Rub a Dub Dub Five Men in a Tub
Acrylic painting on Canvas/ 42” by 54” / $ 790
Courageous explorers set out to sea and disproved the flat earth theory. What if they hadn’t? Galileo was punished for saying the earth travelled around the sun. What if he (and others) hadn’t? Salk wiped out polio with a vaccine? What if people had refused to give it to their children?
Science vs Belief
In 2015, Julie Beck wrote an article for The Atlantic saying Americans Believe in Science, Just Not its Findings. Though 79 percent of Americans do think life is much easier because of science and that investments in research are worthwhile, they question their findings. A recent Pew Research study shows that there is a large gap between what the public believes compared to the beliefs of scientists. I quote the following:
Genetically modified foods: 88 percent of scientists say they’re “generally safe” to eat; 37 percent of the public agrees.
Vaccines: 86 percent of scientists believe they should be required in childhood, compared to 68 percent of the public.
Climate change: 94 percent of scientists say it’s a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” problem; 65 percent of the public agrees. 87 percent of scientists blame humans; 50 percent of the public does too.
Evolution: 98 percent of scientists say they believe humans evolved over time, compared to 65 percent of the public.
There were also large disparities on issues like whether it’s safe to eat foods grown with pesticides (scientists: 68 percent; public: 28 percent), and
whether the world’s growing population will be a problem (scientists: 82 percent; public: 59 percent).
Instead of trusting facts, the public tunes into feelings. People are quick to go to pseudoscience when they want to refute a claim they dislike, for most any reason. Strangely, though they trust and respect scientists, they don’t believe in their evidence-heavy research. Dan Kahan, professor at Yale Law Schools says there is a “creeping anti-science sensibility” overtaking the country and it is gradually getting worse. I wanted to know why?
Pew research scientists say that the fault is with the media because of they don’t know how to present complex information in a concise manner that can be easily digested by the public. Scientific information does not lend itself to be communicated through sound bites and reporters don’t know how to capture people’s attention for a long enough period of time to present all of the facts and nuances. Most people have stopped reading newspapers altogether and they avoid cumbersome science stories.
However, there are other factors to consider besides the media. Religion, jobs, and past experience with faulty science causes people to reject studies they don’t like. Preferring childhood indoctrinations and the faulty conclusions they surmised from personal experiences, they use them as a guide to evaluate valid research findings. In other words, they stay committed to their own beliefs which may or may not be based on tested results. It may be why so many people believe that ghosts are real, that holding your laptop on your lap will make you sterile, that talking on your cell phone will give you cancer, or that sugar makes your kids craz. They also commonly spout that hair and nails continue to grow after you die, that crossing your legs gives you varicose veins, and that brown eggs are better for you than white.(they are both the same)
The 2015 international student assessment test (PISA), given to 15 year olds, showed that out of 71 countries the United States placed 38th in math and 24th in science. Though math scores steadily increased since the early 1990s, in 2009 they once again started to dip. Science scores showed only a slight improvement. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) blames our country’s overall weak scores on poor STEM education in the schools.
The numbers are worse when evaluating adults, for over 70 percent of Americans are not able to read and understand the science section of the New York Times. Only 28 percent of the population qualifies as being scientifically literate.The small percentage of those who are interested in science and engineering and continue on for advanced degrees excel. “The United states has done more to advance science in the modern world than any other country on earth,” says physician/researcher Danielle Teller.
Our engineering schools are among the top in the world and even medical research still remains among the best. At the highest level of academic achievement we do well, but among the general public’s understanding we fall behind. One reason may be that science writers have not been able to connect researched facts to daily life in order for it to have meaning. Instead, information is presented in confusing bullets that claim one thing to be the truth and then shortly after we are told their are nuances to the study that need to be more carefully evaluated. It is difficult for the average person to know what to make of the information so they stop trying. Rather than show their ignorance, many simply say, “I don’t believe it and who says so?”
What do we do about the public’s lack of understanding of science? How do we communicate to those who are not interested in science and what is important for them to know? For over 50 years the National Science Foundation (NSF) had a science initiatives that funded programs like NOVA, encouraged the building of science centers, and supported innovations in teaching. The present administration, however, wants to reverse the trend by cutting research budgets for NSF and NIS (National Institute of Health) as well as funds targeted to increase science literacy. I suppose their reasoning is that if they are not going to accept the outcome of the research, why conduct studies? If they do not want any one to discuss the contribution of fossil fuels uto global warming, why give out research grants? Should we care?
Science literacy is not just about facts for it prescribes what to do with them. It is about being able to predict and explain natural phenomena like volcanoes, tornadoes, and tidal waves. It enables informed participation in civic, cultural, and economic affairs and defines ways to make judgements about the future. Scientific literacy is crucial in that it affects everyday decision making, but it is also personal in that it encompasses societal values. Since many value-laden beliefs get applied to critical issues, to find science useful you have to accept that it is much more than the latest study.
Science is a way of thinking—a process involving ideas, collecting data, developing a hypothesis (an educated guess), testing, and coming to a conclusion only to start the process over again. It is not focused on the absolute perfect answer but rather the outcome based on the best information available. at the time. It involves challenging preconceived notions, over and over again in a never ending cycle.
It is difficult to live in a world without absolutes but due to high speed communication we are forced to do so. It is important to understand research findings and resultant innovations in order to decide if they benefit society. There are decisions to made and they can’t be based on thin air. We know how to make robots and drones. The societal question involves how we want to use them? Should they deliver packages, pick up passengers, clean our homes and add to workplace unemployment? How do we deal with the problems they create for those who lose their jobs? Answering questions like, “Do all children need to be vaccinated? Is there such a thing as clean coal? What is an acceptable level of toxins to allow in drinking water?” require knowledgeable decision makers.
Scientific literacy also includes understanding how data is manipulated and purposefully misinterpreted for political and business reasons. Informed people need to ask how data is being collected, what biases are involved, and who is footing the bill for the study. They need to be able to interpret statistical information in order to not be fooled. It also behooves us to look for mental laziness on the part of the investigator and to make sure that comfort results that reinforce cherished beliefs are not being sought. .
Facts can be used to reenforce long held beliefs or they can be used to shed light on the universe. They can serve as answers to curious inquiries and a platform for the next great discovery or as fodder for industrial moguls who want to negate findings. Whether science is used for good or for evil depends on our values and motivations. Since we are traveling speedily through the universe, clinging to the land by means of earth’s gravity, it behooves us to understand as much about it as possible in order to protect and sanely develop our spaceship.
References:
Beck, Julie, The Atlantic, 2015 , Americans Believe in Science, Just not its findings, In https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/americans-believe-in-science-just-not-its-findings/384937/
Desilver, Drew, Pew Research Center, 2017, U.S. Students’ academic achievement still lags that of their peers in many other countrieshttp://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/
Lombrozo, Tania, 2015, NPR, Scientific Literacy: It’s Not Just about the facts,
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/09/14/440213603/scientific-literacy-it-s-not-just-about-the-facts
Teller, Danielle Quartz MEdia LLC, 2016,There’s a good reason Americans are horrible at science,https://qz.com/588126/theres-a-good-reason-americans-are-horrible-at-science/
Art is always for sale. Contact me at
Please share your thoughts below.
____________________________________________
CELEBRATE! and learn about hands-on learning and the growth of art and science museums by naive but passionate directors from throughout the country. Laugh and cry with them as you read their stories of trying to navigate the quagmire of running a non-profit organization.
Lives of Museum Junkies — Upcoming Book Talks
Old Boys Club – Tigard – April 28, 2017
Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon,
Eugene – May 23, 2017
Lake Oswego Library – June 20, 2017
High Desert Museum, Bend – October 5, 2017
Available for $19.95 Powells Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Broadway Books, MAC Emporium, Also on Kindle for signed copy contact the author.