"#Climatescientists have dealt with #climatetrolls, skeptics, and deniers for decades now; I think it’s an extension of that.
Now, some of that is, I think, just related to the fact that we’re in an election year. The difference is, in the past the harassment was over in a fringe element. In this last episode, it was a bit more mainstream. That’s concerning."
- YaleE360
https://e360.yale.edu/features/james-marshall-shepherd-interview
@WDEFAustenOnek Add to this, the portrayal of scientists in the entertainment industry as being clueless, awkward, uncool eggheads who are so obsessed with their studies that they never learned how to be human (e.g., Sheldon Cooper or "The Nutty Professor").
Last is the fact that scientists are prone to changing their minds when confronted with new data that falsifies previous theories & beliefs. This belies the popular perception of scientific knowledge as being absolute & immutable.
...
@WDEFAustenOnek All of that, plus the short shrift given to science in schools, can make it hard for an average layman to know what to trust.
This difficulty is compounded by the demonization of science and scientists by certain popular media outlets, like Fox "News," and their portrayal of scientists as enemies of the common people.
This is the state of affairs today and has been that way for decades, though it's gotten FAR worse in the past 10 years or so.
@WDEFAustenOnek The bulk of the problem is many people don't understand science. It's often poorly communicated, even by dedicated science writers in the media. They don't know there are hundreds of scientific disciplines, most of which have a degree of overlap (e.g., astrophysics, quantum mechanics and geology). In the news media, scientists are usually just lumped together under one blanket. No matter the subject, whether it's astronomy or climatology, it's always "scientists say" XYZ.
...