I think the word “science” itself has lost meaning. Many people I know have yard signs that say “science is real” but in practice these same people can be easil

I think the word “science” itself has lost meaning. Many people I know have yard signs that say “science is real” but in practice these same people can be easily manipulated by bad studies that are cycled through news media and social media. They also often listen to science only when it agrees with their views. I think like what came before, popular science is turning into an act of blind faith. We certainly see this with blind belief in “scientific authorities” who can get things very wrong (like the WHO). We also see it with fact checkers - as an example, I remember reading a (factually correct) article on Facebook yesterday about COVID lockdowns, which mentioned the infection fatality rate. This post had a fact check content warning, from a fact checker who incorrectly quoted the case fatality rate for COVID-19 as evidence that the article was misinformation. I’m not sure what the fix is. It feels like there is too much information out there for the public to handle and process properly. Or maybe we need a new word that is not “science”, that captures more of the critical thought that is needed, and moves us away from blind faith.