The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science

Good topic, thread starter.

On autism: parents with children with autism are just people, and desperate for a reason for the autism that doesn't include them (and the faulty genes that they had the bad luck to pass along or some issue like ... god forbid ... plain old randomness.)

So people believe vaccinations cause autism for the same reason that most people can't be good trader. Sad isn't it.

 

Great article, powerful conclusion:

"This theory is gaining traction in part because of Kahan's work at Yale. In one study, he and his colleagues packaged the basic science of climate change into fake newspaper articles bearing two very different headlines—"Scientific Panel Recommends Anti-Pollution Solution to Global Warming" and "Scientific Panel Recommends Nuclear Solution to Global Warming"—and then tested how citizens with different values responded. Sure enough, the latter framing made hierarchical individualists much more open to accepting the fact that humans are causing global warming. Kahan infers that the effect occurred because the science had been written into an alternative narrative that appealed to their pro-industry worldview.

You can follow the logic to its conclusion: Conservatives are more likely to embrace climate science if it comes to them via a business or religious leader, who can set the issue in the context of different values than those from which environmentalists or scientists often argue. Doing so is, effectively, to signal a détente in what Kahan has called a "culture war of fact." In other words, paradoxically, you don't lead with the facts in order to convince. You lead with the values—so as to give the facts a fighting chance."


What's not explicitly mentioned in the article though is what the fundamental mechanism underlying motivated reasoning is. Imho, it's clear: the fear of death. Worldviews, what Becker called "immortality projects", are our defense against that fear, and no one is without one. Some say it is impossible to function without one, that madness would surely result. Which is why most folks don't "dig too deep". : )

 

the fact that you have issue with what i say makes me feel better that I believe it. thank you.

until you are a parent of an autistic child or until you are really close to one or more parents that do, you will never understand. continue on your merry "hear no evil, see no evil" way.