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Are Scientists A Cause of Science Denial?
Denying science today is a big issue. There have been many examples of this but today denial of COVID-19 vaccinations and climate change is having a profound effect on many.
Some like to see this as a left versus right issue with the left as the science believers and the right as the science deniers. There is some truth to that in the two main issues today, but that has not always been the case. It is wrong to associate science denial with either left or right, educated or uneducated. For example, the left in the past has been more opposed to childhood vaccines:
“In 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 2 thousand adults which concluded about 12 percent of liberals and 10 percent of conservatives believed that childhood vaccines are unsafe.”
One of the most vivid examples of denying science in the past 20 years is the opposition to Genetically Modified Organisms with the left far more opposed than the right. Similarly, the left are much more inclined to believe organic food is far safer and healthier than conventionally grown foods despite the lack of scientific justification for that belief. (Don’t bother sending me all your links to counter this as I am aware of the numerous studies and the lack of evidence.)
