People are irrational. We downplay statistics when it’s convenient (like buying a lotto ticket) and overplay them when fearful (like with vaccines). Or we ignor

People are irrational. We downplay statistics when it’s convenient (like buying a lotto ticket) and overplay them when fearful (like with vaccines). Or we ignore statistics completely, like how dangerous it is simply to drive to the doctor’s office in an automobile. Unfortunately, more data is unlikely to sway folks who are already held by this dangerous meme that vaccines are bad. The answer is scientific literacy, and for such an advanced society we have a shocking lack of it.