How to Talk to a Science Denier cover art

How to Talk to a Science Denier

Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason

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About this listen

"Climate change is a hoax - and so is coronavirus." "Vaccines are bad for you." These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. They are not merely uninformed - they are misinformed. They cite cherry-picked evidence, rely on fake experts, and believe conspiracy theories. How can we get them to change their minds and accept the facts when they don't believe in facts? In this book, Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers, and argues that it's important to do so. Science denial can kill.

Drawing on his own experience - including a visit to a Flat Earth convention - as well as academic research, McIntyre outlines the common themes of science denialism, present in misinformation campaigns ranging from tobacco companies' denial in the 1950s that smoking causes lung cancer to today's anti-vaxxers. He describes attempts to use his persuasive powers as a philosopher to convert Flat Earthers; surprising discussions with coal miners; and conversations with a scientist friend about genetically modified organisms in food. McIntyre offers tools and techniques for communicating the truth and values of science, emphasizing that the most important way to reach science deniers is to talk to them calmly and respectfully - to put ourselves out there, and meet them face to face.

©2021 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2021 Tantor History & Philosophy Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Science Tobacco

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It's easier when you have fact checked yourself and understand scientific thought structures and values to make assessments of data sets. It's very difficult, and can be quite emotionally distressing, to suffer people in power who claim such integrity and skill but are actually turning their backs on facts. Climate change, vaccines, earth shape... all have passionate proponents that flat out (if you excuse the pun) deny the facts regarding current scientific consensus.

My community of energy psychology is in the grip of a war of fact v indgnant opinion. And parallel to, albeit on a smaller scale than, climate destruction denial, it is costing lives. This book has been incredibly helpful in elucidating the tactics, purposive or otherwise, in science denial, and thus in guiding our next steps.

Most of all, I deeply appreciate another value the author brings in addition to scientific ones: compassion. Kindness (NOT niceness) with and for all concerned allows us to continue to express the best of our humanity as we stretch for the best of our human intellect.

Thank you.

Taking a stand for good science, with compassion

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The further I traveled through this book the more I had to remind myself that the author was writing about science deniers, not climate alarmists. If you were to replace every instance of science deniers with climate alarmists nothing else in the book would need to be changed except the title “How to Talk to Climate Alarmists”
The following passage especial made me laugh out loud, (this is not a verbatim quote).
The author states that all science deniers appear to be reading from the same script and therefore indicates maleficence on the deniers’ part, substitute climate alarmists for science deniers and the statement is true today.
Starting the book with Flat Earthers the author exposes his motivation for writing the book that is to denigrate, marginalize and dismiss anyone who questions anything that science and scientists tell them is true. Given the current replication crisis and the use of dubious statistical methods it is estimated that 50% of peer reviewed science in wrong i.e. not true, a healthy skepticism of the current state of scientific method is to be applauded not denigrated.
This book appears to be written by someone who is very bitter that not every word he speaks in the name of science is believed.
A tour de force for the claim to authority narrative.

“How to Talk to Climate Alarmists”

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