How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason
- Downloads：6868
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-17 03:40:59
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Lee McIntyre
- ISBN：B08PCL6NVZ
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Can we change the minds of science deniers？ Encounters with flat earthers， anti-vaxxers， coronavirus truthers， and others。
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 uninformed--they are misinformed。 They cite 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 book， Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers， and argues that it's important to do so。 Science denial can kill。
Drawing on his own experience--including a visit to a Flat Earth convention--as well as academic research， McIntyre outlines the common themes of science denialism， present in misinformation campaigns ranging from tobacco companies' denial in the 1950s that smoking causes lung cancer to today's anti-vaxxers。 He describes attempts to use his persuasive powers as a philosopher to convert Flat Earthers; surprising discussions with coal miners; and conversations with a scientist friend about genetically modified organisms in food。 McIntyre offers 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。
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 uninformed--they are misinformed。 They cite 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 book， Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers， and argues that it's important to do so。 Science denial can kill。
Drawing on his own experience--including a visit to a Flat Earth convention--as well as academic research， McIntyre outlines the common themes of science denialism， present in misinformation campaigns ranging from tobacco companies' denial in the 1950s that smoking causes lung cancer to today's anti-vaxxers。 He describes attempts to use his persuasive powers as a philosopher to convert Flat Earthers; surprising discussions with coal miners; and conversations with a scientist friend about genetically modified organisms in food。 McIntyre offers 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。
Reviews
Lou
，
How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers， Climate Deniers and Others Who Defy Reason is a fascinating exploration of philosophy， in particular， epistemology and metaphysics， age-old science， history， politics and the phenomenon of fake news and the way in which they all intersect and interact with one another。 Science denial can kill。 So how can we change people’s minds？ At a time when science is under attack， this question has never mattered more。 If you met a science d How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers， Climate Deniers and Others Who Defy Reason is a fascinating exploration of philosophy， in particular， epistemology and metaphysics， age-old science， history， politics and the phenomenon of fake news and the way in which they all intersect and interact with one another。 Science denial can kill。 So how can we change people’s minds？ At a time when science is under attack， this question has never mattered more。 If you met a science denier in person would you know what to say？ Facts don’t convince people， so what does？ After 20 years studying science denial from his desk， philosopher of science Lee McIntyre went on the road to talk to Flat Earthers， climate change deniers， and others， about their beliefs。 Here， he teaches us how we can effectively argue with science deniers and why it is so important to do so。 The rejection of scientific expertise has been one of the most consequential social trends of the 21st century and， for those of us who remain committed to the scientific method， it may also be the most frustrating。 After years of being bombarded with evidence （and often having their intelligence insulted）， science deniers seem even more committed to alternative explanations of the world and the leaders who promise to undermine science-based policy。 How did we get here and how can we make things better？ Drawing on academic research and his own experience—including attending a Flat Earth convention— McIntyre will outline the common themes of science denial and offer tools and techniques for communicating the truth and values of science， emphasising that the best way to reach someone is through personal engagement， which fosters the possibility of building trust through empathy and respect。 People are not convinced by facts; they are convinced by facts that are shared by people they trust。 Dr Lee McIntyre shares what he learned from studying the ways that science deniers see the world， how we can use those insights to fight that worldview， and why a little bit of good faith goes a long way in communicating with others。 Dr Lee McIntyre， Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University， challenges the claim that trying to convince a science denier is an exercise in futility。 Indeed， the latest research shows that this is mistaken and that there are effective techniques that can be used to keep someone from becoming a science denier。 These strategies can even help people overturn those mistaken beliefs once they are formed。 The secret lies in recognizing that even empirical beliefs may be held for reasons that have nothing to do with evidence。 McIntyre explains that the best way to convince someone， in this case， is not to berate them， but rather to engage them in an examination of the cognitive and normative reasons why they reject factual evidence in the first place。 An exceptionally researched read from start to finish with plenty about how to approach and converse with science deniers and/or conspiracy theorists in all the most prominent areas of denial。 A fascinating， informative and eminently readable guide to a thoroughly pervasive topic blighting the world today。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Chris Boutté
，
I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book， and I honestly believe it’s one of the most important books of the year。 I had never heard of Lee McIntyre， let alone the philosophy of science until I read his previous book The Scientific Attitude， and I fell in love with his writing and way he discusses these topics。 As I write this review， we’re getting towards the end of the COVID pandemic， but there are still far too many people who refuse to get vaccinated because they deny I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book， and I honestly believe it’s one of the most important books of the year。 I had never heard of Lee McIntyre， let alone the philosophy of science until I read his previous book The Scientific Attitude， and I fell in love with his writing and way he discusses these topics。 As I write this review， we’re getting towards the end of the COVID pandemic， but there are still far too many people who refuse to get vaccinated because they deny science。 Science denial is one of the biggest issues we face today， and you can tell that Lee is passionate about figuring out how we can better talk to people who deny science。 The book starts with Lee going to a flat earther convention， and he wants to learn about what they talk about while also having conversations with flat earthers。 It’s really interesting hearing about what goes on at the convention and the way these people think。 After years of research as well as attending this conference， Lee’s theory is that science denial and conspiratorial thinking is more of an identity issue than an intelligence issue。 When he said that， I immediately thought he was onto something because I love to read books about the social sciences， and Lee’s arguments make sense。 He provides both scientific research as well as some strong anecdotal evidence that backs this theory， and this gives him a great starting point to teach the reader how to talk to science deniers。 While many books talk about how we need to be more empathetic and compassionate when talking to science deniers， not many people put it into practice。 Lee’s passion for educating people about science really shows in this book as he documents the various conversations he has with people。 He is extremely transparent about mistakes he makes in conversations， and he reflects on those mistakes in order to better speak to science deniers。 At one point， he even talks with a friend who is a scientist that is skeptical of GMOs。 I could go on and on about this book all day， but I just need you to get this book ASAP and buy a copy for a friend as well。 Lee helps you get inside the mind of science deniers， explains the political aspect of science denial， and so much more。 Again， get this book， and thank me later。 。。。more
Lisa Konet
，
This book was not what I expected and was actually quite humorous in many parts BUT also absurd that there are people that believe these wild theories against science and how to respectfully speak to them。 I myself know many people who are anti-vaxxers， COVID-19 deniers， anti-maskers， and or denying climate change。 Some of this was eye-opening to think these kind of people exist in a technological age。These are just some of the topics included in this book but also Flat Earthers， who believe the This book was not what I expected and was actually quite humorous in many parts BUT also absurd that there are people that believe these wild theories against science and how to respectfully speak to them。 I myself know many people who are anti-vaxxers， COVID-19 deniers， anti-maskers， and or denying climate change。 Some of this was eye-opening to think these kind of people exist in a technological age。These are just some of the topics included in this book but also Flat Earthers， who believe there is a 1000ft dome in Antarctica protecting all the ice/water from falling off the Earth （seriously）。 There is also a chapter detailing what/who science deniers， and that these people can be in respected careers like teachers， doctors， nurses， scientists， etc。 A heavy read in the fact concerning how to talk to "science deniers，" but also a light read from all the observations and humor throughout。 Recommended。Thanks to Netgalley， Lee McIntyre and MIT Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。Available: 8/17/21 。。。more
Muneer Uddin
，
Lee McIntyre’s book gives us a blueprint to talk to science deniers。 If we follow 5e tips in this book， perhaps we can restore sanity in this country and begin respecting each other again。 McIntyre provides easy to understand tips on how to try and reach science deniers。 He has a 5 step framework that he introduces early on。 He then applies this framework to Flat Earthers， anti vaxxers， GMO deniers， and most importantly， COVID-19 deniers。 If you’ve done a lot of reading into why people believe i Lee McIntyre’s book gives us a blueprint to talk to science deniers。 If we follow 5e tips in this book， perhaps we can restore sanity in this country and begin respecting each other again。 McIntyre provides easy to understand tips on how to try and reach science deniers。 He has a 5 step framework that he introduces early on。 He then applies this framework to Flat Earthers， anti vaxxers， GMO deniers， and most importantly， COVID-19 deniers。 If you’ve done a lot of reading into why people believe in the unbelievable， a lot of this stuff will be very familiar。 But McIntyre helped me give a name to some thoughts I’d had about the science deniers in my own life。 That’s where the book was valuable to me。 The people who need to read this are those who want to reach friends and loved ones。 Some of the other reviews of this book will make it clear how big the challenge is。 Without even realizing it， the negative reviews for this book will employ at least one tactic in McIntyre’s framework。 They’re not going to be brought around by reading this。 Instead， McIntyre coaches the science believers to listen to and try to respectfully rebut some of the flawed logic used by science deniers。 It’s unlikely to work on most of them， but this book gives us something else to try。 I recommend this book to all。 。。。more
Tawny Lara
，