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How Does the Public's View of Science Go So Wrong?
How Does the Public's View of Science Go So Wrong?
Do Americans hate science? They certainly seem to hate it more than they used to, as they rage against experts in every field. This is more than a traditional American distaste for eggheads and intellectuals. Americans, increasingly, are acting (and voting) on myths and misinformation about science, and placing themselves at significant risk.
scientificamerican.com




I think the article is guilty of a too-rosy view of the past. Was there ever a time in the past when this was true? Anti-intellectualism has been a strong current in American politics and culture since the very beginning of this country.
Intellectual snobbery is the main culprit of this. I love learning but sometimes you encounter academics that are incredibly arrogant and talk down to you if you don't know every detail. All this does is knock confidence and push people away. "Smart people are assholes" that kind of thing.
Also the fact that generally speaking a good education is usually correlated to being well-off, in a decent part of town. This does nothing to encourage those from disadvantaged areas to want to take an interest in science and academia (being 'geeky'/smart isn't cool).