Science

Warpy

(113,130 posts) Tue Jun 25, 2024, 01:30 PM Jun 2024

Why do people hate scientists?

She missed religion as one problem. Religious people want answers set into stone and passed down through the ages that will never change until the end of time. Scientists focus on questions, and scientific fact is always being reviewed and revisited, religious people feel like they're standing on quicksand when they read anything about science.

Otherwise, it's a combination, different aspects in different cultures.

Add to that the modern retelling of the Icarus story, the trope of the mad scientist who goes too far, too fast because he arrogantly believes he knows best and manages to create terrible problems that everybody else needs to try to clean up. While we had the Mad Barber of Fleet Street, that was fairly harmless in terms of death toll. The mad scientist causes eathquakes and erupting volcanoes and giant ants and engineered superbugs that infect millions. He's a lot scarier.

4 replies

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Why do people hate scientists? (Original Post) Warpy Jun 2024 OP

7%, wow, that seems shockingly low. BradBo Jun 2024 #1

She forgot the most important reason. Oil companies and Religion's war Quixote1818 Jun 2024 #2

Do people hate scientists? jfz9580m Jun 2024 #3

"Pencil necked geeks" Warpy Jun 2024 #4

BradBo

(647 posts)

1. 7%, wow, that seems shockingly low.

Reply to Warpy (Original post)

Tue Jun 25, 2024, 01:54 PM

Jun 2024

She probably dosent really understand the deepth of American stupidity.

Quixote1818

(30,374 posts)

2. She forgot the most important reason. Oil companies and Religion's war

Reply to BradBo (Reply #1)

Tue Jun 25, 2024, 04:47 PM

Jun 2024

On science. They spend billions trying to create mistrust of scientists.

Yes, 7% is too low. Around 40% distrust climate scientists from misinformation campaigns.

jfz9580m

(15,488 posts)

3. Do people hate scientists?

Reply to Warpy (Original post)

Wed Jun 26, 2024, 08:03 AM

Jun 2024

I thought scientists and doctors are (for the most part) some of the few people anyone has any faith left in.
Oh you mean this sort of stuff:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/04/fauci-responds-greene-hearing-threats/73968347007/

Well MTG is very special, but it is also the net. The net does foster a lot of hate because clickbait sells. I certainly get riled up by stuff on the net, but then one also tries to have some sort of braking mechanism on that when one can.

Poor Dr Fauci..I never got the ire directed at him. Even if you don’t like him, I don’t get the intense dislike he appears to inspire . He is a decent and sensible man who did his best during an unprecedented public health crisis..shrug..

In general though it is embarassing when people on the net use even valid causes to send people death threats and dox them etc. The net makes people very quarrelsome ;-/. I usually feel embarrassed if I post anything overly impassioned in response to any well meaning poster.

Warpy

(113,130 posts)

4. "Pencil necked geeks"

Reply to jfz9580m (Reply #3)

Wed Jun 26, 2024, 12:43 PM

Jun 2024

and it gets worse from there.

People hate what they aren't equipped to understand and there are a lot of people out there who can't do science at any level.

If you watched the video, you got some of the percentages, they're not high compared to the number of people who hate women or LGBTQ people or anyone who speaks with a thick accent.

But yeah, people hate scientists. Not all people, but enough. They're loud.

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