Why do people believe something because a scientist says it they have been wrong many times before?

Question

Why do people believe something because a scientist says it they have been wrong many times before?

Answer 1

Because we live in a naive world that believes in anything that seemingly has confidence!

Answer 2

Some people will always believe no matter what it is just the way it is.  Science should be pure and not agenda driven however there are those that are trying to use science to prove their point of view, that is where the lines between pure science and junk science begin.

Answer 3

I don't know, but i believe that global warming isn't even going on. People are just LYING to us. I used to believe it until i heard the TRUTH.

I heard that it's actually getting COLDER in a lot of places

You expect these people with PhD's to know what they are talking about when in reality  a lot do not.

Answer 4

Well i guess society tends to follow them more cuz there use to it, i mean scientists were crazy famous before,. so that mustve left some mark on life or something... But see not all scientists are wrong right, cuz then they could be telling the truth, i jus dont accept this junk bout evolution where man was an ape and stuff

Answer 5

Why do people believe in the bible when we all know its wrong. Scientist at lease have proof of 90% of what they say. some Scientist has been looking for proof of a god only to find out that he was just some normal human being that lived 2000 years ago.

We all know Global Warming exist. just the last couple of years we have broken many heat records, and taken pictures of ice glaciers that was matched to some 40 years ago and over 60% of the ice is gone.  thats all the proof I need.

I don't know why but Global warming is unknown what it will do, there is two theries and either one can be true. on all the ice will melt and 98% of the world will be under water and we will have a warm world.

also they say that we might have a possibility of a new ice age, which is very possible. because we have been haveing exstreamly cold winters latly and I've notice a increase in snow fall per year where I live

so yes Global warming exist, what we don't know is what it is going to cause.

Answer 6

People trust people in authority, especially people in lab coats. I can think of several examples of case studies we looked at in my psych class.

In the end it's that all people really want to listen to authority.

Answer 7

It's an "appeal to authority" type of argument, useful for silencing those who don't agree with you. a very effective tactic, at silencing heretics.

     In actuality, scientists are skeptical  about THEORIES  which can't be proved. One of the fishiest smelling things about this debate is the declaration that  "scientists agree that they understand the climate well enough to reccomend drastic action, the debate is over"

      Notice the lack of facts presented in media stories about AGW - facts would get people to read more. The ones which set off my bullsxxx detector :

      -CO2 is 380 parts per million, of the air. this works out to 2 feet per mile.

       -water vapor content varies. at a median value of 2%, there would be about 100 feet per mile of this very effective greenhouse gas

       - scientists are agreed that CO2 is a greenhouse gas.  They don't agree that there is a positive feedback, which will result in "catastrophic, runaway ,warming".  when they say" the debate is over, scientists agree"..... it is a misleading statement, an "appeal to authority"

Answer 8

Some people just believe anything they're told or that they read. There's not much you can do about that other than not take advantage of them and to encourage them to question everything, and think for themselves.

And rember what Albert Einstein said, "All the experimentation in world can never prove me right, yet just one experiment can prove me wrong".

Answer 9

The scientists (usually) have hard evidence to prove a theory.

Answer 10

People don't blindly follow scientists, unless they are ignorant.

People do follow science however, because scientific proof is based on repeated experiments that yeild the same observable result every time the experiment is done. Then it becomes theory.

Answer 11

Growing up, my mother told me that there were always two types of people you should be able to trust: journalists and scientists. And while I've discovered that bias exists in every career, I understand her reasoning.

The nature of both professions is to seek truth. Scientists through measure and evaluation, and journalists by a presentation of the facts. In their purest forms, science and journalism state the case and leave it up to the reader to decide for themselves. bias-free.

Until recently, however, scientists have resisted getting into the fray of politics, media and public discourse; choosing instead to focus only on the science. But as funding for basic research has dried up, and people have tried to use science to justify any manner of ills, mistakes or fallacies, they've been dragged into the fray. So far, it's been a bloodless affair.

So most people still have a fairly solid view of scientists, and hold the majority of them in high regard. But as my mother also said, it's not the majority you need worry about it; it's that fifth dentist you should look at with scrutiny.

Answer 12

i don't think that something is true if a scientist says it, but maybe the people need something to believe.  And since scientists are proffessional or something, they think that they must be right?  idk

Answer 13

some people just want to beleive anything.. that way they feel they have a grasp on the world we live in.. when in reality no one understands it.. if u can say something with a stern face, 9 out of ten times, you will be beleived

Answer 14

becuase just because someone says something u still have ur own mind and still can have your own oppion   scientist have been provin wroung many times so believe yourself dont only couny on others.=] thank you for reading this!bye bye!

Answer 15

yes, i agree with you mr. some people are mad!

Answer 16

Not sure cause for every scientist that says one thing there is always another saying the opposite. Just depends on what the media wants to feed the people.

Answer 17

Rational people do not take what scientists say on faith. A rational person listens to the scientists idea and the evidence that backs it up and decides whether or not that idea is credible.

Part of a scientist's credibility is that scientist's experience in the field of his or her expertise and the level of education and creative ability that scientist wields in support of his or her theories. However, the credibility is NEVER a call to authority.  Just because Newton said something, did not make it right. So as new theories came to light aspects of Newtonian physics are no longer considered accurate.

Part of the beauty of science is that it is falsifiable and therefor older principles and theories will be discarded in light of new evidence and progress. People who lack intelligence and common sense actually see this as a short-coming rather than an advantage.

Adversely, in the dogma of belief old ideas ARE NOT discarded when they conflict with evidence. They are initially taken as absolute fact and sometimes eventually taken to be figurative metaphors if they are too embarrassingly false in light of modern knowledge.

This is why Galileo was tortured and forced to recant his support of a heliocentric solar system and why Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for suggesting that the sun was just another star and that other stars probably had planets which might even be populated.

Almost ALL scientists have come to the conclusion that Global Warming is taking place. A majority of them also have concluded that man is influencing this to an uncertain degree. However, many people who fear nature put their heads in the sand and pretend it isn't happening because their understanding is impeded by fear of the unknown and what they suspect they cannot control.

If people who object to the scientific method ran the world we would be still sacrificing children to the moon to ward off evil spirits and dying of small pox. So let's try not to listen to the village idiot's anymore and give the scientists a chance.

Answer 18

because they have been right many more times. the average joe on the other hand has been wrong many more times.

anyway how do you know they were wrong? those theorys were disproved by there peers why do you you think AGW has not been disproved ?

Answer 19

Because science is based on close observation, experiments and facts.

Answer 20

becuz its better to believe a scientist than a stranger on the street!

Answer 21

Because a scientist has conducted studies that reflect the information they are proposing.  If you, for example, were a baker and you told someone a recipe for what you say is "a really good cake," do you think they would believe you?

Answer 22

bc theres a very low possiblity for a scientist to be wrong, they are wrong but than again we're all human, but they have a very low possibility of being wrong bc they do what is called EXTENSIVE studying of a certain something.

Answer 23

Some people will believe anything.

Answer 24

followers not leaders.People, not all, take things at face value, because its easier than investigating, researching it for themselves.Ice ages and heating spells have come and gone 20,000 years ago and before that.Gore can show MT. Ranier melting now .............like it hasn"t gone through these cycles before. Hence...THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING HOAX....its simply a political issue.

Answer 25

because they r stupid and g*y

Answer 26

Because we as people rely on professionals to tell us whats wrong and what's right.

Like I heard on the news that drinking milk may cause breast cancer in some women. And drinking from plastic bottles can also cause cancer. I don't know what to believe now.

Answer 27

May I remind everyone that you would not have all the things you have today without science. The lack of respect and understanding of the scientific method from people on this site is appalling! You go ahead and believe whatever you want to believe. It doesn't make you right, but it does show your lack of logical thought.

Dr (and I use that term loosly with you) Smith, you are a fraud who wishes to spread anarchy. Hope you can sleep at night.

This is the real "Dr Smith"...

http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationmini...

Answer 28

IMO, it's educational snobbery, i.e., if a person with a 'degree' says something, that thing is absolutely true (even when later proven false {remember the 'coming ice age' of 1973?}).

Answer 29

A or the? I believe your article usage is incorrect.