There's a quasi-religious aspect that's developed about the whole thing. Culturally, we have made "science" and "scientists" everything (apparently losing sigh

There's a quasi-religious aspect that's developed about the whole thing. Culturally, we have made "science" and "scientists" everything (apparently losing sight of the fact that "science" used to describe a method for testing hypotheses, not a set of conclusions about the world that result). "Trust 'the science.'" "Scientists say..." We also do not want to talk about death, ever, for any reason. We only make it through the day by ignoring the fact that we will all die. If we tell ourselves the expertiest experts will be the ones who will take our lives into their hands, we can just barely stop worrying about death long enough to get on with life. But if you point out that these are smart, methodical, but also fallible, ordinary humans who get things wrong sometimes and make mistakes when they're tired or hungry, it shakes people a lot more viscerally than when you say the same about, say, an accountant. You're questioning the dogma of the day, and you're shunned like a heretic.