Where Is The Next Carl Sagan?
Subjective Measures Ryan Snook Before people will understand science, scientists must understand people. In 1954, a study published by Princeton and Dartmouth researchers asked their students to watch a recording of a football game between the two schools and count infractions. The Princeton students reported twice as many violations against Princeton as Dartmouth students did. In a 2003 study, Yale researchers asked people to evaluate proposed (fictional) policies about welfare reform, with political parties' endorsements clearly stated. They found that their subjects sided with their political parties regardless of their personal ideologies or the policies' content. A study by a different group in 2011 asked people to identify whether certain scientists (highly trained and at well-respected institutions) were credible experts on global warming, disposal of nuclear waste, and gun control. Subjects largely favored the scientists whose conclusions matched their own values; the facts were irrelevant. People distort facts by putting them through...