{ "href": "/post/2012/04/02/conservatives-hate-science-wrong/", "relId": "2012/04/02/conservatives-hate-science-wrong", "title": "Conservatives Hate Science? Wrong.", "author": "pmjones", "markup": "html", "tags": [ { "href": "/tag/politics/", "relId": "politics", "title": "Politics", "author": null, "created": null, "updated": [], "markup": "markdown" }, { "href": "/tag/science/", "relId": "science", "title": "Science", "author": null, "created": null, "updated": [], "markup": "markdown" } ], "created": "2012-04-02 14:36:11 UTC", "updated": [ "2012-04-02 14:36:11 UTC" ], "html": "
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Despite the language in the coverage, it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not science as a method that people are losing confidence in; it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s scientists and the institutions that purport to speak for them.

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Gauchat\u00e2\u0080\u0099s paper was based on annual responses in the General Social Survey, which asks people: \u00e2\u0080\u009cI am going to name some institutions in this country. As far as the people running these institutions are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?\u00e2\u0080\u009d One institution mentioned was \u00e2\u0080\u009cthe scientific community.\u00e2\u0080\u009d

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So when fewer people answered \u00e2\u0080\u009ca great deal\u00e2\u0080\u009d and more answered \u00e2\u0080\u009chardly any\u00e2\u0080\u009d with regard to \u00e2\u0080\u009cthe scientific community,\u00e2\u0080\u009d they were demonstrating more skepticism not toward science but toward the people running scientific institutions.

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With this in mind, a rise in skepticism isn\u00e2\u0080\u0099t such a surprise. Public skepticism has grown toward most institutions over the last several decades, and with good reason, as a seemingly endless series of scandals and episodes of dishonesty have illustrated.

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In fact, given that Americans have grown broadly more skeptical of institutions in general, it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not surprising that conservatives are more skeptical of scientific institutions than they were almost 40 years ago. What\u00e2\u0080\u0099s surprising is that liberals have grown less skeptical over the same period. (Perhaps because scientific institutions have been telling them things they want to hear?)

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Regardless, while one should trust science as a method -- honestly done, science remains the best way at getting to the truth on a wide range of factual matters -- there\u00e2\u0080\u0099s no particular reason why one should trust scientists and especially no particular reason why one should trust the people running scientific institutions, who often aren\u00e2\u0080\u0099t scientists themselves.

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via Skepticism in science rises--Glenn Harlan Reynolds - NYPOST.com.

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