A lot of policies are quite scientifically illiterate or even disparaging. "Teach abstinence, not sex ed." "Don't coddle criminals, lock them up." "Trickle-down

A lot of policies are quite scientifically illiterate or even disparaging. "Teach abstinence, not sex ed." "Don't coddle criminals, lock them up." "Trickle-down economics is the best way to create jobs." "Creationism makes just as good predictions as evolution, so it should be taught with equal emphasis." It goes on and on, even if we ignore any one of the arguments, the problem is that many people, even people in power, believe that what they and their clique wants to be true is just as important as what can actually be demonstrated to be true. Or to put it another way: If someone says something to be true, that's equally powerful no matter what their basis (repeatable, predictable measurements, or plain dogma.)