Science Forums 2

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by Turtle

So I got one o' them there sieges active right here in River City, namely the ol' Earth's core is hydrogen business again and how the stupid dogmatic scientists think it's iron. While my doggish approach to defending this attack on science is netting little headway, neither are the patient cogent scientific explanations. The question is still, what do we do?

IMHO, the answer’s pretty simple: stick with the cogent scientific explanations. Style-wise, doggish, wonder-struck (eg: Sagan), pedagogic (as one would speaking to a slow-learning child), and a host of others work well, though some styles – sarcastic, accusatory, etc. – can undermine the cogent scientific goodness at the heart of your demon-haunted darkness repelling efforts.

It’s essential to understand and accept, however, that even the best efforts will fail to sway many “true believer”. Defending science and reason is not identical to persuading the unscientific and irrational to embrace them, the measure of successful defense not the ruin of those who bear the ideas against which one is defending, and ceasing to beat a dead horse not a sign of lack of determination.