Is Science On the Outs?

July 7, 2016

junk scienceThere’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and probably something that has occurred to every physician, veterinarian, researcher, pharmacist and scientist at some point recently. When, why and how did it happen that the general public (particularly the educated general public) become distrustful of science? How did it happen that a random dog breeder with a blog is more trusted than a graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine? When did it happen that a mommy blogger with an anti-vaccine agenda became more trusted than the American Academy of Pediatrics? Why did it happen that crowd sourcing social media for the best food to help Fido’s itchy skin became a better choice than asking your highly educated, experienced, trained veterinarian?

One of my favorite writers, Atul Gatwande, writing in one of my favorite publications, The New Yorker, has asked that very same question. Dr. Gatwande has written about “The Mistrust of Science” in a much more coherent, eloquent way than I ever could.

Why do you think that science (and medicine) no longer has the trust of the American people?

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