Today, New York Times science writer Cornelia Dean reports on a survey just completed for the giant American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (Survey Shows Gap Between Scientists and the Public).
Guess what? Scientists and Joe Public are not on the same page.…[W]hile almost all of the scientists surveyed accept that human beings evolved by natural processes and that human activity… is causing global warming, members of the general public are far less sure. ¶ Almost a third say human beings have existed in their current form since the beginning of time, a view held by only 2 percent of the scientists. Only about half agree that people are behind climate change, and 11 percent do not believe there is any warming at all. ¶ According to the survey, about a third of Americans think there is lively scientific debate on both topics; in fact, there is no credible scientific challenge to the theory of evolution and there is little doubt that human activity is altering the chemistry of the atmosphere in ways that threaten global climate.
OK, nothing new here. The public is pretty clueless.
Predictably, according to the survey, Joe and Jane Public hold scientists in high regard. –Right. They like science and scientists; it’s only what scientists produce that they reject.
Sure, I get it. I like my compass, but I reject the idea that it points to magnetic north.
Joe and Jane aren’t just ignorant; they’re perverse.OK, I’ll say it. Democracy sucks. –I know, I know. All other government forms suck even more.
That really sucks.
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
--Winston Churchill
