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CBC: 43% of Canadians think science is opinion, 52% think GMOs are bad for the health
- Thread starter AuthenticM
- Start date
SaviourMK2
Member
This is what happens when you,ask for an opinion as opposed to outright staring it as a fact.
"Do you think water is wet?"
"Well..."
"IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU THINK DIPSHIT"
"Do you think water is wet?"
"Well..."
"IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU THINK DIPSHIT"
Because the boomer generation is just going to get more dumb and we're all going to pay for it dearly
TheCowboyPoet
Member
Fair enough. I definitely know some Vancouver Island anti-vaxers.
Not to surprising but still sad, at least in Canada people like this arn't in positions of power I think.
I knew this would be posted, love this moment.
I knew this would be posted, love this moment.
Lord_Byron28
Member
Organic=/=GMO free. Organic is actually significantly better for the environment and your body. Non-organic uses pesticides that destroy the environment and is the leading cause of Bee extinction in the US. Also a lot of Non-organic food puts preservatives and other additives to your food.
So is everyone gonna ignore this part?
82 per cent of respondents said they "would like to know more about science and how it affects our world."
79 per cent agreed they're comfortable "knowing that scientific answers may not be definitive."
Respondents said they trusted museums and science centres (89 per cent), scientists and professors (88 per cent) and educational institutions (87 per cent) as sources of information, but far fewer said they trusted word of mouth (25 per cent) or social media (20 per cent.)
The other results suck but these results indicate that most people still have trust in scientists and educational institutions while distrusting crap like twitter.
82 per cent of respondents said they "would like to know more about science and how it affects our world."
79 per cent agreed they're comfortable "knowing that scientific answers may not be definitive."
Respondents said they trusted museums and science centres (89 per cent), scientists and professors (88 per cent) and educational institutions (87 per cent) as sources of information, but far fewer said they trusted word of mouth (25 per cent) or social media (20 per cent.)
The other results suck but these results indicate that most people still have trust in scientists and educational institutions while distrusting crap like twitter.
GuessMyUserName
Member
Not surprising, this kind of ignorance has spread like wildfire, anti-vaxx anti-GMO thanks to moronic celebs that think they know what they're talking about because they've got a lot of money, and then on the other end the alt-right politicizing basic facts over the internet. r/canada is just as despicable as an American sub.
Sadly a whole generation of people being raised by boomers doesn't sound much better.
Sadly a whole generation of people being raised by boomers doesn't sound much better.
Guess what? Organic foods use pesticides that damage the environment too! Plus there is no evidence of health benefits.
quoting this post because I believe you deserve a little more shaming and embarrassment
A Fish Aficionado
I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
Varroa destructor mite is the leading cause of colony collapse.
Ha. Sums this up nicely.
His post is the kind of bullshit I see people parroting on social media that leads to an endless cycle of ignorance.
This organic is better for environment overall is really not backed up by sound science
Significantly more pesticides too in terms of pound per acre. Do people think there's a dude out there picking bugs off his potatoes with a pair of tweezers?
umop_3pisdn
Member
People have a limited capacity for thinking rationally, because by its very nature thinking rationally is slow, deliberate, and exhausting. It's a large reason why we need to have faith in our public institutions, because then we can offload that cognitive demand on agencies or experts that actually do know better, because even the most free-thinking individual isn't going to personally investigate every belief or position that they encounter. But between societies getting blase about their liberal democracies, the degradation in the quality of journalism, and the internet, etc, we're presented with a sort of wilderness of views that is only going to get more people experiencing failure in their rational capacities. These patterns are widespread so we can't expect the effect to be limited to the US.
Lord_Byron28
Member
Yes by the US government definition you can still use certain pesticides and be considered organic. If you are purchasing from a large chain then it probably isn't any better than non-organic. However, this is not the case for all organic food. Especially if you buy local such as at farmers markets. It is also still not at all related to GMO.
Malnourished bees are susceptible to mites and Colony Collapse Disorder. Those are the two biggest causes for Bees rapid decline in population. Bees can be malnourished from feeding on plants treated with pesticides. Given the widespread use of pesticides everywhere it has started to drastically effect the bee population.
boviscopophobic
Member
Without seeing the wording of the survey questions, it's difficult to know exactly what to think about science being a "matter of opinion", since that is a vague phrase that could conceivably cover any number of reasonable and scientifically literate positions. Ironically this may very well be an example of bad science reporting. We are not given a link to the primary source, and even the Ontario Science Center, which commissioned the survey, only seems to have a press release posted which does not give these crucial details.
https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/Media/Details/457/
https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/Media/Details/457/
Agreed. They told us gravity should be the same everywhere on the globe. It is clear that US should have better gravity than everywhere else.
Permanently A
Junior Member
I truly despise the assholes who came up with "GMO FREE" as a fucking ad campaign.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
Science is a fact until proven wrong though.
So yeah that's an opinion whether it's right or wrong.
So yeah that's an opinion whether it's right or wrong.
Please don't become a statistician.
Gnome Scat
Member
Hahaha and here I thought it was just Americans who were clueless. Welcome to the club!
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
Why is stupidity winning?
It is more than intelligence and education are not winning. Stupidity is the default state of humanity.
A statistician would tell you that this is true most of the time.
Looking at the poll results I do no see canadians as dumb people. They are cautious and quite reasonable about media coverage.
The only problem is the "science as opinion" which in my opinion is a matter of understanding the question.
We can not deny that science is evolving and is refined all the time. What we trusted once can be changed with better understanding and analysis. It does not make science an opinion but it is surely not "facts". As a scientist, I can even say that "facts" are always the best we can understand provided the analysis and observations we have.
Of course, based on those, earth is round, 4 Billions years old and dinosaurs existed. Also climate change.
The only problem is the "science as opinion" which in my opinion is a matter of understanding the question.
We can not deny that science is evolving and is refined all the time. What we trusted once can be changed with better understanding and analysis. It does not make science an opinion but it is surely not "facts". As a scientist, I can even say that "facts" are always the best we can understand provided the analysis and observations we have.
Of course, based on those, earth is round, 4 Billions years old and dinosaurs existed. Also climate change.
Tezzeractor
Member
Jesus. Fuck. What can be done about this? Education I would think, but how?
AnotherDayAnotherDollar
Banned
This made me laugh out loud.
As a statistician, i love this answer lol.
Under uniform distribution, one plus one equals two 12.5% of the time.
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Perfect example of Canada. RIP
timetokill
Banned
I thought Canada's whole identity was being "Not America"
You guys should really follow through on that in this case
You guys should really follow through on that in this case
We found one.
Tezzeractor
Member
It makes me feel a little bit better, but still distressed.
ChimpBottle
Member
I'm cool with that (though I'd like it to be higher). I'm always seeing posts on Facebook about "shocking discoveries about deadly toxins found in flu vaccines". I'd hope for people to be wary about their sources because there is a lot of fake news out there.
But for the most part, yeesh.
Though hopefully this is just old people with landlines as another user suspected. I think the younger generation (though far from perfect) has a more accepting view on science and fact.