Almost half of all Americans believe that life began no more than 10,000
years ago (Diethelm, Pascal and Martin, 2012). As a result, humans, and
dinosaurs would coexist, rendering carbon-dating invalid and erasing all
evidence of evolution. Innovators are not on their own. Even after it was
discovered that the research data used to make the connection had been
falsified, approximately one-fifth of Americans believe vaccines can cause
autism. Despite numerous studies linking the effects of climate change CO2
emissions, according to a 2010 Gallop poll, half of the US population
believes human actions have nothing to do with climate change (Rettig,
2012). People who do not believe in science can think rationally—no germ of
disease, no evolution or genetic code, no pointless heat storage. But how
does this happen among those who believe in scientific principles, the
scientific method, and the majority of its conclusions? Psychologists refer to
this as persistent belief, and it is a well-studied phenomenon. We are all
susceptible to it to some extent, but some people are more susceptible than
others.
Modern psychological scientific studies show that the population's level of
trust will rise or fall, which is a measure of everyone's attitude toward the
patient in order to serve all individuals and groups in the medical profession.
One can set proof standards that science cannot meet, such as I believe
climate change is the result of human action when I see evidence that the
Earth has never experienced a temperature increase before. "The conscious
part of science begins with an act of faith, the ancient Greek belief that the
natural world operates through mechanisms that we can comprehend, even if
they are initially hidden from view" (Pollack, 2013). Alternatively, one can
look for experts who support irrational beliefs through pseudoscience,
misinterpretations, misrepresentations, and logical fallacies, such as if
smoking truly causes lung cancer, then every smoker gets lung cancer. It isn't
about science in the end. It's about avoiding the stress of failing to recognize
the possibility of regret or shame for making a mistake. So, for the sake of
cognitive harmony, otherwise rational people believe vaccines can cause
autism, that human actions have nothing to do with climate change, that
smoking the drug did not cause cancer, and that the trial was, apparently,
incorrect.
Diethelm, Pascal and Martin McKee, October 31, 2012. "Negativeism: what
is it and how should scientists respond?" European Journal of Public Health.
Episode 19, Issue 1. P. 2-4. 2009. via
EuroPub.>http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/1/2.full
Pollack, R. E. (2013). The faith of biology and the biology of faith: order,
meaning, and free will in modern medical science. Columbia University
Press.
Rettig, Jessica, November 2, 2012, "Few and fewer Americans see climate
change as a man-made threat." US News & World
Report.>http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/on-energy/2011/08/26/fewer-
americans-see-climate-change-a>-Threat -caused-by-people
less
