> This is why people don't trust you, science. Funny... but I wish that were the case. Last week when I was picking up my kids from school, I challenged anoth

> This is why people don't trust you, science. Funny... but I wish that were the case. Last week when I was picking up my kids from school, I challenged another parent to confirm her bumper sticker's claim that the Earth is flat. Sure enough, she told me to my face that yes, the Earth is flat, that I've "been lied to," and that I should "look into it." I'm still reeling from that. I happen to know that "religion" is at play in this case, not the critical analysis of conflicting information. Likewise, my uncle, who is a lifelong engineer on the space program (via contractors), still believes very zealously in all sorts of superstition. There's apparently a cottage industry of authors who try to reconcile biblical literalism with contemporary science. Alan Kay talks about this somewhere, how even scientists are prone to ridiculous and unsupportable beliefs. Right now (and maybe forever?) we have a Zeitgeist where "skepticism" appears to be tied to popular tribal identities, including evangelical Christianity. Despite the above, though, I doubt that anti-science sentiments are actually very widespread. I think we're hearing a lot about it because industries (energy in particular) are using people's distrust of authority and institutions to muddy the waters, so to speak, in public narratives where they see the truth as a threat.