Articles

Scientific Literacy

Beyond Reason: Science In The Mass Media
"I am outraged by the pseudoscience, antiscience, and plain lack of common sense that I see on television, read in books, magazines and tabloids, and hear on the radio. All of these distort, confuse, and plain misinform about science, how science is done, and who practices science. Much of the media, especially television, preys on the superstitions and fears of unknowledgeable citizens who live in a civilization acutely dependent on science and on scientific reasoning, simply to sell their products. Americans deserve much, much better! That is what I want to show in this chapter."

How Scientific Illiteracy Hobbles Society
"In an oft-told variation of the Hindu myth of cosmology, a young boy asks his father what holds up the Earth. Amused, the father assures his son that the world rests on the back of a very large turtle. "But what holds up the turtle?" the boy asks. After brief reflection, the father says, "A huge elephant." "But," the boy continues, "what is under the elephant?" Sensing that he is rapidly losing control of the conversation, the father finally exclaims, "Son, it's elephants all the way down from there!" As one who interacts frequently with the public, I often hear similarly disconcerting explanations about the "cosmology" of the modern world. If one asks a new owner how their home computer works, one is likely to hear: "You plug it in, push the "on" button...and it's all microchips from there on down."

The Decline Of Reason?
"The National Science Board and the National Science Foundation issued a survey of 2006 randomly selected American adults (National Science Board, 1996). The survey had 10 questions, eight of which were simple true-false or multiple-choice questions. Seventy-five percent of those adults failed the quiz. These were pretty easy questions. The true scientific illiteracy rate of Americans may well be more like 95% (Sagan, 1996). Sad, and of major consequence to our country and to us as individuals. The Oakland Tribune simultaneously reported that high tech and biotechnology companies were leaving Silicon Valley and California because they could not find a properly educated work force, one that is capable of understanding the scientific thought processes as well as general knowledge. California has failed its kids, and they will suffer as adults! But California is not alone. Indeed scientific illiteracy plagues the United States and the rest of the world. People will vote or decide about critical scientific issues that affect each and every one of us without any understanding of science. That is scary! Our own futures are at risk."

An Introduction To Science: Scientific Thinking And The Scientific Method
"To succeed in this general science course you should be familiar with a few of the concepts regarding the definition of science, scientific thinking, and the methods of science. Most textbooks do an inadequate job of this
task, so this essay provides that information.

Jonathan Cole Discusses Scientific Illiteracy

The Nature of Evidence
"We write about science because we love science and want to communicate our fascination with the natural world. And we write about science and technology because we believe that the more people know and understand, the better informed public opinion will be. Of course, we must also cover the harms or the risks that some technologies pose. We do this not because we question the overall value of science or technology but because the watchdog role is an integral part of journalism."

The Public Is Not Ignorant Of Science
"After 15 years, the Royal Society is re-vamping Copus, its Committee for the Public Understanding of Science – and, unkind critics might be heard to mutter, "None too soon". It has been a most intriguing phenomenon in the sociology of science, showing how even the most well-meaning and cleverest of people can be led astray by their own preconceptions, and perpetrate nonsense."

Public Strong On Opinions--Weaker On Knowledge
"The public's knowledge of topical science issues appears to be only slightly improved by either their education or their consumption of news media, according to interim findings from a research project at Cardiff University, UK. However, lack of knowledge, where it exists, does not prevent British people from holding opinions on subjects like climate change, biotechnology and the alleged risks of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Strong views are also held on their Government's response to such questions."

The Role Of Science In Making Good Decisions
"Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, my name is Mark Frankel. I head the Program on Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law in the Directorate for Science and Policy Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest federation of scientific and engineering societies, with nearly 300 affiliates. This year we are celebrating our 150th anniversary. The Association supports the House Science Committee’s undertaking of a National Science Policy Study and just last month submitted a formal statement presenting its views on key issues to be addressed in the development of a new science policy. (The May 1998 statement issued by the AAAS Board of Directors is titled, A Framework for Federal Science Policy, and can be found on the AAAS Web site at http://www.aaas.org/spp/fedsci.) I welcome, therefore, this opportunity to testify before you today on the role of science in informing legal and policy decisions that have substantial scientific or technical components."

Science, A Candle In The Dark
"The graduating students you see before you are very special and very unique people. You know that they have worked hard, that they are graduating from the premier university in the nation and from a campus with 36 top-ranked departments, including our own as No. 1 in biology. You know all those things. And you should be proud of your graduate. People just like them, who graduated from Berkeley in years past, have significantly changed the world. Some of your graduates will too. But I want to focus on another reason why they are unique and special, and suggest a way that they might change the world too. Your graduate has joined a tiny percentage of Americans who are scientifically literate. He or she has become part of that fewer than 5% of Americans who understand the process of science--how it works. Maybe not all the facts, but how science is done and applied. Fewer than 10 million other adults in the US know that. In fact, more than 197 million adults have little idea how science works at all. In just 20 years, those numbers will rise to 240 million illiterate and only 12.6 million literate in science. Worldwide, that will be over 5 billion, 400 million scientifically illiterate and a mere 285 million scientifically literate people, more or less, in the year 2020."

Scientific Illiteracy In The Press
"I'm the first to admit it: I have not made a scientific, double- blind study of this phenomenon. I don't know whether this is really happening. Perhaps it is just a crotchet of advancing age. But it appears to me that the ignorance displayed by members of the press continually grows more pronounced."

This Is Science!
"Science is so exciting! Why? Because it is awe-inspiring, fun, and creative. Most scientists would not do anything else--they are truly dedicated to what they do. You can hardly get them to be quiet once they start talking about their work. Unlike most people, they usually love their jobs! However, this is not the common view of most scientists. They are commonly thought of as nerds, freaks, weirdoes, or evil doers, but this is a movie or television view. "