The authors of this article are both scientists. Arthur Camins was director of the Center for Innovation and Science Education at Stevens Institute of Technology. Paul Kalb worked for more than 40 years as an environmental engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory. In their article, they note that science is more important than ever, yet a sizable portion of the public rejects its findings and misunderstands it.
They write:
The Covid-19 pandemic is waning in the United States yet resistance to vaccination remains a major impediment to widespread immunity. Wildfires, severe weather events, and destructive habitat change are more common place, yet almost one in five Americans still deny the clear cause — climate change. Former president Trump and his Republican allies weaponized and took science denial to an unprecedented dangerous level, equating evidentiary claims with self-serving opinion.
In light of these challenges, the mantra from politicians to, “Follow the science,” is a welcome change. However, effective vaccine distribution and necessary advances in clean energy production will take a lot more than political rhetoric. Limited public understanding of and confidence in the processes of science and technology has created a best of times and worst of times crisis.
While the public is increasingly exposed to the iterative nature of science and uncertainty analysis, too many people associate science with some of its negative technological applications such as food additives, pollution, and uncontrolled greenhouse gases.
This dynamic and its deadly and destructive impacts pose an existential challenge. Resolution depends on informed participation in democratic decision-making. We are at an inflection point and it’s up to scientists and science educators to do the heavy lifting to convey how science and engineering can contribute to improving the human condition...
Every K-12 school and college as well as science, engineering, and health institutions must be explicitly targeted to emphasize that science and technology are the basic tools needed to improve the quality life of every human being. Specifically, curriculum must stress that knowledge development is an iterative process, models and uncertainty analysis are effective predictive tools, and risk assessment/relative risk are a critical part of the overall decision-making process. Effective communication and education are key and now is the time to act swiftly and decisively.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks for posting, Diane. Paul is the scientist. I am a science educator.
Curriculum must stress that knowledge development is an iterative process, models and uncertainty analysis are effective predictive tools, and risk assessment/relative risk are a critical part of the overall decision-making process.”
Unfortunately, uncertainty is usually not even mentioned during the discussion of scientific issues by public officials, the media, economists and many others.
We saw that in spades over the past year when “bare” covid test “positivity rates” were being bandied about with no mention at all of test specifics and in particular, the false negative rate(s of the test(s) used to arrive at the result.
And sometimes it’s even scientists themselves who represent things as more certain than they actually are.
Scientific results are ALWAYS uncertain to some degree and reporting them without the associated uncertainty renders them effectively meaningless.
Agreed. Science was political long before Trump.
What does it mean these days when we say something is “political?” Science as process is about answering questions. What questions are asked and not asked is a choice. For example, are questions that get asked about how science informs mediating climate changed “political.” Is that a negative?
Yes, and since the world of modern science has its roots in the Western male culture, many who are not Western or male would agree that many things are represented as more certain than they are
Sorry, Ciedie, usually we are on the same page, but I find that assumption a little disturbing. Right next door, and then again kitty-corner at the intersection, live two female scientists about my age [70-ish]. The gal next door was in the news about 10 yrs ago when the Merck lab team she led made some kind of breakthrough for diabetes treatment; for the last 18 months she’s been on the case for covid in some NYC hospital. –and that’s just my block ! & how about Trump & Biden CDC leaders?
We could say modern Western science has its roots in male culture, but so does every other modern Western field. Personally– anecdotally– among the male and female scientists [and doctors] I know today, I see no difference as to their predilection for ‘certainty,’ they are simply empirical.
OTOH– by light of day– I should probably just have said “I don’t get what you mean” 😉
I often clump too much together in my comments: I was thinking of classes I had for my masters’ where the few non-White and non-male professors I had offered me a look into places where science so nonchalantly bypassed different realities.
Granted, many current adult voters lack scientific education, or perhaps were taught it only as getting ‘right’ answers/ certainty, so they are easily manipulated by politicians. But as educators, we can focus on the generations coming up. we can push for a much stronger background in lab/ experimental science—starting in K—in our public schools. We can emphasize the ‘we do not know until…’ aspect of science, and demonstrate “iteration”: the need to repeat a procedure applied to the result of a previous application, in order to obtain ever-closer approximation to the solution of a problem. Kids taught that way will understand as they mature that statistical results announced in public are just today’s news, subject to further study, and to keep listening for tomorrow’s news.
Is the COVID pandemic really waning?
After what I read from National Geographic this morning about the latest COVID mutation called Delta PLUS, I’m not so sure.
To be clear. from what I read, Delta PLUS is a more lethal mutation of the Delta virus and the two major vaccines may not be as effective in protecting us from that one.
It may be a good idea to keep wearing a mask and washing your hands as often as possible even if you have had your vaccine.
That we get conflicting recommendations from WHo and CDC (supposedly based onn the best available science) does not exactly inspire confidence.
I still wear a mask indoors in public places even though I’m vaccinated.
It’s an easy way to increase protection against variants.
I do as well, SomeDAM. As you say, an easy way to increase protection. And a signal to others that they really need to be doing the same.
Weird fact
I’ve actually heard highly educated people say that “it’s unscientific to wear a mask if you are vaccinated”.
OK, I guess I’d rather be unscientific than sick or maybe even dead — or even pass the virus along to someone who is not yet vaccinated.
“He may be dead, but he was scientific to the end” is not something I care to have said at my funeral.
Not incidentally, there is a difference between the situation where the vast majority of the populace has been vaccinated and the number of new cases is very low and the current case where only half of the US population is fully vaccinated and infection numbers are still high in many places.
That is particularly true when variants continue to arise for which administered vaccines may be less effective (against both preventing covid and passing on the virus) than was indicated for the original strain.
In my opinion, that difference should be a consideration regarding mask wearing behavior.
And if (when?) one changes the recommendation in mid stream (effectively playing the children’s “Red light, green light” game), it does not tend to inspire public confidence, to say the least.
I’m with you,Lloyd, SDP and Robert. My state’s adults are 70% vaccinated, so I’ve allowed myself certain frivolities, like wearing the cloth mask instead of the N95 at the supermarket [full disclosure: today for the first time], and using sanitizer [after each store visit] in lieu of lengthy soap-water handwashing. I still [for the 2nd mo in a row] will probably not attend my book club’s now in-person [instead of zoom] unmasked indoor meeting of 10+ [vaccinated] adults, and I passed up a couple of late May/ early June outdoor eating gatherings of 20+ vaccinated adults. I await further info on the Delta variant & am not convinced this is ‘over.’
So am I crazy? I asked my shrink; it was time for our qtrly chat. She is a phys’ asst w/ nursing background, so psych tempered with science. Her advice: (a)not abnormal, & (b)follow your gut; go when you’re emotionally ready, otherwise you will be very anxious. [ Which is not good for mental health, which is why I consult a shrink, so I’m taking the advice.] Those of you who haven’t any mental issues are on your own. IMHO, even if you haven’t a psych dg, it’s wise to follow your own inner voice. The message it’s giving you may not be about science, but about habits you’ve become accustomed to, and how easy/ hard it is for you personally to transit to now-new habits.
Donnie Dumbo, aka Agent Orange, is the gift that keeps on giving. He evidently is not satisfied with having delayed progress on fighting this disease and poisoned the conversation about it to the point that many, following his lead, refused to mask up or to maintain social distance, organized and attended superspreader events, took fake cures, refused to be vaccinated, and so caused themselves and others to contract the disease, go through difficult hospitalizations, die, and be forced to live with the grave consequences of Long Covid.
No, that isn’t enough for the nobody loves America more than Donald Trump stable genius. No. He’s just getting started. He just went onto Hannity and urged Americans NOT to get their children vaccinated.
Here at Bob and Darlene’s Real Good Flor-uh-duh School for Artz (packin’ yore own shells with buckshot) and Scayeences (watch out for them Jewish space lasers), we cover ALL the scayeences with Godly Truthitude, including
Health (take yore harlequin or hydroxychloraquine or whatever its called, inject yore disinfectent, and dont let the Wuhan Flue run yore life because Freedumb)
Space Scayeences (Go Space Force, you Guardians of the Galexy, you! Shoot down them Jewish Space Lasers! And did you now, them Stealth areoplanes is really invisibul!)
Geographical Sciences (watch out for them hurricanes hitting states like Alabama on the East Coast, and we could learn a lot from Nambia, even tho its one of them ****hole countries)
Racial Scayeences (if black peeple and white peeple have babies, will they be spotted? Yes, you heered that rite, no Critical Race Theery at Bob n Darlene’s)
Earth Scayeences (Global warming is a Socialist plot to send all are jobs to China)
Soshul Scayeences (There takin’ are jobs)
Way-ull, I could go on, but sufice it to say, we covers ALL the talkin’ points of the current Repugnican Party under Donald “Glorious Leeder Who Shines More Orange Than the Sun” the Trump! And we enshooers that children heers about the hole 6,000 yeer HIS-story of life on planet earth, from Cain n Able riding’ on dinosaurs to Barak Hussein Obama puttin’ chiemicals in the water to turn high-school kids transgener to the United States of Democrat Babylon and the plot to take away yore gasoline cars under that Soshulist Biden.
BTW, if you are part of the Repugnican crowd making a Big Deal of the totally imaginary teaching of Critical Race Theory in our K-12 schools, and if you also claim not to be a racist, ask yourself, why does THIS particular issue get you all riled up AND consider teh fact that in making a Big Deal of this, you are keeping company with racists, actual, overt racists, and with Nazis, actual, overt Nazis.