Shermer: No one in the history of the world has ever identified as a science nihilist. He says scientists care about evidence, and they're willing to change their minds based on new evidence. What's different about pseudo scientists or science deniers is their reasoning strategy. They'll cherry pick what evidence they need. Anything they don't want to believe, no evidence could convince them.
“Climate change is a hoax — and so is coronavirus.” “Vaccines are bad for you.” These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. They are not merely uninformed — they are misinformed. They cite cherry-picked evidence, rely on fake experts, and believe conspiracy theories. How can we convince such people otherwise? How can we get them to change their minds and accept the facts when they don’t believe in facts? In this conversation based on his new book, Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers, and argues that it’s important to do so.