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--- science_says [2025/04/09 20:10] – ultracomfy
+++ science_says [2025/08/30 03:04] (current) – ultracomfy
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+~~Title:Science Says~~
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-<fs xx-large>Science Says</fs> (or variations of 'scientists say') is a popular catchphrase amongst news outlets and "educational" content trying to lend credence to particular claims. I know it particularly in connection to rather dubious, questionable "news stories" or content creators and has a kind of reputation for being wholly wrong more often than not.
+<fs xx-large>Science Says</fs> (or variations of 'scientists say', 'according to science') is a popular catchphrase amongst news outlets and "educational" content trying to lend credence to particular claims. I know it particularly in connection to rather dubious, questionable "news stories" or content creators and has a kind of reputation for being wholly wrong more often than not.
 A perfect example is this YouTube video about the game [[DEFCON_(Game)|DEFCON]]: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6neDk_4XBs|DEFCON scares me and science says it will scare you too]]. A similar repeat offender of this kind of stuff is the ubiquitous pop-science YouTube channel [[Kurzgesagt]].
 ===== The problems with Science Says =====
-==== 1. Science doesn't say shit. ====
+==== 1. Science is a method, not a voice ====
 Science isn't a living person. If anything they mean "scientists say", and even scientists more often than not will not say things. A scientist is a person who tests falsifiable hypotheses in experiments that adhere to the [[scientific method]]. These experiments will lead to observations, and these observations are basically data.
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 In its most fundamental sense, "Science says" is often used fallaciously by taking studies, finding in them data that //points// in some direction, and then going on to claim that study has established "facts" in that direction even though the science has, if anything, only ever //pointed// in that direction. It makes for some good headlines, though.
-==== 3. It wouldn't even necessarily be wrong ====
+==== 3. It's not always wrong, just misleading ====
-"Science says", while perhaps semantically inaccurate, wouldn't even be necessarily deceptive: Science "says" that climate change exists, science "says" that the planet is older than 5000 years. Really it's about presentation: An actual scientific study wouldn't label itself as "hello I am a scientific authority", it wouldn't invoke the //entire// body of "science" as their foundation for an argument, it wouldn't make these vast, emotional claims. This is how "Science says" is mostly found in outlets that more often than not do //not// know what they are talking about. It's clickbait.
+To be fair, saying “science says” isn’t always completely off. Science does overwhelmingly support that climate change is real, that the earth is billions of years old or that vaccines work. But even then, it’s a shorthand that glosses over the actual work - the experiments, peer review, debate, and refinement that make those claims strong. Scientists don’t publish papers titled “hello, I am science and here’s the truth". They build evidence that, over time, becomes very difficult to deny. The phrase “science says” is popular not in labs but in clickbait, political speeches, and advertising, because it carries weight without requiring people to engage with the details.
+Science isn’t about parroting authority. It’s about doing the work, testing, failing, refining, and questioning. So when the best someone can offer is “but science says", it’s usually a signal they don’t actually understand the science well enough to argue from it.
-Remember that science is done by //doing science//, not by wildly claiming that something "is" science and therefore good or correct. The amount of scientific theory that is being peer reviewed and/or ultimately falsified is immense, so don't rely on saying that something is science. If one doesn't know more than "well, it's a scientific fact" or "but it's science" then odds are they shouldn't speak at all, they probably have very little to contribute.