Public health decisions being made by people without any background in public health is worrisome. The US is now brimming with anti-science at levels of government. It's sad to see that crap settling in Canada. The engineered post-truth of the internet/ social media/ mainstream media is leading to a post-literate society
this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2025
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These types of headlines remind me that scientific thinking is not inherent to humanity. The idea that people would react reasonably to the same set of data seems a given, something we call "common sense." But it's much less common than we think.
The scientific method was designed to overcome natural human biases, like confirmation bias. I think the scientific method and reasonable evaluation of evidence are more so examples of critical thinking than they are common sense (e.g., do unto others as you'd have others do unto you). Big money and right-wing interests are trying to destroy the average person's critical thinking, by defunding DEI, education, and public health authorities - because it gets in the way of them (destroying society to) maximizing their profits.
I'm a university student (health professions education) at a pretty reputable school at the moment. I've seen a professor create unreferenced lecture slides with generative AI. I see lots of people relying on generative AI summaries in their search results pages and going no further. I see lots of students using generative AI to read and/or write papers for them, in addition to look up information.
The brain drain is real. The pride in ignorance (among people who vote for Dump or PP) is real. Per Orwell: If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.
Climate change isn't real /s
I know we are arguing the same point, but supporting policies that directly harm yourself, your children, your neighbors, etc, should be seen as a failure of critical thinking AND of common sense. Pride in ignorance, like you said, is so anathema to my worldview.