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Just one reason among many to take the Neil deGrasse Tysons of this world with a huge pinch of salt when they start telling you abt Science!

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Bob Peterson

@rwpeterson

Apr 23, 2017

1. This is an interesting article, but it has the threads of another story between the lines: scientists fighting for credit over the bomb. twitter.com/TheAtlantic/st

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Great scientists can be likened to great artists or great athletes: brilliant in their craft, but they sacrifice other areas to get there.

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Claiming scientists have a priori moral authority is delusional and ethically indefensible, yet the cult of scientism grows.

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I would not trust the advice of a pro footballer, not because he is necessarily immoral, but because he has spent his life on football.

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Off the pitch, what will this person know of the world? What moral training do they have, outside the realm of team sports and work ethic?

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If someone has a pseudo-autistic drive to figure out the properties of *insert field here*, I need evidence they know anything outside it.

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I suspect people turn to scientists for their thoughts because they're the last generally respected remnants of an intellectual class.

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They don't necessarily (in fact, as you say, they almost by definition *don't*) know everything, but at least they know *something*.

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I am not angry at people who look for guidance in specific areas, but scientists claiming to be moral authorities can fuck right off.

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Can anyone justifiably claim to be a moral authority?

Cinder

@Triquetrea

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@gdeichen

But what that actually means is only that the person works there and has competence. You don't listen to nutritional scientists, do you?

10:44 AM · Apr 27, 2017Twitter Web Client

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I would specifically treat the claims of many people with an additional dose of caution..! 😊