I think a lot of the time, people think that presenting the facts is having a policy position because the facts so obviously point to a position. So I suspect this isn't even the right question to be answering, although Pew is usually pretty good about such things.
Yet another dangerous problem created by the right-wing media machine. When I was a child, my parents celebrated any time I knew more about a subject than they did. Then Fox News poisoned their brains, and now every time I hit them with facts & knowledge they act like I'm being purposely deceptive.
I mean, “here is what the data says is happening” and “because of what the data says is happening I think it’s clear we should do this not that” seem to me to be very obviously different roles of science?
i guess thats true. the roles are separate. i just find it increasingly difficult to parse the two roles, especially with what we're about to experience in terms of rollback of elected policy expertise.
The question sucks because as scientists we don’t establish facts, rather than refute competing theory. Of course the public may not appreciate that distinction, but as a scientist it bugs me.
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