In what should be no surprise to anyone who is remotely paying attention, people trust SCIENCE! about as much as they trust politicians, televangelists, used car salesmen and journalists. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/02/15/americans-trust-in-scientists-other-groups-declines/
SCIENCE!
Before I continue, lemme 'splain that word SCIENCE! I spell it that way with the exclamation point to draw a ludicrous amount of attention to the word and to ridicule it as well. SCIENCE!, when used that way, means I am referring to the body of work by people who get paid to study things and find answers. Sometimes.
Sometimes these same people are paid to come to a predetermined conclusion.
It also means, "how can I trust what SCIENTISTS! are saying when not long ago they said the exact opposite?"
EXAMPLES
Just within my lifetime, SCIENCE! was saying there is no life at the very deepest part of the ocean because the pressure is too great, there's no oxygen, etc.
Ahem.
Then, SCIENCE! said fish cannot exist in the deepest part of the oceans because the pressure is too great.
Ahem.
https://now.northropgrumman.com/the-next-frontier-exploring-the-bottom-of-the-sea/
Need more? Eggs are good for you. No they are not. Yes they are. No they are not. Yes they are. Factory made formula is as good for babies as breast milk. Breast milk is the best for babies. Life cannot exist in temperatures above X degrees. Holly sheep dip, lookit those critters in blistering hot water on black smokers!
BELIEVE THIS
Any time I bring up SCIENCE! and my plausible and empirically backed doubts about SCIENCE! the SCIENTISTS! and wanna be scientists cop attitude with me. That is ok. I pull a rule from their own playbook and they probably get even madder, but they also stop haranguing me.
"The science is never settled."
I can get behind that, but I still ask "why should I trust what you are saying now?"
If I get a reply, it is along the lines of "well, this is the best evidence we have now and it is universally accepted by everyone in the field."
No. No to both qualifiers. It is NOT the best evidence. It is the evidence we have now, evidence that is even now disputed. It is NOT universally accepted.
Pick a scientific topic and an idea expressed by SCIENCE! or even science. I call it an idea instead of a hypothesis or theory because The Science Is Never Settled.
Your choice of topic. Pick one
Gimme just a few minutes and I will find a SCIENTIST! with a polar opposite view.
Here's a good one for you - I was once told evolution of humanity is a universally accepted fact by all biologists. Try again. https://creation.com/scientists-alive-today-who-accept-the-biblical-account-of-creation In addition to that, I know plenty of people with advanced degrees in various "hard" sciences who believe in creation.
"Yeah, well, they are wrong," many people will say.
The science is never settled.
Lemme pick a topic for you. 2+2 = 4. Maybe. You see, The. Science. Is. Never. Settled.
http://virgil.azwestern.edu/~dag/lol/TwoPlusTwo.html
Try this one - https://www.purplemath.com/modules/howcan1.htm .
Furthermore...
KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS
I have watched, seen and read SCIENTISTS! regress into kindergarten students when "discussing" each others theories ideas. Rather than stick to the issues, they insult each other.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-art-of-the-scientific-insult/
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/a-call-to-change-sciences-culture-of-shaming
I'm supposed to believe these people?
PREDETERMINED
What about all those predetermined outcome studies? I refer you here to SCIENTIFIC! and scientific studies published in the world's most reputable journals.
Sugar. What about all those studies funded by Big Sugar? https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat What about recent research? https://www.newhallhospital.co.uk/news/is-sugar-more-addictive-than-cocaine. Tobacco? Prescription painkillers?
Get some - https://retractionwatch.com
SHUNNING
It's not just shouting people down or taking money to monkey the results. It is also taking a page from Ayn Rand and outright shunning people with unpopular ideas. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2022/aug/09/anti-big-bang-theory-scientists-face-censorship-by-international-journals-2485604.html
It's not just all the above either. It is also about threatening the people doing the research. https://www.history.com/news/galileo-copernicus-earth-sun-heresy-church
"Oh, but that was Galileo; we don't do that any more."
We who?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51364382
I'M A BELIEVER
Someone is going to accuse me of being a science denier. You are wrong. If science was not a real, palpable and actionable thing, I'd not be here. I'da died infancy or many other times during this 55 year journey. I am a believer.
I just ain't a member of the Church Of SCIENCE! like so many other people I know. I doubt. I question. I refuse to accept.
One rotten apple is all it takes. SCIENCE! and unfortunately science both have plenty of degenerating fruit in the container.
