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What do you mean? Activism is an essential part of science but maybe I’m misunderstanding your use of “activist.”
by Q6T46nT668w6i3m 1y ago
What do you mean? Activism is an essential part of science but maybe I’m misunderstanding your use of “activist.”
- hdlothia 1y agoI mean things like nature starting to make endorsements for president. Overly political for no reason.
- parrellel 1y agoThey are planning on de-orbiting weather satellites because the administration doesn't believe in climate change. Nature was maybe on to something.
- hdlothia 1y agohttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01537-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01537-5. One study says the endorsement had little effect on voting intention but damaged credibility and perception of scientists.
- DonHopkins 1y agoThen why is it that YOU are working so hard to damage the credibility and perception of scientists?
- tjwebbnorfolk 1y ago[flagged]
- miltonlost 1y agoWhen one political party is explicitly anti-science in its goals and aims and actions (RFK, global warming as a hoax, anti-vaxx, COVID as a hoax), Nature endorsing the person who is pro-science isn't political; it's existential. This is not "no reason". It's just not the reason you like because for some reason.
- glitchc 1y agoNo, it's not. Good science requires objective thinking and evidence-based reasoning. Claims must be proven, not accepted based on authority or prima facie evidence.
- Braxton1980 1y agoAnd what does this have to do with activism?
- techblueberry 1y agoThis is also the definition of good activism.
- kelipso 1y agoThere are no true activists anymore, what a tragedy.
- techblueberry 1y ago90% of activists probably do good boring unseen work, you only see the 10% who make a stink on social media or protest on the streets.
- glitchc 1y agoYou might be confusing activists with volunteers. Those who donate their time and money are not necessarily vocal about their pet projects. I'm part of the latter and do not consider myself an activist.
- glitchc 1y agoAbsolutely not. A scientist is expected to change their mind when new, counterfactual evidence is presented. Activists push for positions regardless of whether any evidence exists to support their position, and seem to maintain their position even when presented with counterfactual evidence. That is not science. We have a name for it: dogma.
- hdlothia 1y agoI feel like scientists should be explaining to us how the world is, and then other people should use those explanations to try and improve it. Right now I feel like there are a scientists who would hide or discard results if they contradicted their advocacy beliefs,which is a dangerous place to be imo.
- bArray 1y ago[flagged]
- didibus 1y agoWhat you say is just false. Politicians made and still make policies, that's how it works.
- didibus 1y agoThat's how it works. I think people for some reason don't understand policy making. The CDC conducts research and studies, pulls data, performs analysis, and then provides guidance based on it. It enacts no rules, laws, or regulations. That's done by policy makers who can listen to or ignore the guidance and data from the CDC at their discretion.
- bell-cot 1y ago> ...an essential part... Why? Which of these other jobs would you call "Activism" an essential part of: - Fire fighter - Elementary school teacher - Auto mechanic - ER nurse - Professor of Medieval History
- roughly 1y ago- Climate change - School shootings - Sure, they can shut up - COVID - Is this one serious?
- tjwebbnorfolk 1y agoAh I see. So you want to use "science" to push particular political remedies to your pet issues.
- roughly 1y agoOh I mean I don’t care if the teacher is for or against school shootings, I just find it interesting to have subject matter experts share their knowledge and give their opinions on things that impact their field. Some people just don’t take it well when those opinions don’t line up with their own on contentious topics.
- bell-cot 1y agoHow is it "interesting" for an elementary school teacher to be against school shootings? I'd bet I can find some carpenters who are against smashing thumbs with hammers, but why bother? Are you calling it "Activism" when someone shares the opinion of 99.9% of the population, and spends 0 time advocating for that opinion?
- seadan83 1y agoUm, yes. Science is the best epistemology that humanity has discovered, best being as the most effective way to discover truth.
- analog31 1y ago
- School-Cotton 1y ago> Activism is an essential part of science How so? It seems obvious that you can do science (that is: attempt to advance the understanding of how the natural world works) without being an activist for any cause.
- tjwebbnorfolk 1y agoThe job of science is to discover facts and produce new knowledge from those facts. Activism is the marketing of an ideology. They couldn't be more opposite.