Survey Shows Scientists and Public at Odds Over Climate, GMOs and More

[Suzanimal]

A newly published survey shows a significant opinion gap between professional scientists and the wider American public on issues in science ranging from climate change to genetically modified foods. But the results match up on at least one score: Each side has a slightly more negative view of the other.

"There is a disconnect between the way in which the public perceives the state of science and science's position on a variety of issues, and the way in which the scientific community ... looks at the state of science," Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, told reporters in advance of the survey's release on Thursday. "That's a cause of concern."

The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the AAAS last year — and draws upon a telephone survey of 2,002 American adults as well as an online survey of 3,748 U.S.-based members of the science association. It's part of a years-long series of Pew reports on attitudes toward scientific issues.

The biggest disconnect had to do with genetically modified foods, where there was a gap of 51 percentage points. Eighty-eight percent of the scientists said it's safe to eat such foods, compared with 37 percent of the wider-ranging sample.

Other opinion gaps focused on these hot-button issues:

Should animals be used in research? 89 percent of the scientists said yes, as opposed to 47 percent of the public.

Is it safe to eat foods grown with pesticides? 68 percent of the scientists agreed, compared with 28 percent of the public.

Is climate change caused mostly by human activity? 87 percent yes from the scientists, 50 percent yes from the public.

Have humans evolved over time? 98 percent yes from the scientists, 65 percent yes from the public.

Should more offshore oil drilling be allowed? 32 percent yes from the scientists, 52 percent yes from the public.

Should more nuclear power plants be built? 65 percent yes from the scientists, 45 percent yes from the public.

Should parents be allowed to decide not to have their children vaccinated? 13 percent yes from the scientists, 30 percent yes from the public.

The gaps haven't changed dramatically since 2009, the last time a similar survey was conducted, said Cary Funk, the lead author of this week's report and associate director of science research at Pew Research Center. What has changed is how scientists as well as the wider sampling of Americans think about those gaps, and about the future outlook for science in society.

Slightly more negative

....

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/scien...s-more-n296231

[PaulConventionWV]

I am a-shocked.

[Anti Federalist]

Yeah, uh-huh.

And "scientists" also said that black people were genetically inferior, that smoking was a valid treatment for a sore throat, that an ice age was coming (due to man's impact of course), and that oil and vital natural resources would be gone by 2000.

The only thing worse than being ruled by petty tyrants is to be ruled by a bunch of Sheldon Coopers.


Poll shows giant gap between what public, scientists think

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/poli...le8578088.html

WASHINGTON —

The American public and U.S. scientists are light-years apart on science issues. And 98 percent of surveyed scientists say it's a problem that we don't know what they're talking about.

Scientists are far less worried about genetically modified food, pesticide use and nuclear power than is the general public, according to matching polls of both the general public and the country's largest general science organization. Scientists were more certain that global warming is caused by man, evolution is real, overpopulation is a danger and mandatory vaccination against childhood diseases is needed.

In eight of 13 science-oriented issues, there was a 20-percentage-point or higher gap separating the opinions of the public and members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, according to survey work by the Pew Research Center. The gaps didn't correlate to any liberal-conservative split; the scientists at times take more traditionally conservative views and at times more liberal.

"These are big and notable gaps," said Lee Rainie, director of Pew's internet, science and technology research. He said they are "pretty powerful indicators of the public and the scientific community seeing the world differently."

In the most dramatic split, 88 percent of the scientists surveyed said it is safe to eat genetically modified foods, while only 37 percent of the public say it is safe and 57 percent say it is unsafe. And 68 percent of scientists said it is safe to eat foods grown with pesticides, compared with only 28 percent of the general public.

Ninety-eight percent of scientists say humans evolved over time, compared with 65 percent of the public. The gap wasn't quite as large for vaccines, with 86 percent of the scientists favoring mandatory childhood shots while 68 percent of the public did.

Eighty-seven percent of scientists said global warming is mostly due to human activity, while only half of the public did. The figures for scientists are slightly different than past academic studies because of wording of the question and the fact that AAAS members include many specialties, but they tell the same essential story, said Pew associate director Cary Funk.

What to do about climate change is another issue. Nearly two-thirds of scientists favored building more nuclear power plants, but only 45 percent of the public did. But more of the public favored offshore drilling for oil and fracking than scientists did.

More than four out of five scientists thought the growing world population will be a major problem, but just less than three out of five members of the public did.

Pew polled 2,002 adults in August and did an online survey of 3,748 AAAS members in the fall. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the public and 1.7 percentage points for the scientists.

In 2009, Pew asked only a handful of questions like these to both scientists and the public and the gap hasn't changed much since, Funk said.

"On the whole, as compared to most members of the public, scientists are likely drawing from a larger scientific knowledge base — and thinking more scientifically — about each of these issues," George Mason University communications professor Edward Maibach said in an email. "Therefore, their views appear to be more in line with a completely dispassionate reading of the risks versus the benefits."

Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of AAAS, said the gap between the way the public and scientists look at issues is a cause for concern.

"Science is about facts; science is not about values," Leshner said. "Policies are made on facts and values and we want to make sure that the accurate, non-distorted facts are brought in to any kind of discussion."

The trouble is that scientists don't think the public knows the facts. The survey said 84 percent of the scientists said it is a major problem that "the public does not know very much about science" and another 14 percent said it is a minor problem.

And 97 percent of the scientists criticized the educational system. Three-quarters of the scientists said not enough science and math education is a major problem and another 22 percent said it was a minor one.

"It's not about being smart or dumb," Leshner said. "It's about whether, in fact, you understand the source of the fact and what the facts are."

---

Online:

Pew Research Center: http://www.pewresearch.org/

American Association for the Advancement of Science: http://www.aaas.org/

Journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

[green73]

Well, obviously, the public are a bunch of heathens!

[William Tell]

The gap wasn't quite as large for vaccines, with 86 percent of the scientists favoring mandatory childhood shots while 68 percent of the public did.

[nobody's_hero]

And 97 percent of the scientists criticized the educational system. Three-quarters of the scientists said not enough science and math education is a major problem and another 22 percent said it was a minor one.

I say there's not enough History, and what little is taught is usually wrong.

[Ronin Truth]

Best science money can buy.


"Everything is the rich mans trick."
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...84.cumHTEcAcC8

[A. Havnes]

I say there's not enough History, and what little is taught is usually wrong.

In a lot of schools now science and math take priority and history, economics, reading/writing, and the arts have floundered miserably.

Also, I'd say that the notion that science is above values and based purely on fact is just ego speaking. There is a lot of faulty science out there, from the use of safe pharmaceuticals (think of how unsafe psychiatric 'medicine' is) to how our food is processed. The minute people can profit from what scientists think, the lobbyists come out, and science winds up being driven by the values they sneer at instead of pure facts.

Not all science is anthropology and black holes in space; much of it is firmly grounded here on earth and in the present day, a time in which certain corporations and other groups can exploit.

[PaulConventionWV]

Wow, that's not just about the efficacy of vaccines, that's about MANDATORY vaccines. What a depressing statistic.

[moostraks]

Yeah, uh-huh.

And "scientists" also said that black people were genetically inferior, that smoking was a valid treatment for a sore throat, that an ice age was coming (due to man's impact of course), and that oil and vital natural resources would be gone by 2000.

The only thing worse than being ruled by petty tyrants is to be ruled by a bunch of Sheldon Coopers.


Poll shows giant gap between what public, scientists think

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/poli...le8578088.html

WASHINGTON — ...

The trouble is that scientists don't think the public knows the facts. The survey said 84 percent of the scientists said it is a major problem that "the public does not know very much about science" and another 14 percent said it is a minor problem.

And 97 percent of the scientists criticized the educational system. Three-quarters of the scientists said not enough science and math education is a major problem and another 22 percent said it was a minor one.

"It's not about being smart or dumb," Leshner said. "It's about whether, in fact, you understand the source of the fact and what the facts are."

---

Online:

Pew Research Center: http://www.pewresearch.org/

American Association for the Advancement of Science: http://www.aaas.org/

Journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

I was just about to comment after reading OP that I bet their solution was not enough quality propa...err science education and that is why the results are so different. Smh. Nope, has ab-so-lutely nothin' to do with the fact these scientists operate in a field dependent upon funding for their research which poisons the outcome to be biased because, well, they are professionals just looking at the facts in a dispassionate manner Ya know.

[moostraks]

In a lot of schools now science and math take priority and history, economics, reading/writing, and the arts have floundered miserably.

Also, I'd say that the notion that science is above values and based purely on fact is just ego speaking. There is a lot of faulty science out there, from the use of safe pharmaceuticals (think of how unsafe psychiatric 'medicine' is) to how our food is processed. The minute people can profit from what scientists think, the lobbyists come out, and science winds up being driven by the values they sneer at instead of pure facts.

Not all science is anthropology and black holes in space; much of it is firmly grounded here on earth and in the present day, a time in which certain corporations and other groups can exploit.

Schools cannot even find time to teach even penmanship nowadays with its artistic connection to thinking and educational growth. A course which takes maybe 30 minutes a week at most. Their reasoning being the inessential nature of the subject because there are keyboards. But science and math are the state gods for educational goals nowadays. The state wants workers not well rounded citizens.

[invisible]

This poll is absolutely meaningless, without it containing information on who is paying the scientists, and what stances the scientists have according to whose payroll they're on. Scientists will almost always find data to support conclusions favorable to their employers, that's their job.

[Working Poor]

I wonder what percentage of the public thinks that the big corpo own scientist are a bunch of pompas asses?

[A. Havnes]

Schools cannot even find time to teach even penmanship nowadays with its artistic connection to thinking and educational growth. A course which takes maybe 30 minutes a week at most. Their reasoning being the inessential nature of the subject because there are keyboards. But science and math are the state gods for educational goals nowadays. The state wants workers not well rounded citizens.

Excellent point! Penmanship also changes the way your brain is wired, and working on it can help kids with attention problems. http://www.retrainthebrain.com/index.html

[tod evans]

Who pays these scientists?

[jllundqu]

In a lot of schools now science and math take priority and history, economics, reading/writing, and the arts have floundered miserably.

Also, I'd say that the notion that science is above values and based purely on fact is just ego speaking. There is a lot of faulty science out there, from the use of safe pharmaceuticals (think of how unsafe psychiatric 'medicine' is) to how our food is processed. The minute people can profit from what scientists think, the lobbyists come out, and science winds up being driven by the values they sneer at instead of pure facts.

Not all science is anthropology and black holes in space; much of it is firmly grounded here on earth and in the present day, a time in which certain corporations and other groups can exploit.

Homeschool = WIN

I found the same to be true, which is why my two children will be learning not only math and science at an advanced level, but also a HEAVY emphasis on values, history, economics, and the like. We added something called "We Choose Values" program that incorporated positive messages and lessons, etc.

I'm so friggin proud that we chose to homeschool.... I feel like a dang pioneer telling public school to go suck a bag of d1ck$ as I watch my children flourish in safety from the assembly line!!!!