Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 at 7:30
Trustees' Room Upper Convocation Center
"Climate change is a hoax - and so is coronavirus." "Vaccines are bad for you." These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. They are not merely uniformed - they are misinformed. They site cherry-picked evidence, rely on fake experts, and believe conspiracy theories. How can we convince such people otherwise? How can we get them to change their minds and accept the facts when they don't believe in facts? In this talk, Lee McIntyre will argue that anyone can fight back against science deniers, and that it's important to do so, because science denial can kill. His talk will offer tools and techniques for communicating the truth and values of science, emphasizing that the most important way to reach science deniers is to talk to them calmly and respectfully - to put ourselves out there, to meet them face to face.
Lee McIntyre is a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He is the author of several books, including The Scientific Attitude, Post-Truth, and Respecting Truth.
Co-Sponsored by the Ashland University Honors Program
