2 ms·
The big problem is what to do when "Be Right" is vague because information is poor and you're dealing with a society where black and white thinking is rampant.
by lamontcg 5y ago
The big problem is what to do when "Be Right" is vague because information is poor and you're dealing with a society where black and white thinking is rampant. Combined with a largely complete lack of understanding of the actual messiness of the scientific method.
- cloverich 5y agoIt's as easy as saying "X seems like the best bet, because Y, but we need more evidence (which we'll get via Z around time T) to be certain".
- lamontcg 5y agoThe problem is that a good chunk of society views science as it should be infallible and its a failure if its not. And scientists tend to default to "50-50" kinds of language when they're dealing with uncertainty, and tend to overly emphasize uncertainty. I'd kind of like to see science communicators start talking in the language of sports betting when it comes to uncertainty instead.
- supertrope 5y agohttp://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174 http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174