History Quote by Ben Goldacre
““My basic hypothesis is this: the people who run the media are Humanities graduates with little understanding of science, who wear their ignorance as a badge of honor. Secretly, deep down, perhaps they resent the fact that they have denied themselves access to the most significant developments in the history of Western thought from the past two hundred years. There is an attack implicit in all media coverage of science - in their choice of stories, and the way they cover them. The media create a parody of science. On this template, science is portrayed as groundless, incomprehensible didactic truth statements from scientists - who, themselves, are socially- powerful, arbitrary un-elected authority figures. They are detached from reality. They do work that is either wacky, or dangerous, but either way, everything in science is tenuous, contradictory, probably going to change soon and - most ridiculously - hard to understand. Having created this parody, the Commentariat then attack it, as if they were genuinely critiquing what science is all about.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: Bad Science, 2008
Media often misrepresents science, simplifying it and creating a distorted image that undermines public understanding.
In simple terms: Media mislead about science.
Critically evaluate scientific reporting.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- journalism
- education
- policy making
- public discourse
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What responsibilities do journalists have when covering science?
- How can audiences discern accurate science?
Complex scientific topics cannot be fully captured in brief news pieces.