Eh, sorry, but this seems like a tenth-order problem at best. "Scientific research cures cancer" is really easy to understand, & here we are, with the fascists destroying the NSF and NIH. The deep, ugly anti-intellectualism is not because of jargon. - ThreadSky

mcopelov.bsky.social • 4 days ago

Eh, sorry, but this seems like a tenth-order problem at best. "Scientific research cures cancer" is really easy to understand, & here we are, with the fascists destroying the NSF and NIH. The deep, ugly anti-intellectualism is not because of jargon.

Reposted from Rory

The failure of academia to explain things in layperson terms (up until some efforts recently) is one of the reasons for anti-intellectualism.

When you make science inaccessible, people will opt for those who sell easier solutions.

Comments

plentynuff.bsky.social•4 days ago

Yeah I’m not seeing a failure of academia here; if we need our nerds to also all be charismatic communicators then I don’t think this whole division-of-labour thing is going to work out

harveyfliester.bsky.social•3 hours ago

It's not like the measles vaccine data is ambiguous in some way either. This is, unfortunately, just how human brains work. Lots of us can be pretty easily swayed by bullshit.

ncecire.bsky.social•4 days ago

"people using their professional language made me anti-intellectual" is a variant of "people saying 'Latinx' made me become a fascist" and equally unconvincing

chapulinenojado.bsky.social•4 days ago

Exactly this. Scientific research created the internet too. We don’t see cancer researchers flexing Ferraris and promoting seasteading, do we? The libertarian man-child mindset in tech is a big problem.

dotdotdot123.bsky.social•4 days ago

It's the product of a sustained disinformation and grifter campaign. The US always had an underlying strain of it, but right-wing media decided to lend its full weight to anti-vax plague rattery in the pandemic the same way it went for climate change denialism.

catruncie.bsky.social•4 days ago

💯

enots406.bsky.social•4 days ago

It’s also because more women now attend higher ed, making it seem like higher education is a feminine pursuit. And because it’s a feminine pursuit, it’s not valuable.

And the media does a fucking *horrible* job at relaying any scientific or theoretical pursuit to the populace.

theonetruedoink.bsky.social•4 days ago

The problem is this: we can only EXPLAIN it to you. We can not UNDERSTAND it for you.

surfingthepast.bsky.social•4 days ago

Seems completely contradicted by facts. No one understands quantum mechanics including most physicists but no one has (yet) come up with a reason to politicize it, though that doesn’t mean they haven’t defunded it. Meanwhile vaccines have been explained in crystal clear language, there are even..

surfingthepast.bsky.social•4 days ago

..some delightful explanatory cartoons but that doesn’t stop the “wellness” peddlers or the do your own research types from making up utter nonsense about vaccines. Or worse misusing basic concepts like RTCs.

Scientists explain the most complicated science everyday to students and most..

surfingthepast.bsky.social•4 days ago

..grasp them with little problem. And just as importantly they learn what they do know and what the limits of their knowledge are and how to get beyond those limits. And it’s not by listening to “influencers” trying to scam them.

aaronhuertas.bsky.social•4 days ago

Explaining things is waaaaaay downstream of having access to policymakers and media outlets or even having funding to do community outreach.

gbspace.bsky.social•3 days ago

Also, what is being said is “I’m not educated enough to understand what you’re saying” so therefore our government policy should be set to stop making progress in research and development.

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