We are surrounded by ambivalence toward science. Many people
admire what science can do, particularly if technology can save
their lives or provide them with leisure and luxury.
However, it is common to hear people say that science is
reductionistic and dehumanizing. Frankenstein and Brave New World
are examples of fear of science. Few people understand the
mysterious "scientific method." The vast scales of time and space,
such as the age of the earth, bewilder people. It seems that
every discussion of biotechnology soon has someone warning against
"playing God". Approximately half the U.S. population say they
"don't believe in evolution." Pseudo-science (Wolpert calls it
"non-science"), such as astrology, is popular. Science teachers
struggle with students' misconceptions, particularly in the area
of mechanics.
A major source of the problem is that science proponents have
insisted that "common sense" assist them, failing to realize that
scientific thinking is a particular "way of thinking" that must
discard, not employ, common sense. From magic to the flat earth,
they are usually misconceptions that use common sense. People see
correlations where none exist (washing your car causes it to
rain). There is interesting evidence that "... people judge
frequency according to examples that are easier to think of....",
for example, ".... most people believe that there are more words
beginning with the letter R than there are words that have R as
the third letter...." People also estimate irrationally ("...they
give a much lower estimate for 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 X 6 X 7 X 8 than
for 8 X 7 X 6 X 5 X 4 X 3 X 2 X 1 ....") and they make quick
estimates that are grossly inaccurate (most people guess that the
product in the previous example is around 500, rather than a value
close to the true answer, which is 40,320). Even Aristotle, who
saw the need for classification and logic, never realized the need
for experimentation.
When we understand our weaknesses in this area, the origins of all
sorts of false "knowledge", from astrology to racism, are easier
to analyze.