The Flossing Story

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Reh, steve picker always makes this point about the diversity of ways to be successful and happy in life. The flossing story is a really good example of why we shouldn't just believe a single study. And how journalists sometimes do a big disservice by taking information out of context. There's no double blind trial of dental flossing, but if your teeth are being fiditians what you call a sensitive technique that some people are bad at it.

In this interview, based on her landmark book, Why Trust Science?, historian of science Naomi Oreskes offers a bold and compelling defense of science, revealing why the social character of scientific knowledge is its greatest strength — and the greatest reason we can trust it. Drawing vital lessons from cases where scientists got it wrong, Oreskes shows how consensus is a crucial indicator of when a scientific matter has been settled, and when the knowledge produced is likely to be trustworthy.