Why are so many people wary of science?

[DFish]

I don't dislike all science, just some of it. Mostly the size and use of the budgets. Look at the LHC. What do we get out of it if it works? Scientists might be able to say they've found a particle that doesn't really affect us, they can just confirm/deny a few theories of theirs about the formation of the universe.

Now imagine what we could have accomplished if that £2.6 billion had been put into cancer research. There are thousands of charities out there getting practically nothing while the Higg's Boson research gets now coming towards £3billion thrown at it with glee.

I've got to take issue with you there. DISCLAIMER: I work at the LHC, and am therefore an evil, untrustworthy scientist.

1) The amount of money that gets spent on cancer research is staggering. I don't have any figures to hand, but the US medical research budget is at least one order of magnitude greater than that spent on "pure" science. Also note that that's an entirely separate set of funding from charity funding.

2) While the discovery of the Higgs Boson itself is indeed unlikely to produce any practical benefits any time soon, the field of particle physics has produced some significant medical advances. Research into particle detectors has lead to the design of medical apparatus such as the PET scanner (used in cancer research amongst other things). Also note that the PET scanner works by detecting antimatter particles, which ~60 years ago were as hypothetical and impractical as the Higgs Boson is today.

3) Particle accelerators like the LHC (admittedly at much lower power) are directly used in cancer treatment. "Hadron therapy" works very much like radiotherapy in the destruction of tumours, except that it can be much better targeted, reducing the damage to healthy tissue. Research into the design of particle accelerators is driven by big projects such as the LHC. The LHC itself and other particle accelerators are also used to produce radioisotopes for medical purposes (including cancer treatment).

There are lots of other things I could write, but this is the most direct way of addressing your "cancer research" argument.

 

[SuccessAndBiscuts]

Science is a human domain, and humans are flawed.

"What is a man? A miserable pile of secrets!"

While I'm massively optimistic about the future and mankind's continual advancement (I want a hover-board dam it) I take any new advance with a pinch of salt, yes its cool but until I understand what's going on behind the scenes (at least on some level) I don't trust it.

I'm studying computing so that when our robot overlords come into existence I understand them.

 

[C.G.B.S]

I think people distrust scientists because they cant stand to think that there is some out smarter then them. They feel intellectually threatened so they choose to bury there heads in lies and delusions.

 

[Nunny]

Science is good as it helps us know more about the world around us and how and why everything works. People don't like science for various reasons, but some don't trust it as it's always changing. Years ago, science said the world was flat. Yes, that was a long LONG time ago, but it still helps to show the point.

Actually, years ago, it was the church who said the world was flat. It also said the earth was the center of the universe.

yes the church did say this....as did the scientists of the day. as it happens my exam tomorrow (which im increasingly becomming frustrated with the studying for) involves the scientific revolution of us changing from a geocentric theory of the universe to a heliocentric theory.

I can't remember which famous person it was had to deal with the church (I think it was the one who discovered the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. Can't remember his name. >_>), but I know that the church held enough power back then to influence what the scientist said was true. They would threaten the scientist who said they were wrong. That doesn't make up for the fact it was accepted as science though.

If i remember correctly it was Galileo Galilei.

 

[Treefingers]

Technology (probably in combination with human stupidity) will be the end of us all.

 

[KnowYourOnion]

Technology (probably in combination with human stupidity) will be the end of us all.

No, We will make our own end. Technology will just facilitate it.

 

[JIst00]

If i remember correctly it was Galileo Galilei.

Copernicus I think, but close, Galileo merely built upon and supported Copernicus's idea's.

Wikipedia: "His heliocentric model, with the Sun at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center of the universe"

 

[Deviluk]

My friend is very pro-science. But to be honest he may as well be pro-christian the way he piles his ideas down everyone's throats. One wants you to go to church, the other wants you to throw away your car keys, otherwise we all die.

Btw I am pro-science, just not fanatically.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I think what he means by Hardcore Christian is creationist and bible-bashing not someone of strong faith

Then the word you are looking for is Fundamentalist Christian, not hardcore. Fundamentalists give all religions a bad rap, and mine is, sadly, no exception.

 

[kannibus]

I think one of the big "stigmas" associated with science is the potential for destruction that comes along with it. And of course we certainly can't deny that research brought about the developments of dynammite, nuclear weapons and the always happy Sarin gas.

While true, I don't think it's okay to "blame" science for any of these discoveries. To me, science has always been about acquiring knowledge which I don't consider good or bad. It's just the uses to which the knowledge is put.

So to sum up, I don't think we should be wary of science, but what we should be wary of are the people that are going to use it, after all, not all humans are as smart as we would like to think.

 

[JPAD89]

Science is good as it helps us know more about the world around us and how and why everything works. People don't like science for various reasons, but some don't trust it as it's always changing. Years ago, science said the world was flat. Yes, that was a long LONG time ago, but it still helps to show the point.

Actually, years ago, it was the church who said the world was flat. It also said the earth was the center of the universe.

yes the church did say this....as did the scientists of the day. as it happens my exam tomorrow (which im increasingly becomming frustrated with the studying for) involves the scientific revolution of us changing from a geocentric theory of the universe to a heliocentric theory.

I can't remember which famous person it was had to deal with the church (I think it was the one who discovered the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. Can't remember his name. >_>), but I know that the church held enough power back then to influence what the scientist said was true. They would threaten the scientist who said they were wrong. That doesn't make up for the fact it was accepted as science though.

yeah there was alot of badgering of the scientists if the work was deemed to be heretical. Galilao or however its spelt for instantce.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

I think my avatar says what I think about science nicely. That is, SCIENCE! is awesome.

 

[JPAD89]

Science is good as it helps us know more about the world around us and how and why everything works. People don't like science for various reasons, but some don't trust it as it's always changing. Years ago, science said the world was flat. Yes, that was a long LONG time ago, but it still helps to show the point.

Actually, years ago, it was the church who said the world was flat. It also said the earth was the center of the universe.

yes the church did say this....as did the scientists of the day. as it happens my exam tomorrow (which im increasingly becomming frustrated with the studying for) involves the scientific revolution of us changing from a geocentric theory of the universe to a heliocentric theory.

The church was wrong?!?! No, say it wasn't so!!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

LOL very funny, couldnt tell if it was a dig at me or not though lol. i'll say it again though.

Atheist studying a philosophy degree...hence the me knowing a little bit about this.

 

[LordFisheh]

I tend to embrace technology and science.

However, I hate it when you get overly dogmatic scientists. Ones who believe our science is more or less a flawless understanding of the universe, that anything we don't currently understand can't possibly exist, that sort of thing. For example, when things like religion, the supernatural, ftl travel, whatever, are flat out dismissed or ignored because they don't fit with out (limited) understanding of the world.

It's fine if people want to argue that they don't/can't/won't exist, but not to dismiss the entire concept and anyone who supports it (I'm looking at you, Dawkins) and refuse to properly investigate it. As we once condemned science because it conflicted with religion, we now (imo) condemn anyhting we don't understand because it conflicts with what we do.

 

[zhoominator]

I think there is a distinction between being "wary" and not trusting science (though science is such a broad term really so I don't usually like to talk about science in general). I think science is a very good tool for advancing knowledge, however I do believe that people who aren't really familiar with science try to use arguments regarding science to back up their claims without actually understanding what they are talking about. Another claim people make is that "science can explain everything". We can't possibly know that for certain, not yet. Sure scientists gather and analyse data, but that doesn't always mean that the conclusion they draw will be the correct one. Scientists don't even understand why some things happen, they just accept that they do.

 

[teutonicman]

They have "lied" in the past, so people no longer trust them.

It's also such an ever changing field of study. For instance, some parts of the science I'm taking in school now will be obsolete in 10-15 years. It changes so rapidly that people don't listen, as they know it won't be true later on.

What the hell are you talking about they have "lied" in the past?

 

[Dexiro]

I'm all for science but i just hate this "pop science" that keeps getting thrown around.
Studies carried out to get favorable results, usually ignoring vital elements, or just science by people that don't quite know what science is.

It's the reason we get a study saying "video games cause violence" one day and then "video games don't cause violence" the next. It's just bigoted people ignoring results and just going with their opinion anyway.

 

[JPAD89]

.. technically .. scientific theories can never "truly" be proven to be correct, only 'probably correct'

No, you're thinking of scientific fact. A scientific theory is something that is held to be completely true no matter who you ask, because it has been tested many times and always resulted the same. Gravity is 'merely a theory' after all. However, all that means is that every time someone jumps, they come back down. Following your logic, everything in the entire universe, even down to whether you drank coffee this morning can 'never "truly" be proven correct'

correct, technically nothing can be proven to be deffinitivly true, but unless you have a good grounding in metaphysics, philosophy in general. or a good knowledge of scientific principles and perspectives, please dont try to argue with me.

it will bore me and annoy you. and frankly iv got enough to do revising for the exams i have tomorrow and iv been awake for 48 hours with only 4 hours sleep.

 

[swolf]

Snip.

LOL very funny, couldnt tell if it was a dig at me or not though lol. i'll say it again though.

Atheist studying a philosophy degree...hence the me knowing a little bit about this.

That wasn't intended as a dig at you...more towards the people who would rather put their trust in an ancient book than in modern technology. I could go on but I hate trying to reason with those people.

 

[cerebus23]

Religion lies/lied since the moment humans started running it and shaping it.

Government politicians lie every time they open their mouths a good majority of them all the time.

Science is sometimes wrong, or theories fall through or get modified when they discover new bits of the puzzle, but its hard to say that science actively lies about things.

Yea there is a good deal of money thrown around these days to support certain theories so there a decided spin in some areas of research in what figures they use *cough* global warming *cough*. But the big things, quantum theory, string theory, human genome research, theory of evolution, etc you can generally trust.

Honestly i blame the media and many governments when science gets skewed more than the scientist themselves since if you look around there are lots of scientists will tell the truth or be more objective period but the media and governments push the hysteria when science does go off the rails and is bought and payed for.