New York Times science journalist promotes the importance of public discourse about science and the issues in our lives. Dean bemoans the absence of scientific minds in policy, government, and media given their influence to shape opinion and affect lives.
“Without the necessary skills to assess the data, we struggle with statistics and embrace downright irrational ideas about risk.”
“Two groups of people could help us separate fact from hype: researchers and the journalists who report on their work,” writes Dean. But scientists are customarily barred from public positions or prominence, while journalists lack funding to tackle technical topics.
“The result is a world in which researchers gather data; politicians, business executives, or activists spin it; journalists misinterpret or hype it, and the rest of us don’t get it. Whoever has the most money, the juiciest allegation, or the most outrageous claim speaks with the loudest voice. The internet, newspapers, the airwaves, the public discourse generally are all too often brimming with junk science, corrupt science, pseudoscience, and nonscience.”
Dean’s book is an important resource for leaders, policymakers, journalists, and the discerning public. She explains how we can evaluate scientific investigations and illustrates her point with news events and her own rich experience.
Beautifully written, well-researched, and clearly presented, Dean tackles the unspoken but important issue of reviving scientific inquiry in daily debates. We need to keep questioning assertions made by public figures, so-called experts, newsmen, the government, or anyone who seeks to promote an idea or interest.
More book reviews on Instagram @IvyDigest.