Today we have an ideas piece in The Boston Globe about the disconnect between science and American culture--and the role of scientists in the bridging the gap. At the outset, lest we are misunderstood or misread, we want to emphasize that this does not mean there aren't many other forces--such as poor education and scientific illiteracy and the unreliable media--contributing to the gap between science and society. However, scientists can also be a contributing factor, as we explain in the piece:
Earlier this month, the Pew Research Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science unveiled the latest embarrassing evidence of our nation’s scientific illiteracy. Only 52 percent of Americans in their survey knew why stem cells differ from other kinds of cells; just 46 percent knew that atoms are larger than electrons. On a highly contentious issue like global warming, meanwhile, the gap between scientists and the ...
