cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10673163

Evidence shows that shoving data in peoplesā€™ faces doesnā€™t work to change minds.

As a scientist heavily engaged in science communication, Iā€™ve seen it all.

People have come to my public talks to argue with me that the Big Bang never happened. People have sent me handwritten letters explaining how dark matter means that ghosts are real. People have asked me for my scientific opinion about homeopathyā€”and scoffed when they didnā€™t like my answer. People have told me, to my face, that what they just learned on a TV show proves that aliens built the pyramids and that I didnā€™t understand the science.

People have left comments on my YouTube videos sayingā€¦ well, letā€™s not even go there.

I encounter pseudoscience everywhere I go. And I have to admit, it can be frustrating. But in all my years of working with the public, Iā€™ve found a potential strategy. And that strategy doesnā€™t involve confronting pseudoscience head-on but rather empathizing with why people have pseudoscientific beliefs and finding ways to get them to understand and appreciate the scientific method.

  • @[email protected]
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    14ā€¢10 months ago

    Itā€™s a good point, you just canā€™t expect empathy in return. That tends to wear you down, so I donā€™t really know what the answer is. Maybe picking your battles is important too.

    • @[email protected]
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      10 months ago

      Well yes. You donā€™t have to be a keyboard warrior, you can choose to see something you donā€™t agree with and just move on.

      Itā€™s like people think downvotes will somehow change the mind of the person who is posting. It probably wonā€™t. :)

      In the real world, people make their own decisions, no matter how much you click the downvote button. :)

      • @xePBMg9
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        16ā€¢10 months ago

        I donā€™t down vote to change the posters mind. I down vote as a courtesy to others, so they can see what is relevant and what is not. As a bonus; people who have no idea can look at it and say ā€œthis is probably wrong since everyone down voted itā€.

        • @[email protected]
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          0ā€¢10 months ago

          Donā€™t conflate ā€œwrongā€ with ā€œunpopular opinionā€. I was honestly hoping this downvote for disagreement thing would stay behind on reddit.

          The standard, IMO, should be ā€œcontributes to the conversationā€ vs ā€œcontributes to the noiseā€.

          • Bo7a
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            8ā€¢10 months ago

            The standard, IMO, should be ā€œcontributes to the conversationā€ vs ā€œcontributes to the noiseā€.

            Respectfuly - I think that should have stayed on reddit. There is no reason we need to follow the cultural norms of a place we left. Downvoting obvious bullshit is always ok to me whether that bullshittery adds to the conversation or not.

            • @[email protected]
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              3ā€¢10 months ago

              Bullshit doesnā€™t add to the conversation, by definition, so Iā€™m not sure what you mean here unless youā€™re saying to do away with upvotes and downvotes completely. Thatā€™s fine, by the way; I donā€™t really have an opinion myself, just because Iā€™m not sure what would be a good replacement mechanism.

          • @[email protected]
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            1ā€¢10 months ago

            I donā€™t downvote things I disagree with, but I do downvote things that are objectively false or downright stupid.