The Disregard of Science - PowerPoint Presentation

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The Disregard of Science and the Responsibility of Scientists

Alan Kaylor Cline

Department of Computer Sciences

The University of Texas at Austin

May 7,

2010Slide2

Two Stories of CarolynAt her middle school’s Parent’s Night, her science teacher described a project where students drew pictures of the creation of the world. “Anything was OK,” she said.Slide3

Two Stories of CarolynAt her middle school’s Parent’s Night, her science teacher described a project where students drew pictures of the creation of the world. “Anything was OK,” she said.In her high school biology class, a student asked “Why do humans not have bones in their outer ears?”. Slide4

Two Stories of CarolynAt her middle school’s Parent’s Night, her science teacher described a project where students drew pictures of the creation of the world. “Anything was OK,” she said.In her high school biology class, a student asked “Why do humans not have bones in their outer ears?”.

The teacher responded “I guess that’s just the way God made us.”Slide5

Two Stories of CarolynAt her middle school’s Parent’s Night, her science teacher described a project where students drew pictures of the creation of the world. “Anything was OK,” she said.In her high school biology class, a student asked “Why do humans not have bones in their outer ears?”. The teacher responded “I guess that’s just the way God made us.”

The principal said “That’s an OK answer.”Slide6

Science is not understood.Science is not accepted.

Science is not supported.

Science is undercut by politicians.Slide7

1. Science is not understood.Science is taught in elementary and high schools as formulas and facts – not as experimentation and inquiry.The scientific method is one more fact to be memorized.Even out of schools, Occam’s Razor is ignored. Slide8

1. Science is not understood.Science is taught in elementary and high schools as formulas and facts – not as experimentation and inquiry.The scientific method is one more fact to be memorized.Even out of schools, Occam’s Razor is ignored.

Lights in the sky are UFOs.Slide9

Science is not understood.e. g. risk

Risk is inevitable part of life yet:

The “morning after pill” Plan B was not approved by the FDA because it was claimed (by FDA administrators) the manufacturer had not proven it was safe for 16 year olds to buy over the counter. Slide10

Science is not understood.e. g. risk

Risk is inevitable part of life yet:

The “morning after pill” Plan B was not approved by the FDA because it was claimed (by FDA administrators) the manufacturer had not proven it was safe for 16 year olds to buy over the counter.

What was not considered was the alternative risk of pregnancy for 16 year olds.Slide11

2. Science is not accepted.Consider these beliefs found by the Gallup Organization in a survey of 1003 American adults from March 6 to March 8, 2005Slide12

Astrology - 25% believersSlide13

Communication with the Dead – 21%Slide14

ETs visited Earth - 24%Slide15

Mental Telepathy – 31%Slide16

ESP – 41%Slide17

Ghosts – 32%Slide18

Haunted Houses – 37%Slide19

People are Possessed by the Devil – 42%Slide20

You may find those beliefs harmless (although I don’t), but how about this?Slide21

Gallup Polls: 1999-2004 I'm going to read you a list of environmental problems. As I read each one, please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all. How much do you personally worry about...Damage to the earth's ozone layer?Slide22
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That is, the worries

decreased

as the ozone was depleted.Slide24

and how about this?Slide25

Harris Poll: June 17-21, 2005n = 885 adultsWhich of the following do you believe about how human beings came to be? Human beings evolved from earlier species. Human beings were created directly by God. Human beings are so complex that they required a powerful force or intelligent being to help create them.

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64%

22%Slide27

Which as we know has led to …Slide28

Harris Poll: June 17-21, 2005n = 885 adultsRegardless of what you may personally believe, which of these do you believe should be taught in public schools?

Evolution only,

Creationism only,

Intelligent design only,

All three.

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12%

23%

4%

55%

3%

3%Slide30

3. Science is not supported.There’s money and there’s ideas

Money:

http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/trres09p.pdf

http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/trrdgdp09.pdfSlide31

R&D as Percent of the Federal Budget:http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/rdbdg09p.pdfSlide32

http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/trtot05c.pdfTrends in Federal R&D, FY 1976-2005

http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/cht9005a.pdfSlide33
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3. Science is not supported.

News Media:

Promote the notion that truth is obtained through advocacy of two sides,

Use “sound bites” that encourages simplistic reasoning,

Conduct “interviews” with pre-written questions and allow non-responses to pass.Slide38

3. Science is not supported.

News Media:

Promote the notion that truth is obtained through advocacy of two sides,

Use “sound bites” that encourages simplistic reasoning,

Conduct “interviews” with pre-written questions and allow non-responses to pass.

None of that directly involves science but it does affect the public’s notion of expectations for rational thinking.Slide39

Daily Headlines in 2005:Feds Drop Boreal Toad From Protected List

Global sea levels could rise 30 cm by 2100- study

House to Act on Endangered Species Law

Warming causes record Arctic ice melt: U.S. report

US policy hinders global space cooperation -report

Bush set to shun G8 allies on global warming

Senate Rejects Greenhouse Gas Limits

How high-pressure politics threatens action on climate

ACLU Says Bush Is Restricting Science

Experts question medical ethics at GuantanamoSlide40

4. Science is undercut by politicians.

“Preeminent Scientists Protest Bush Administration's Misuse of Science

- Nobel Laureates, National Medal of Science Recipients, and Other Leading Researchers Call for End to Scientific Abuses”

Union of Concerned Scientists

February 18, 2004Slide41

4. Science is undercut by politicians.

“Preeminent Scientists Protest Bush Administration's Misuse of Science

- Nobel Laureates, National Medal of Science Recipients, and Other Leading Researchers Call for End to Scientific Abuses”

Union of Concerned Scientists

February 18, 2004

They allege:Slide42

Agency Abuses: The Environment

Deleting Scientific Advice on Endangered Salmon

:

Scientists asked to remove science-based recommendations from an official report

Endangered Species: Florida Panther, Bull Trout, Trumpeter Swans

: Research at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distorted and suppressed

Mountaintop Removal Mining

:

Administration officials intentionally disregard extensive scientific study on mountaintop removal in Appalachia  

Climate Change

:

Administration officials undermined science behind climate change by suppressing reports and publicly misrepresenting scientific consensus

Mercury Emissions

: White House suppressed information about the impact of mercury on public health

Multiple Air Pollutants

: The Environmental Protection Agency withheld an analysis showing the benefits of a bipartisan alternative to President Bush's Clear Skies Act

The Endangered Species Act

: Administration officials are manipulating the scientific underpinnings of the policy making process

Forest Management

: A "review team" primarily composed of non-scientists overruled a science-based plan for managing old-growth forest habitat and reducing fire riskSlide43

Agency Abuses: Public Health Emergency Contraception: FDA appointees overruled staff scientists and two independent advisory panels to deny access to emergency contraception

Abstinence-only Education

: The Administration has obscured scientific evaluation of abstinence-only education programs and pressured scientists to promote abstinence.

HIV/AIDS Education

: The CDC was ordered to change its website to raise scientifically questionable doubt about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Airborne Bacteria

: A microbiologist was prohibited at least 11 times from publishing research on airborne bacteria originating from farm wastes.

Breast Cancer

:

Information suggesting a link between abortion and breast cancer was posted on a National Cancer Institute website despite objections from staff scientists.

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Science Advisory Committees Fogarty International Center Advisory Board

: Qualified scientists, including a Nobel Laureate, were rejected after being subjected to political litmus tests.

President's Council on Bioethics

: Two leading scientists were dismissed from the panel because of dissenting opinions on the ethics of biomedical research.

Arms Control Panel

: A scientific committee that advised the State Department on matters of arms control was dismissed and never reappointed.

Army Science Board

: An engineer was rejected from a panel because of a contribution to John McCain's 2000 presidential bid.

National Nuclear Security Administration Panel

: A committee set up to advise the administration on scientific issues regarding the maintenance nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and the design and testing of new nuclear warheads was dismissed.

NIH: Drug Abuse Panel

:

Potential panel members were asked if they voted for President Bush.

Lead Poisoning Prevention Panel

: Staff-recommended scientists are rejected from a panel considering acceptable levels of lead in drinking water and replaced by appointees with financial ties to the lead industry.

Workplace Safety Panel

: Well-qualified scientists were rejected from a panel that evaluates grants for workplace injuries because of their support for a workplace ergonomics standard.

Reproductive Health Advisory Committee

: An underqualified nominee was suggested as chair of an FDA committee on reproductive health despite scant credentials and highly partisan political views.

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Is there confusion?These are science questions:Is this drug safe?Is this species endangered?

Is this chemical toxic?Slide46

Is there confusion?These are science questions:Is this drug safe?Is this species endangered?

Is this chemical toxic?

These are public policy questions:

Will the use of this drug offend a constituency?

Should we develop this land?

Should we force this plant to clean up?Slide47

Has the Situation Changed?For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift.  And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.  We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. 

We'll restore science to its rightful place,

and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.  We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.  And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.  All this we can do.  All this we will do

. Pres. Barack Obama January 21, 2009Slide48

Has the Situation Changed?If the Obama

administration has its way, something like this may happen as NASA changes course under its proposed new budget. The Constellation project -- ordered by

President Bush

in 2004 to return astronauts to the

moon

and eventually send them to

Mars

-- would be canceled. The Obama administration says it was too expensive -- $9.1 billion so far -- and relied on old technology.

ABC News, Feb. 1, 2010

but then …Slide49

Has the Situation Changed?Obama NASA plan: Mars shot as next generation's Apollo mission

According to President Obama, NASA needs a goal beyond the space station and the moon for human spaceflight to inspire the nation as the Apollo mission did. He has chosen Mars.

By 2025, the president's approach envisions sending the first humans to visit an asteroid. By the mid 2030s, "I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And landing on Mars will follow," he said.

The Christian Science Monitor, April 15, 2010 Slide50

Has the Situation Changed?Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time

President Obama, with an F-18 “Green Hornet” that will run partly on bio fuel, during his speech on energy security on Wednesday at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to

oil

and

natural gas

drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.

The New York Times, March 30, 2010 Slide51

What Can We Do?Stop treating anti-scientists as retardedSlide52

What Can We Do?Stop treating anti-scientists as retardedConfront themSlide53

What Can We Do?Ask proponents of intelligent design:Who designed the designer?

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What Can We Do?In education:Speak to teachers and administrators when anti-science is practiced, Slide55

What Can We Do?In education:Speak to teachers and administrators when anti-science is practiced,Get the PTAs to help,

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What Can We Do?In education:Speak to teachers and administrators when anti-science is practiced,Get the PTAs to help,Run for school boards.

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What Can We Do?As citizen scientists:Write letters to newspapers calling anti-science to their attention,

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What Can We Do?As citizen scientists:Write letters to newspapers calling anti-science to their attention,Establish relationships with reporters,

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What Can We Do?As citizen scientists:Write letters to newspapers calling anti-science to their attention,Establish relationships with reporters,

Appear on TV interview shows,

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What Can We Do?As citizen scientists:Write letters to newspapers calling anti-science to their attention,Establish relationships with reporters,

Appear on TV interview shows,

Join AAAS and the Union of Concerned Scientists, and

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What Can We Do?As citizen scientists:Write letters to newspapers calling anti-science to their attention,Establish relationships with reporters,

Appear on TV interview shows,

Join AAAS and the Union of Concerned Scientists,

Get off our butts – our livelihood is at stake.