Rising Skepticism Towards Science

Vaccines safety = Faces organized and often angry opposition Climate change reality = Declared war on the consensus of experts Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) = Some people associate altering genes with mad scientists Ebola virus mutation = Concern about it becoming an airborne super-plague

Comfortable and rich in rewards = New world affected by science and technology Complicated and unnerving = Facing risks that can't be easily analyzed Real and imaginary hazards = Distinguishing between them isn't easy Fear of Ebola virus mutation = Concern about it becoming an airborne super-plague

Transferring genes between species = Brings up images of mad scientists running wild Direct contact with bodily fluids for Ebola spread = Spread only by direct contact with bodily fluids Traditional breeding vs. altering genes in a lab = No reason to believe lab alteration is more dangerous Food containing GMOs safety = Experts say there's no evidence it isn't safe

<p>Fear of hazards = World full of real and imaginary hazards Acceptance of risks = Asked to accept safety of GMO-containing food Confusion about safety = Distinguishing between real and imaginary hazards isn't easy Approval of lab alteration = Experts say lab alteration is not more dangerous than traditional breeding</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Increasing skepticism towards science claims = 'Evil villain' putting something in the water making people argumentative War on consensus of experts by doubters = Many controversies arising in the modern world Facing risks that can't be easily analyzed = 'Comfortable and rich in rewards' but also 'more complicated and sometimes unnerving' world Concern about Ebola virus mutation into an airborne super-plague = 'Should we be afraid?' question raised regarding its potential mutation</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Airborne Ebola = Belief that Ebola virus can be transmitted through the air Naive beliefs = Inherent beliefs that are not based on scientific evidence Randomness = Lack of pattern or predictability in events Causal connection = Relationship where one event leads to the occurrence of another event</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Marcia McNutt = Geophysicist who emphasized that science is a method, not just a set of facts Galileo Galilei = Astronomer who supported the heliocentric model of the solar system Isaac Newton = Formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation Charles Darwin = Proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Scientific literacy = Ability to understand and apply scientific knowledge Alternative geographies = Beliefs contrary to established scientific facts about Earth's shape and movement Statistical analysis = Method to determine the significance of relationships between variables Personal experience bias = Tendency to rely on individual encounters rather than statistical data</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Clusters of events may not imply causation = Just because events occur together does not mean one causes the other Repression of naive beliefs in scientific literacy = Process of suppressing inherent beliefs when understanding scientific concepts Deception by cognitive biases = How our brains can mislead us in interpreting patterns and connections Scientific method as a tool for decision-making = Process of evaluating beliefs based on natural laws and evidence</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Sun crossing the sky = Apparent movement due to Earth's rotation Moon orbiting Earth = Actual circular path around our planet Earth orbiting the sun = Revolution around the star at the center of our solar system Flat-Earth theory movements = Erroneous belief in a stationary Earth with limited celestial motion</p> Signup and view all the answers