The disturbing trend of science denial

The world is confronting some critical challenges today — notably man-made climate change and a world-wide pandemic. These are challenges in which science has a great role to play. And a disturbing trend of science denial is making real solutions to those problems exponentially more difficult.

Ultimate, final and permanent truths, in areas like morality and the meaning of life, are the province of priests and philosophers. The business of science is to use data to reach the best possible approximation of truth. Scientists arrive at consensus by amassing data. When new data arrives, the consensus can be adjusted — or even radically change. This is frustrating to people who don’t understand the process and leaves openings for charlatans who want to distort the truth for nefarious ends. But the willingness to change the consensus to reflect new information is central to the nature of science. Scientific conclusions are always tentative — the best conclusion that can be drawn, based on the data available. Conclusions based on a lot of data, are stated “with a high degree of confidence” — but not with absolute certainty.

There is, however, one truth I can state with certainty: Never in the history of science have any large fraction of the specialists in any field of science conspired together to promote a falsehood or hide a truth. It has never happened. It is not happening now. Anyone who says it is happening is a deluded fool or a despicable liar.

— David Welch, Chico