Are Americans Really Anti-Science?

Lately, there has been much discussion in the media and even in academic journals about the supposed rise of “anti-science” in the United States. Examples tend focus on climate change, evolution, and vaccination. But what about science in general? Are Americans truly anti-science in the sense of rejecting all of science? Research shows that in the decades since the end of the Second World War, American adults actually have held strong positive attitudes about the benefits of science and technology and fewer concerns or reservations about science and technology broadly. I will discuss the reasons for this general approval of science. Looking to the future, I will discuss the challenges in the 21st century to maintaining strong positive attitudes toward science and increasing the level of civic scientific literacy in the U.S. and similar industrial countries.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Jon D. Miller, PhD is Director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He is also Director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). Jon Miller has measured the public understanding of science and technology in the United States and the factors associated with the development of attitudes toward science for the last three decades. He pioneered the measurement of scientific literacy and his approach to the public understanding of science has been replicated in more than 40 countries. He has published four books:

Citizenship in an Age of Science (Pergamon Press, 1980)

The American People and Science Policy (Pergamon Press, 1983)

Public Perceptions of Science and Technology: A comparative study of the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada (Foundation BBV, Madrid, 1997)

Biomedical Communications: Purposes, audiences, and strategies (Academic Press, 2001)

— and more than 60 journal articles and book chapters. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Public Understanding of Science (Sage) and Science Popularization (Beijing). Jon is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, served as a Sigma Xi national lecturer, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Council on Science and Technology. He retired from full-time service in July, 2021, and is a Research Scientist Emeritus at the University of Michigan.

His Wikipedia page can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_D._Miller

Видео Are Americans Really Anti-Science? канала Bay Area Skeptics