Faith in Science

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: May 2, 2010 2:12:02 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Faith in Science

[Note:  This item comes from reader Randall.  DLH]

From: Randall Webmail <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: May 2, 2010 8:52:09 AM PDT
To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com, dewayne () warpspeed com
Subject: Faith in Science

"ESP Study Suggests Lack of Trust in Science

Newly published research on belief in ESP suggests a public disregard for — and perhaps even hostility toward — the 
scientific consensus.
By Tom Jacobs

Newly published research on belief in ESP suggests a public disregard for — and perhaps even hostility toward — the 
scientific consensus. 

Scientists wondering just how low faith in their field has fallen will get some uncomfortable answers in a study 
examining belief in Extrasensory Perception, recently published in the online journal Current Research in Social 
Psychology.

In the experiment, conducted by a University of Maryland research team led by sociologist Heather Ridolfo, 160 
participants watched a short video in which an individual is remarkably successful at a card-guessing game. In fact, 
the film's star was informed of the answers, but it appeared to the study participants that she was either extremely 
lucky or had some sort of sixth sense.

After viewing the video, participants completed a series of questions, including whether they believed in ESP and 
whether they thought the card-guesser they just saw was demonstrating that ability.

The participants were broken up into four groups. Those in Condition One were informed that 25 percent of the public 
believes in ESP, but the scientific community rejects the concept. Those in Condition Two were told that more than 90 
percent of the public believes in ESP, but the scientific community considers it bogus.

Those in Condition Three were told that 25 percent of the public believes in ESP, and the scientific community is 
becoming more open to the idea. Those in Condition Four were informed that more than 90 percent of the public believes 
in ESP, and the scientific community is beginning to warm to the possibility it is real.

"We found relatively strong evidence that individuals are more likely to accept paranormal claims as true when they 
believe such claims have popular support," the researchers write. However, "We found no effects indicating that science 
rejecting a claim led individuals to be less likely to believe the claim.

"In fact, when participants believed that science rejected a claim, they moved in the direction of being more likely to 
accept the clam as true. This finding ran counter to our expectations, but is consistent with findings that trust in 
science is decreasing."

To put it another way: Those told ESP had widespread popular support were likely to express agreement with that 
consensus, regardless of the scientific consensus. But among those who were informed that only one-quarter of the 
population believed in the phenomenon, support was actually higher when science gave it a thumbs-down.

That collective gulp was from the climatologist community, which has every right to worry whether its warnings of the 
consequences of global warming are not only being tuned out, but actively discounted by a cynical public. Perhaps a 
study of paranormal beliefs is too specific to indicate a widespread distrust of lab-coated authority figures, but 
perhaps that's precisely what it suggests.

[snip]

<http://www.miller-mccune.com/science-environment/esp-study-suggests-lack-of-trust-in-science-14659/>

<http://tinyurl.com/y2lf2yl>

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