“The fallout from personal science” →
Seth Godin:
Consider the fact that the world is getting warmer. To be clear, everyone is entitled to have an opinion on what to do about global warming. The question I'm wondering about is whether we should solicit the opinions of the population as to whether or not it exists. We're asking people to bring their knowledge of statistics, earth science and atmospherics to bear on analyzing data… Of course, most people don't have that knowledge, or care that they don't. If all that matters is belief, why should they?
Beyond the already great stated message in Seth’s post, what does it say about the state of our public discourse that he had to pad a fact — the world is getting warmer — with so many disclaimers, and that mentioning this fact is a risk likely to result in a lot of angry feedback?
Anti-intellectualism is one of my biggest fears for our society.