'.....an anti-science bias and a buy-in with much of the politically generated misinformation concerning the virus.'
The thing is, a lot of these people who believe such far right-wing propaganda are pissed off as well as strongly distrust the whole system and its institutions.
Now, while they are indeed justified in their feelings towards the system, the problem is that they've become too emotional, and so aren't thinking rationally and using common sense towards certain facts. Herein lies the main challenge in getting through to them.
Raven, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I guess we all are selective in the institutions we distrust, depending on where we are on the political spectrum. Liberals may trust the EPA, yet distrust the Border Patrol, the opposite holding true for conservatives.
A healthy skepticism is good. But right now it seems that the right and the GOP have gone too far, distrusting science, our elections, and responsible media.
Patricia, thanks so much! I thought it was interesting the way the researchers went about their work, using Twitter data. I'm not sure that the research revealed any surprises, that the GOP is the party of deniers or that the unvaccinated were deniers as well. But it is important to understand how prevalent this type of thinking is. as well, I think we may find ways of communicating with these folks.
First, let me say that I look at a lot of scientific papers, and there are tons of them coming out of China. I'm not always impressed with the standard of work, and sometimes I wonder how some of those papers got published.
As to this paper, hmmm... It has what researchers call face validity. It found what you'd expect it to find. As well, they found some interesting anomalies, a sign of good research. If I had my doubts about the paper, I would have found another subject to write about.
I’ve been thinking about this recently too, but along the lines of climate concern is classist, in addition to political and geopolitical.
AG, are you saying that the rich are the main drivers of global heating, while the poor are the ones to suffer from it?
'.....an anti-science bias and a buy-in with much of the politically generated misinformation concerning the virus.'
The thing is, a lot of these people who believe such far right-wing propaganda are pissed off as well as strongly distrust the whole system and its institutions.
Now, while they are indeed justified in their feelings towards the system, the problem is that they've become too emotional, and so aren't thinking rationally and using common sense towards certain facts. Herein lies the main challenge in getting through to them.
Insightful article, Paul.
Raven, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I guess we all are selective in the institutions we distrust, depending on where we are on the political spectrum. Liberals may trust the EPA, yet distrust the Border Patrol, the opposite holding true for conservatives.
A healthy skepticism is good. But right now it seems that the right and the GOP have gone too far, distrusting science, our elections, and responsible media.
Yeah, unfortunately.
Thank you for very interesting data.
Patricia, thanks so much! I thought it was interesting the way the researchers went about their work, using Twitter data. I'm not sure that the research revealed any surprises, that the GOP is the party of deniers or that the unvaccinated were deniers as well. But it is important to understand how prevalent this type of thinking is. as well, I think we may find ways of communicating with these folks.
How do you feel about the clinical reliability of the Chinese component, given their current public attitude towards us?
First, let me say that I look at a lot of scientific papers, and there are tons of them coming out of China. I'm not always impressed with the standard of work, and sometimes I wonder how some of those papers got published.
As to this paper, hmmm... It has what researchers call face validity. It found what you'd expect it to find. As well, they found some interesting anomalies, a sign of good research. If I had my doubts about the paper, I would have found another subject to write about.
I find the sociological implications of the research compelling. Thanks for sharing.