their magical thinking and superstitious fairy-tales dictating their law-making rationale, emotion overriding reason.

And Plato's brightest pupil, Aristotle, of course, was arguably the first western scientist.

Go figure.

**N/A** · 01-31-2015, 01:26 PM

More sermons from the little marxist. Be sure and throw a tithe in the grant collection plate as it comes around.

BTW, by "republic", you mean like the Republic of Korea...Republic of Viet Nam...the marxist republics that suit your needs...???

**skorpion** · 01-31-2015, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by LAGC

Better that an enlightened few...rule the ignorant masses so that they don't fuck things up with their magical thinking and superstitious fairy-tales dictating their law-making rationale, emotion overriding reason.

That plan was already put into place years ago. We have ignorant politicians fucking things up with their magical thinking and superstitious fairy-tales dictating their law-making rationale, emotion overriding reason.

**LAGC** · 01-31-2015, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by skorpion

That plan was already put into place years ago. We have ignorant politicians fucking things up with their magical thinking and superstitious fairy-tales dictating their law-making rationale, emotion overriding reason.

That's what happens when you allow the sheeple to vote and elect said Congresscritters into power.

Plato, on the other hand, advocated "philosopher kings" taking a more dictatorial role, the sheeple's ignorant views be damned.

That's why this country isn't really a republic. Because Plato wrote the book about what a republic is really supposed to be about.

**LAGC** · 01-31-2015, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by N/A

BTW, by "republic", you mean like the Republic of Korea...Republic of Viet Nam...the marxist republics that suit your needs...???

I don't think "leader worship" was really what Plato had in mind. He just wanted the sheeple to quit making bullshit laws, not prostrate themselves in never-ending adoration of the ruling class.

**alismith** · 01-31-2015, 02:48 PM

Probably, one of the biggest reasons for the recent distrust in scientists can be linked back to Al Gore coming out with all his bullshit about human-caused globull warming. He tried to use science as his propaganda platform and it backfired on him, mostly in the US. Since then, most people have placed scientists in with politics and that isn't good. (But, those scientists who decided to get in on the globull warming scam are to blame, too.)

Climatology, as a science, has become politically charged.

Hence, the distrust.

**LAGC** · 01-31-2015, 02:53 PM

I totally agree that Al Gore jumping into it and taking sides was a very bad idea. That is a topic that should have never been politicized. You can't really blame Gore for being opportunistic, "reading the tea leaves" and trying to make a quick buck.

But I agree that his "contributions" did more harm than good.

**Kadmos** · 01-31-2015, 02:56 PM

It's the jet packs, they said we were getting jet packs and we never got them.

How you gonna trust someone who says you're getting a jet pack but doesn't deliver?

Seriously...it's 2015 and still no freaking Jet packs!

Not cool scientists...just not cool.

**N/A** · 01-31-2015, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by LAGC

I don't think "leader worship" was really what Plato had in mind. He just wanted the sheeple to quit making bullshit laws, not prostrate themselves in never-ending adoration of the ruling class.

What, not your kind of republic? And it has such an uncanny resemblance to the present "republic" the present "dear leader" is trying to shape in this country. One, you so loudly trumpeted at the beginning of his reign.

**alismith** · 01-31-2015, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Kadmos

It's the jet packs, they said we were getting jet packs and we never got them.

How you gonna trust someone who says you're getting a jet pack but doesn't deliver?

Seriously...it's 2015 and still no freaking Jet packs!

Not cool scientists...just not cool.

I'm still waiting for glass-domed cities and my own hover car. Until that happens, I'm not trusting anyone.

**LAGC** · 01-31-2015, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by N/A

What, not your kind of republic? And it has such an uncanny resemblance to the present "republic" the present "dear leader" is trying to shape in this country. One, you so loudly trumpeted at the beginning of his reign.

Hey, I was still in prison at the beginning of his reign, so I wasn't trumpeting anything. But I will admit it was quite entertaining, while walking the dirt track around the prison yard listening to my pocket radio that night, hearing Mark Levin pop a fucking vein LIVE when that "vile, communist, Kenyan usurper" was declared the 44th president of the United States.

I swear to the-God-I don't-believe-in that he was going to have a heart-attack, right on live air. I've never heard him more pissed off before or since, and he's ALWAYS pissed off.

That was priceless.

**N/A** · 01-31-2015, 04:37 PM

I don't. Care where you were, I'll lay even odds you have trumpeted his agenda, and him, since he first hit the radar.

**Richard Simmons** · 01-31-2015, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by LAGC

http://www.washingtonpost.com/postev...st-scientists/

I'm beginning to think the ancient Greek philosopher Plato was right. His main beef with democracy was that the masses were too ignorant to govern themselves. Democracy inevitably descends into idiocracy, where so many stupid laws get passed that the very pursuit of knowledge itself becomes verboten. (See: Socrates being forced to drink the poison for the capital crime of "corrupting" the religious views of the children, for daring them to question the gods and think for themselves.)

Better that an enlightened few -- in a REPUBLIC form of government -- rule the ignorant masses so that they don't fuck things up with their magical thinking and superstitious fairy-tales dictating their law-making rationale, emotion overriding reason.

And Plato's brightest pupil, Aristotle, of course, was arguably the first western scientist.

Go figure.

The flaw in this theory/belief is that the "ignorant masses" have become ignorant due to the actions of the people touting the science. Liberals cater to the lowest common denominator in every instance, lower the top to the bottom and depress individualism then when the whole package is as broken and debased as much as possible they offer the solution which is more of the same diminished "enlightenment". I guess when you realize you cannot stand on your own merits the thought of anyone else doing so is unacceptable.

**weevil** · 01-31-2015, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by alismith

I'm still waiting for glass-domed cities and my own hover car. Until that happens, I'm not trusting anyone.

Hell I'd settle for a hamburger that looked like the one in the commercials.

**imanaknut** · 01-31-2015, 05:03 PM

Why would we trust scientists? One day a food, say eggs are determined to be deadly. Then later they are deemed very healthy. One day it is said that alcohol is deadly, then later on it is found that in moderation is very heart healthy, then later it causes brain aneurysms. I remember when saccharine was determined to be a deadly carcinogen, then it was found that the doses given to the lab rats was the equivalent of us drinking 500 cans of diet soda per day, and it was the amount that caused the cancer and not the substance, so now saccharine is now considered ok.

I could go on and on, like when scientists said that the human body could not safely exceed 60mph (mid 1800s) and if you told them that one day you could fly through the air with 500 other people at 600 miles per hour a full 7 miles up in the sky, they would have tied you up and locked you in a tiny room.

At some point scientists get it right, but only after enough research has been done over enough time and with enough data points. Until then, we say doctors practice medicine, what do scientist do then since they have been so wrong so many times.

**Krupski** · 01-31-2015, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by Kadmos

It's the jet packs, they said we were getting jet packs and we never got them.

How you gonna trust someone who says you're getting a jet pack but doesn't deliver?

Seriously...it's 2015 and still no freaking Jet packs!

Not cool scientists...just not cool.

Nor do we have video telephones or sharks with frickin laser beams on their heads...

**Krupski** · 01-31-2015, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by Richard Simmons

The flaw in this theory/belief is that the "ignorant masses" have become ignorant due to the actions of the people touting the science. Liberals cater to the lowest common denominator in every instance, lower the top to the bottom and depress individualism then when the whole package is as broken and debased as much as possible they offer the solution which is more of the same diminished "enlightenment". I guess when you realize you cannot stand on your own merits the thought of anyone else doing so is unacceptable.

The American public elected Obongo. Twice. A lot of them don't believe that 12 Americans walked on the moon. One woman thinks an elephant is larger than the moon.

There is no hope.

**Krupski** · 01-31-2015, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by imanaknut

I could go on and on, like when scientists said that the human body could not safely exceed 60mph (mid 1800s) and if you told them that one day you could fly through the air with 500 other people at 600 miles per hour a full 7 miles up in the sky, they would have tied you up and locked you in a tiny room.

"Scientists" didn't believe that the speed of sound could be exceeded (despite the fact that bullets and cannon shells were doing it every day).

Then one day Larry Bell and Chuck Yeager proved them all wrong.

**1 Patriot-of-many** · 01-31-2015, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by Kadmos

It's the jet packs, they said we were getting jet packs and we never got them.

How you gonna trust someone who says you're getting a jet pack but doesn't deliver?

Seriously...it's 2015 and still no freaking Jet packs!

Not cool scientists...just not cool.

For the third time since Kadmos joined this site, I agree with him.