A mistake I see smart people make all the time: Presenting one scientist's take on a contested topic, and saying "See, scientists think X"
-
-
Sure, but if some respectable scientists disagreed w/Darwin, it'd still be misleading to present Darwin's thesis as "what scientists think"
-
(there's a grey area of "respectable" scientific disagreement, but many examples of this mistake fall well outside the grey area)
-
It's the problem or "Science says!" headlines. If the word "Science" can be replaced in sentence w/ "The Pope," something is probably amiss.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
Point is, it should be about the argument or data, not the scientist
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
The worst version of this was Kary Mullis (nobelist in Chemistry) saying HIV did not cause AIDS. Idea helped kill thousands in S. Africa
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Science is not a democracy but scientific consensus still has value.
- 1 more reply
New conversation -
-
-
It's all scientists, zero votes. The work stands for itself; using any number of scientists as a crutch for discourse is dangerous.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
2/ You can't treat it in isolation.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
1/ OoS is considered convincing because just about every scientist who followed up on it came up with similar conclusions.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Yeah, but it's Darwin plus mountains of corroborating evidence that makes it convincing.
-
Also, a lot of Darwin's original work has been superseded by more advanced research.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
Doesn't help that since childhood we're taught about individuals who saw something nobody else did (Galileo w heliocentism, Newton w grav.)
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Yes but representing is as "scientists think" is misleading. Also Darwin became convincing to the public after certain % of experts agreed
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.