One thing I’d like people to learn is how much detail and work goes into conclusions in academic subjects, and the extent to which conclusions can be disputed.
That’s a way of saying that, given controversy, teaching laypeople the scientific consensus on a matter is likely to influence both laypeople and research (budgets etc.) in a wrong direction?
No, I didn’t have a specific policy outcome in mind—it’s more that I think people don’t have a good understanding that knowledge frequently takes a great deal of work and may still be somewhat uncertain. My impression is that the human default is to believe that knowledge just happens, and should be assumed to be accurate.
One thing I’d like people to learn is how much detail and work goes into conclusions in academic subjects, and the extent to which conclusions can be disputed.
That’s a way of saying that, given controversy, teaching laypeople the scientific consensus on a matter is likely to influence both laypeople and research (budgets etc.) in a wrong direction?
No, I didn’t have a specific policy outcome in mind—it’s more that I think people don’t have a good understanding that knowledge frequently takes a great deal of work and may still be somewhat uncertain. My impression is that the human default is to believe that knowledge just happens, and should be assumed to be accurate.