Trust Me, I’m a Scientist
It’s not that people don’t trust scientists. They often rate highly on surveys of “the most trusted professions” around the world.1 However, for many issues, this doesn’t translate into trust in the science.
A recent survey of scientists and the public by the Pew Research Centre in the US2 illustrates the divide. While most scientists (88%) say GM food is safe, only 37% of the public agree. The theory of evolution, almost unanimously supported amongst scientists (98%), is only accepted by 65% of the public. 87% of scientists believe climate change is due to human activity, compared to only half of the public.
Interestingly, a large portion of the public (37%) did not believe that there was scientific agreement on climate change. Similar divides existed for vaccines, pesticides and multiple other issues.
Comparative Australian data is not as well collated, but likely reflects similar attitudes. In 2013, the CSIRO surveyed Australians for their general attitudes on climate change. 78% believed warming was occurring, but only 46% believed it was due to human activity,3 demonstrating that the scientists do not have the public convinced.
Is education the answer?
In the Pew survey, most of the scientists said that the public not knowing much about science was a major problem. It is often assumed that if you teach more science, give more facts, then people will have a greater
