Why are so many people wary of science?

[Assassin Xaero]

Oh my god, we actually play a game with that song. "How long can you make it before you have to close the browser". And funny how you mention science contradicting itself. Religion contradicts itself too, yet people seem to deny that and make up stories for why it doesn't, why doesn't the same work for science?

Easy, because science can be proven with tests. Religion just needs faith. Yeah, it's a lame cop-out argument and I know you won't be satisfied, but you can test scientific experiments again and again and again and if it's not the same, then it can't be proven. Religious activity often cannot be replicated. I know you won't accept that as a valid argument, but I really don't like getting into lame religious debates, especially over the internet.

Well, better the my reason of "religious people are stubborn and don't like thinking". I don't personally believe in religion since I just see it as answers to the unexplainable.

 

[madmatt]

firstly who do you think of when you say most people?
But i suspect it comes out of the fear of persuing knowledge objectively without a morality system attatched. With both the good and bad connotations this has.

 

[Your once and future Fanboy]

After reading a couple of topics here and else where it struck me that a good percentage of people seem to either harbour doubts about science or openly admit to not trusting scientists in general.
So fellow escapists what do you think about science, scientists and why do some many people dislike "science" overall?

thats because there are so many stupid, religious people in the world

Scientologists are atheists, as well as this guy [http://www.timecube.com/].

Mendel, Lemaitre, Dobzhansky, Planck, Florensky, Pasteur, Faraday, Gregory, Newton and Kepler, to name but a few, were all religious.

Seriously, science and religion have nothing to do with each other.

Yeah i know many of the great minds in science where religious, but the majority of those who oppose or distrust science are religious, and their distrust comes from ignorance or because of the religion goes against scientific research, i.e Christians/Jews and creationism vs Darwin and evolution.

but i must admit that i think you're right, in that religion and idiocy doesn't necessarily go hand in hand.

 

[Marter]

They have "lied" in the past, so people no longer trust them.

It's also such an ever changing field of study. For instance, some parts of the science I'm taking in school now will be obsolete in 10-15 years. It changes so rapidly that people don't listen, as they know it won't be true later on.

What the hell are you talking about they have "lied" in the past?

The most recent example I can think of it Global Warming. A perception that many have is that they haven't exactly been honest about it. This leads the public to believe that all of science should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[himemiya1650]

Because a lot of science or more so research that gets published is studied elsewhere and doesn't get the same consistent results. At the same time sometimes the results are consistent but the conclusions aren't, such as the case that global warming is/n't happening. The final point is that not all scientific theories are sound and complete such as evolution and Darwinism and the fact that evolution doesn't always happen in generations for thousands of years, significant change can sometimes happen in one.

 

[Snarky Username]

The main reason people dislike science is that it disproves many of the tenets of the religion, and instead of changing their own views, just decide to ignore it. Thats how you get people who don't believe in evolution and are completely closed to any scientific reason to how the universe was made.

Raw science without any labels on it alines perfectly with what the Bible says. Scientific reasons to how the universe was made are just theories researched by people with different options than Christians. They have the same evidence they just see it different ways, and they both have solid arguments(in other words it's kind of naive to say they "just decide to ignore it").

I'm not saying all Christians are like that at all, I'm saying that's the reason people don't believe science. Man Christians I know have come out and said "Well I don't believe in evolution because the Bible doesn't say that's how it happened."

I'm talking about the people who have the Bible set in stone and don't leave any room for interpretation what-so-ever. Those are the people who usually just outright ignore science that isn't mentioned in their holy book.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Jurassic Park, Frankenstein, The Day After Tomorrow, I Am Legend, Fallout 3, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, E.T, Half Life, and many, many, many other instances of scientific destruction. Take your pick.

 

[major28]

at the end of the people who are afraid of science are afriad of it being used against them wether it be against there religion against there job or proving them to be ignorant baffoons

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

people can sometimes be unnerved by what they dont undersatnd i guess

I think you're close to the point here. NO-ONE understands Science, at least not all of it.

Religion has the benefit of brevity. Don't kill people, don't nick stuff, don't fancy your neighbour's ass - that sort of thing.

Science is so pervasive that even the geniuses like Einstein, Hawking or others can't tell you why flowers grow towards the light (Biophysics), humanity needs to repeat quotations (Memetics) or yawns are infectious. (Anthropolitical Social Structure)

Now if these guys up at the 200 IQ level can't take it all in, how are us mere mortals to understand potential dangers like Monetarism, Freedom of Thought or imprinted Sociopathy?

Science also had the evil twin of Statistics, which can "prove" without proof, and from that, horrors as big as the Crusades are born. And you will only have four minutes before the Thunderbolt of the Gods of Science makes it all academic.

And Science is always changing its mind. Four Humours? Earth is the centre of the galaxy? Brontosauri existed?

Religion is far from blameless though, as even the Bible says "Power corrupts".

 

[AMMO Kid]

The main reason people dislike science is that it disproves many of the tenets of the religion, and instead of changing their own views, just decide to ignore it. Thats how you get people who don't believe in evolution and are completely closed to any scientific reason to how the universe was made.

Raw science without any labels on it alines perfectly with what the Bible says. Scientific reasons to how the universe was made are just theories researched by people with different options than Christians. They have the same evidence they just see it different ways, and they both have solid arguments(in other words it's kind of naive to say they "just decide to ignore it").

I'm not saying all Christians are like that at all, I'm saying that's the reason people don't believe science. Man Christians I know have come out and said "Well I don't believe in evolution because the Bible doesn't say that's how it happened."

I'm talking about the people who have the Bible set in stone and don't leave any room for interpretation what-so-ever. Those are the people who usually just outright ignore science that isn't mentioned in their holy book.

I don't want to get to far into this type of conversation on a forum site, but check out answersingenesis.com. And yes lots of Christians do just ignore science outside of what the Bible says about science, but I wouldn't say to pay any mind to those people and to talk to some of the Christians who do know about both, cause I personally wouldn't want someone who doesn't know anything to be the face of Christianity

 

[Necator15]

Because science is hard, and because people don't really understand that science is based off of whatever evidence is present/available, hence why it always "changes its mind"

 

[mchoueiri]

I know one person in my school who says that all Science is lies, etc. I'm not surprised since she's a hardcore Christian. It just... baffles me.

Im a hardcore Christian and i think science is great... does that also baffle you?

I dont know anyone who is genuinely against science. To me thats just ignorant.

EDIT: To clarify... you arent ignorant but people who fear science are.

Although some stuff is pretty scary, like the a-bomb for instance.

I could of not said it in better words friend.

 

[ultimateownage]

Because they made a black hole machine, duh. Joking aside, it's because people are scared of change, and anything they do not understand.

 

[tzimize]

I love science. Bring it on. Experiment, progress, science. I'd LOVE to see more experimenting with genes, stemcell research and that kind of thing. Too much moral mumbo jumbo imo. Progress is never easy, GO FOR IT SCIENTISTS!

 

[Donbett1974]

I think its because people do hear scientist say things like this is impossible or this is the reason when there is little to no evidence. True scientist allow the evidence to guide them not their beliefs.

Example 1: Dragons never existed. Now i don't think dragons ever existed but if they did and had a cartilage skeleton as cartilage is much lighter than bone than it would not leave a fossil.

Example 2: Global warming, cooling, climate change is man made. Most scientist believe this even thou we now know that hard evidence was thrown out so that it wouldn't go against the faked evidence.

 

[Snarky Username]

The main reason people dislike science is that it disproves many of the tenets of the religion, and instead of changing their own views, just decide to ignore it. Thats how you get people who don't believe in evolution and are completely closed to any scientific reason to how the universe was made.

Raw science without any labels on it alines perfectly with what the Bible says. Scientific reasons to how the universe was made are just theories researched by people with different options than Christians. They have the same evidence they just see it different ways, and they both have solid arguments(in other words it's kind of naive to say they "just decide to ignore it").

I'm not saying all Christians are like that at all, I'm saying that's the reason people don't believe science. Man Christians I know have come out and said "Well I don't believe in evolution because the Bible doesn't say that's how it happened."

I'm talking about the people who have the Bible set in stone and don't leave any room for interpretation what-so-ever. Those are the people who usually just outright ignore science that isn't mentioned in their holy book.

I don't want to get to far into this type of conversation on a forum site, but check out answersingenesis.com. And yes lots of Christians do just ignore science outside of what the Bible says about science, but I wouldn't say to pay any mind to those people and to talk to some of the Christians who do know about both, cause I personally wouldn't want someone who doesn't know anything to be the face of Christianity

I'm just trying to say that I'm not talking about the Christians you are talking about. In my post I completely neglected them because they aren't the people who are overly wary of science. The ones I'm talking about are the people who do just ignore anything that isn't explicitly mentioned in their holy book.

The vast majority of my friends are Christians and most of them are very accepting of new and exciting ideas, and have an open mind to scientific findings. They at least give them a chance and think about them and actually make a decision about their validity. The people I'm talking about are those who blindly disregard any evidence given and give no mind to anything that implies that there's another way except for God. People who claim that others are wrong without any doubt because they don't share beliefs.

 

[Ekonk]

I remind thee, the atomic bomb. It went something like this.

Hurray! Nuclear fission-ing! Imagine the good that will be done with this!

*Insert the complete destruction of two large cities here*

 

[the Dept of Science]

I don't know why religion is getting all the stick on this thread. Pretty much every Christian I know has no problem with science. Its the new age spacey people that seem to have the problems. While its possible to have a belief in Science and a Christian God without contradiction (literal interpretations of the Old Testament are not necessary for Christianity), you cannot believe in both homeopathy and real science.

I think many people mistake "Science cannot ultimately prove anything" with "Science is all ultimately random guessing" and mistake "Science doesn't know everything" with "Ghosts and magic are possible, its just that science can't open its eyes to it".

I don't think that any rational human that has a good understanding of how science works could have reasonable grounds upon which to doubt it.

 

[Parallel Streaks]

I'm not really wary of science, more terrified honestly. It'll either progress civilization to Utopian levels, or level it to Dystopian levels. I kind of fear that level of power in anyone's hands.

But then again, it's just my ignorance as an average person science-wise.