Follow your head AND your heart
Adam Frank makes some interesting points in his NPR blog post entitled Science Deniers: Hand Over Your Cellphones! One passage in particular reminded me of an issue that I feel is often overlooked:
In [climate change deniers'] worldview the scientists are in it for the money or the fame or the power. Scientists are overstating the case. They are ignoring other evidence. The science itself is not just wrong, it's purposely wrong and designed only to fool the general public.
It amazes me how often people overlook the possibility that scientists do what they do because they absolutely love it, not because they're trying to get rich or pull a fast one on the general public. This comes up all the time in the discussion of controversial or emotionally charged issues, from vaccines to climate change to genetically engineered food. Scientists are not immune to greed and corruption, nor cognitive biases that prevent them from honestly assessing the evidence. But I think it's fair to say that most scientists enjoy conducting research, and are fascinated by the systems that they study. It saddens me when people dismiss science and its practitioners by assuming that financial gain and glory are the only forces that could possibly motivate research. Do these same people walk past a gallery and assume that the artist is a soulless monster whose sole interest is making a buck off a painting?
In [climate change deniers'] worldview the scientists are in it for the money or the fame or the power. Scientists are overstating the case. They are ignoring other evidence. The science itself is not just wrong, it's purposely wrong and designed only to fool the general public.
It amazes me how often people overlook the possibility that scientists do what they do because they absolutely love it, not because they're trying to get rich or pull a fast one on the general public. This comes up all the time in the discussion of controversial or emotionally charged issues, from vaccines to climate change to genetically engineered food. Scientists are not immune to greed and corruption, nor cognitive biases that prevent them from honestly assessing the evidence. But I think it's fair to say that most scientists enjoy conducting research, and are fascinated by the systems that they study. It saddens me when people dismiss science and its practitioners by assuming that financial gain and glory are the only forces that could possibly motivate research. Do these same people walk past a gallery and assume that the artist is a soulless monster whose sole interest is making a buck off a painting?