Science in the age of credulity

Science fiction writers and prophets of doom have often warned their readers against the excesses of science in recent years, but few foresaw the greater threat that science itself now faces from both conservative and radical forces of unreason.

It is a peculiar and disturbing phenomenon that the single greatest engine of human progress and understanding now finds itself besieged from both left and right by purveyors of patent nonsense. The snake oil salesmen of alternative medicine, the tin-foil hat brigade of conspiracy theorists, and the unthinking acolytes of political dogmas have formed an unholy alliance against reason, evidence, and empirical reality, empowered by the technology they often rail against.

Let us first consider the risible farce that is alternative medicine, a grab-bag of ancient superstitions and modern charlatanry that persists because of, rather than despite, its lack of empirical rigour. Homeopathy – the crackpot notion that water has a “memory” and ‘like for like’ can cure ailments through infinite dilution – continues to separate the gullible from their money with an efficiency that would make a televangelist blush. Acupuncture, the practice of sticking needles into imaginary energy meridians, somehow maintains its veneer of respectability despite producing results indistinguishable from placebo in any properly controlled study, while chiropody is much more likely to cause a bad back rather than cure one.

In an age where we can edit genes as well as peer into the depths of distant galaxies, we still have people willing to pay good money to have their chakras aligned or their auras cleansed. It would be comical if it weren’t so tragically indicative of our species’ capacity for self-delusion.

But the purveyors of woo-woo medicine are mere amateurs compared to the professional reality-deniers of the conspiracy theory world. These intellectual contortionists, who see nefarious plots in every shadow and sinister cabals behind every event, have elevated paranoia to an art form. From the flat-earthers, who somehow manage to disregard not only centuries of scientific evidence but also the testimony of their own eyes, to the anti-vaxxers, whose dangerous delusions threaten to resurrect diseases we had thought consigned to history, the conspiracy theorist’s commitment to ignoring inconvenient facts is truly a wonder to behold.

It’s as if these people, confronted with Occam’s Razor, decided that the simplest explanation is always “a vast, shadowy conspiracy involving thousands of people who have managed to keep their plans secret from everyone except a few YouTubers and Reddit threads.” One is tempted to ask whether it’s more likely that every scientist, doctor, and government official in the world is engaged in an elaborate hoax, or that perhaps—just perhaps—the person who dropped out of high school and gets their news from memes might not have all the facts.

But let us not lay all the blame at the feet of the tinfoil hat brigade and the crystal-clutching crowd. For in the halls of power, where decisions that affect millions are made daily, we find an equally pernicious enemy of scientific thinking: political dogma. Here, in the rarified air of legislatures and executive offices, we witness the truly impressive spectacle of elected officials denying climate change while their constituents build arks to escape the rising seas.

The politicization of science is a particularly insidious form of reality denial, cloaking itself in the respectability of governance while peddling ideas that would make a flat-earther blush. We have witnessed the surreal spectacle of politicians bringing snowballs into the Senate chamber as “proof” that global warming is a hoax, displaying a level of scientific understanding that would embarrass a middle school science fair participant.

The assault comes from the radical left as well as neanderthal right.  Trans activists not only assert that human biology is as indefinable and malleable as a soft bar of soap, but that anyone who dares to claim that male and female are biological realities entwined in every human cell must be drummed from the public realm – or even the academy.  “Indigenous knowledge” must now be taught alongside actual science in the classroom, and objectivity itself is now disdained as a tool of colonialist impression.

This age of intellectual climate change must be tackled just as resolutely as its counterpart in the atmosphere.  The battle for rationality we thought won two hundred years ago must be fought again to reaffirm the primacy of scientific thinking over the balderdash of both tik-tok memes and post-modernist theses.

Science is not merely another “way of knowing,” to be placed on equal footing with ancient mysticism or the feverish imaginings of internet cranks. It is a method, rather than a body of knowledge, and so the fact that it evolves is testament to its strength, rather than a weakness.  Like democracy and other foundational tenets of a free and successful society, it is a human creation we should not take for granted or fail to protect.  The interrogation of reality by evidence gathering and hypothesis testing is not an academic irrelevance, but has delivered humanity’s ever growing multitudes everything from antibiotics to X-Rays.

The scientific method, and its dogged, unfashionable insistence on evidence, peer review, and reproducibility, has done more to advance human knowledge and well-being in the last few centuries than millennia of dogma and superstition that preceded it. It has extended our lifespans, expanded our understanding of the cosmos, and given us the tools to potentially solve the greatest challenges facing our species.

And yet, in an age where the technological fruits of scientific labor surround us, we find ourselves beset by a rising tide of ignorance. The passion with which beliefs are held is deemed to trump their dearth of evidence. It is as if, confronted with the complexity of the modern world, a significant portion of humanity has decided that rather than grapple with complexity, they’d prefer to retreat into the comforting fictions and simple narratives which religion once provided us all.

But the universe, in its infinite indifference, does not care about our preferences. Viruses do not care if you believe in them. Climate change will not halt because some politician declares it a hoax. Gravity will assert itself if you fall from a cliff whether or not you believe the Earth is flat. No surgery or hormones will ever change your chromosomes.

In the face of this tsunami of twaddle, it falls to those of us who value reason and evidence to stand firm, whatever the immediate consequences. We cannot give an inch.  We must challenge the purveyors of pseudoscience at every turn, not with contempt or derision – though both are often richly deserved – but with patient explanation and an insistence on empirical reality.

While indulging these inanities in individuals may seem the compassionate course, we have a stark choice on the social scale.  We can embrace the scientific method, with all its uncertainties and complexities, and continue the grand project of expanding human knowledge and capabilities. Or we can retreat into a new dark age of superstition and dogma, where truth is whatever we wish it to be, and reality can be howled down or denied. Neither can we pick and choose our battles – there is no point decrying the Trumpist right for denying climate change while at the same time drumming biologists out of their jobs.

The stakes could not be higher. In an age of global challenges that require global, science-based solutions, we cannot afford to indulge in the luxury of willful ignorance. COVID did not care about your political affiliation, but it hit hardest in places where precautions were disdained. Type 2 diabetes doesn’t care how many body positive clips you upload to TikTok or how often you colour your hair.  Reality cannot be repealed by legislative fiat, although it has been tried before.

It is time to reaffirm the primacy of science, not as a matter of belief, but as a matter of survival. For in its methods and principles lie not just the explanation of our world, but the keys to our continued existence within it. The alternative – a retreat into comforting fictions and dangerous delusions – is a luxury we can ill afford.

Despite all evidence to the contrary in today’s troubled times, we should retain our hope the arc of our moral universe should bend towards justice. However, this ethical conviction relies upon the pace of human progress being maintained by those who embrace reason, evidence, and the relentless pursuit of truth, however uncomfortable it may be.  Justice and reason must be allies, not enemies, because if reason fails then morality will follow, just as surely as Copernican night follows day.

Science is not just for scientists.  It drives the innovations which improve our quality of life and helps us make informed decisions on issues ranging from personal health to global challenges like climate change. By fostering critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning, science empowers individuals of all colours and creeds to question assumptions, combat misinformation, and contribute to the collective growth of human knowledge.

In an increasingly complex world, scientific literacy and the pursuit of scientific discovery are essential for progress, sustainability, and the betterment of society as a whole. Science has its fair share of martyrs whose sacrifice should not be in vain.  We abandon it at our peril.