mooney and kirshenbaum still don’t get it
Despite plenty of pointed criticisms of their book and it’s message of holding scientists responsible for the public’s indifference to scientific education, Chris Mooney and his co-author are sticking to their guns and taking their “blame the scientists” message to the Boston Globe. Their op-ed begins with a synopsis of how little Americans seem to know about science…
Earlier this month, the Pew Research Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science unveiled the latest embarrassing evidence of our nation’s scientific illiteracy. Only 52 percent of Americans in their survey knew why stem cells differ from other kinds of cells; just 46 percent knew that atoms are larger than electrons. On a highly contentious issue like global warming, meanwhile, the gap between scientists and the public was vast: 84 percent of scientists, but just 49 percent of Americans, think human emissions are causing global warming.
Are these stats bad? Absolutely. They’re not just bad, they’re terrible, awful and every other negative adjective you want to use. But it’s not because they show anything about the supposed aloofness of scientists and their total inability to communicate with the public. They show that Americans are either not being properly taught rather basic middle and high school science or just don’t care about it. This is a problem with public schooling in general rather than proof of Mooney’s image of scientists as Bones’ Dr. Brennan; extremely knowledgeable, experts in their fields but borderline autistic when it comes to interacting with normal human beings who don’t possess a PhD. It’s a tacky Hollywood cliché that looks absurd in a book about scientific literacy in the real world.
And when it comes to the contentious issue of global warming, the contention is political. And Mooney should know that firsthand. After all, he wrote about in The Republican War on Science. In their fear that money would have to be spent on energy sources outside of their coprorate constituents, GOP’s big names are threatening people’s wallets with phantom tax hikes “in the name of the environment” and Fox News gladly provides a platform for right-wing activists who spin elaborate conspiracy theories of the UN trying to take over the world by asking members to combat pollution. The science gets lost in the hype and people choose to disregard the more than plentiful resources presented to them to get a better idea of what’s happening, how and why. You could resurrect Carl Sagan’s spirit, get him a nightly prime time show and he would still be disregarded by people who don’t want to hear the scientists. They’ll just switch to some reality show or a CSI series instead.
You can’t just talk at the public with milquetoast “ambassadors of science.” People have to be willing to listen and understand that science truly does matter and that scientists just want to find the best explanations of how nature works, explanations we can use to better our lives. Until society as a whole does more than give science a little lip service, none of Mooney and Kirshenbaum’s stop-gap ideas are going to do any good. But admitting that would sort of go against their whole doctrine of taking the easy way out and turning on people already held in low esteem if not downright contempt.
