The voices regarding medical research have become so polarized, yet this isn’t a new issue. At least in the US, topics that are neutral in other countries are considered controversial. And now, regardless of ongoing efforts to communicate science, COVID vaccination remains an unnecessarily contentious topic. What’s perhaps more surprising is that despite having a history to study from when discussing controversial topics, people are incapable of effectively educating the public on it.
Scientists often live in a bubble. We take some knowledge for granted, since it’s so well-known among the group, but this comfort hinders us when we try to communicate to people outside of our bubble where our specialized knowledge isn’t generally understood. Now with basic/fundamental research funding at risk and people dying from poor education, science communication ought to be prioritized. But it’s not. And as scientists fail to understand the issues, I hear other researchers mocking people and dismissing opposing beliefs without much thought.
People with opposing ideas are not dumb. If they describe the details of their ideas, their logic is often indisputable. The issue instead comes from the scaffold that these ideas are built on. We all believe in the scientific method, but we are divided on whether the scientists are corrupt. If the scientists are corrupt, then their output is questionable. Unfortunately, redirecting misplaced ideas on corruption when it becomes a firm belief is really hard. And with the structure of social media encouraging shorter attention spans while also catering to the viewer’s preferences, it’s become impossible to correct these beliefs. There are efforts to combat this, like with social media science communicators adapting the tactics excelled by the opposing side to overwhelm and overrun misinformation. Though I worry that these efforts won’t be enough with the dichotomy in trusting scientists not being taken seriously in academia (“they’ll come around if you tell them the truth”) and science communication continuing to be been largely neglected (“you should be gathering more data, not doing extracurriculars”).
posted on Instagram October 5, 2021
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