Lack of Critical Thinking Skills Jeopardize Public Understanding of Science

To educated people, pseudoscience frequently seems too silly and ridiculous to be dangerous and is greeted with amusement rather than apprehension. In order to better comprehend the potential harms inflicted by pseudoscience on society, it is useful to draw a distinction between science literacy and scientific literacy

(PRWEB) March 17, 2002

ARLINGTON, VA – March 17, 2002 -- To educated people, pseudoscience frequently seems too silly and ridiculous to be dangerous and is greeted with amusement rather than apprehension. In order to better comprehend the potential harms inflicted by pseudoscience on society, it is useful to draw a distinction between science literacy and scientific literacy. While science literacy implies the possession of technical knowledge, scientific literacy requires the ability to think logically and draw conclusions based on thoughtful analysis of that knowledge.

The Science Advisory Board is deeply concerned about the pervasiveness of pseudoscience in the popular culture and wanted to try to root out its major causes. In its most recent Instant Poll, over 70% of the 410 respondents think that the low level of scientific literacy in the general public is responsible for the public’s strong belief in pseudoscience. Interestingly, only 18% believe it is because of the television shows and movies featuring paranormal phenomenon and even less, 7%, felt that the prevalence of pseudoscience was due to scientific misinformation on the Internet. The remaining 5% of respondents indicated that they did not know the reason.

“Pseudoscience can be extremely insidious because it diverts resources that could have been devoted to productive research and/or medical pursuits,” asserts Dr. Tamara Zemlo, Director of Scientific & Medical Communications at The Science Advisory Board. “And because it often hampers the ability of individuals to make well-informed decisions about their health and well-being, it often engenders false hopes and unrealistic expectations. As distinguished representatives of the biomedical profession, our members are committed towards helping to increase both the knowledge and understanding of science in the general public.”

ABOUT THE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

The Science Advisory Board is an online panel of more than 8,300 scientists, physicians and other life science and medical professionals from 62 countries. By convening electronically, Science Advisory Board members participate in online studies to voice their opinions on issues that directly affect the evolution and development of the tools and techniques of their professions. The Science Advisory Board is currently conducting ongoing studies in other exciting areas of the life sciences. Scientists can contribute their own views on the tools and techniques of their field by participating at http://www.scienceboard.net. The Science Advisory Board was organized in 1997 by BioInformatics, LLC (http://www.gene2drug.com), a research and consulting firm located in Arlington, VA.