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A study has found that conservatives don't believe in science.
Educated conservatives have less faith in science than uneducated conservatives
"These results are quite profound because they imply that conservative discontent with science was not attributable to the uneducated but to rising distrust among educated conservatives."
What does this study teach us about conservatives and science?
Methodology is key in these issues. I can ask a question many different ways, both limited and specific in focus to obtain a result I desire, then wave my statistical wand of mightiness to produce definitive results to a given conclusion.
True. We see that very much in one of the most controversial issues at hand (Health Care Reform). When people are asked about specific points from within the health care reform, they favor it a lot (exception being the mandate). But when asked broadly about health care reform they are more or less split, and nowhere close to the majority that favors on the ground of questions being specific to what it entails.
And then, there are questions, like this (Pew Poll): "When something is run by gov’t it is usually inefficient and wasteful", nearly 60% of scientists disagree, compared to nearly 60% of public that agrees.
We can also reduce the discrepancy with straight forward questions like this: "Do you think global warming is being influenced by human activities"? On that, 84% of scientists say yes. I would like to know how many conservatives believe that (given the sample on this board, I fail to recognize even one at this time).
According to a 2009 Pew Poll, only 9% of scientists identify self as a conservative. Nearly 55% of the scientists are registered democrats whereas only 6% are registered republicans. That is saying a lot. No?
A lot of that defines the relationship between the right wing and science.
Last edited by EinsteinsGhost; 04-13-2012 at 09:51 AM..
I think conservatives are losing faith in left handed studies too. LOL
a lot of us educated conservatives realize that science has been co-opted by agenda driven researchers using the guise of science to push a liberal agenda.
I'm both a scientist and a mathematician. I have seen a growing mistrust of scientists, not necessarily science, because people of all stripes (left and right) have seen that too many scientists are willing to trade their neutrality for additional grant money. There is a growing trend amongst scientists where a particular agenda is pushed ahead of pure science. I think this is distressing and really, just breaks my heart. The real conversation should be about the quickly disappearing ethical standards that scientists have always lived by until now.
I'm both a scientist and a mathematician. I have seen a growing mistrust of scientists, not necessarily science, because people of all stripes (left and right) have seen that too many scientists are willing to trade their neutrality for additional grant money. There is a growing trend amongst scientists where a particular agenda is pushed ahead of pure science. I think this is distressing and really, just breaks my heart. The real conversation should be about the quickly disappearing ethical standards that scientists have always lived by until now.
Considering that you claim to be a scientist and a mathematician, let us take a scientific, analytical approach to this argument of yours: You blame scientists pushing an agenda. Do you equally blame the anti-science mob as carrying and pushing its own agenda? What are the chances of latter being the cause of the former? What are the chances of former being merely a claim by the latter group?
A study has found that conservatives don't believe in science.
Educated conservatives have less faith in science than uneducated conservatives
"These results are quite profound because they imply that conservative discontent with science was not attributable to the uneducated but to rising distrust among educated conservatives."
What does this study teach us about conservatives and science?
BWAAAAHAHAHAHA Saying conservatives don't believe in Science, is kinda like saying Democrats don't believe in personal responsibility... errr,.,,, maybe I should rethink that correlation?
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