Comment Re:"Fully Half Doubt the Big Bang"? (Score 1) 600
Yes but how can a person know to accept that model without first learning the model?
1. By being aware of it (considering the enormous hoopla that it generates in the media and politics), and
2. By referencing to professional authority.
Hypothetically speaking, when a doctor tells me that I might be at risk of prostate cancer due to X/Y conditions, I do not need to know the exact model by which prostate cells can become carcinogenic due to X/Y factors. I rely on the doctor's authority on the subject.
My grandma back in my country of origin (a very poor third world country) never finished elementary school. She is a very simple person, but she is aware of things like evolution and the Big Bang Theory (there are shows and news about these topics going on for decades on TV and radio, even in Third World countries). So, 1) she is aware of them.
And 2) though she does not understand the principles, she has always said that one should listen to the people who know more about a topic, be it science or milking cows.
That such thinking is not common place in a 1st world country like the US, that is something I find troubling and disturbing.
So why poll the general public about this question when most the general public really only knows what they were told to recite in school or what they saw on Nova?
Hmmm, to gauge if people actually pay attention what they recite in school or in Nova (as opposed to what type of panties Kim Kardashian wore on her gazillion-dollar wedding. It is not rocket science you know.
"Acceptance of science" partially means do you trust what the popular theories are as presented in the media without actually doing the math or analyzing the data yourself
If you (the generic "you") cannot do the math yourself (I mean, can you do the math - the whole math - behind the Big Bang Model?), and if the popular theories are "popular" in the sense that they are presented by the bulk of the scientific community and/or typically reputable educational shows like Nova, Discovery, Frontline or Scientific America (and not "popular" as in "It is not in the Bible, I heard it on the 700 Club" or "I saw it on A&E or in 'Nazis vs Zombie Aliens' on H2), then the answer is
, and it partially means have you heard of this topic before so that you even know what scientists tend to think about it.
Well, it does work with smoking. Scientists overwhelmingly think (and have shown) that smoking causes cancer.
So then, why it is not acceptable to rely on experienced opinion for vaccination, evolution and cosmological models of the universe?
The people who refuse to see this are typically motivated by unsubstantiated fear (vaccination will give you the cooties, mercury and autism!!!) or religious dogma (it's not in the Bible!!!!).