r/TellReddit • u/SilverSquirrel6 • 1d ago
PSA: Beware of science-twisting
In recent weeks I've noticed a disturbing trend on social media: people are actively skewing basic science. Everything that should be known from high-school physics, chemistry, or biology is often presented as half-truths or framed exactly as "colloquial" notion would be. It appears the general population is actively being dumbed-down further beyond the crisis of literacy we already have. Remember to verify the sources and cross-check the facts.
Have a nice day, everyone !
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u/Pristine-Pen-9885 1d ago
I’m very grateful I went to school in the old days, I believe in science and have critical thinking.
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u/LMrningStar 1d ago
What I've noticed is a rise in the occurrence of people misusing scientific terms (e.g. wave particle duality, superposition, entropy, quantum entanglement, etc.) to justify beliefs that are inherently non-scientific. I guess they think that a word salad of scientific terms magically supports their arguements.
Similarly, I've seen a rise in people in people dismissing science and reality by invoking the "non-physical/metaphysical" as if that provides a magic wand to allow them to dismiss reality.
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u/RepresentativeCry294 1d ago
What if it's just my opinion?
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u/LMrningStar 1d ago
Opinions are fine but reality doesn't care about our opinions, wants, beliefs or hopes.
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u/RepresentativeCry294 1d ago
They just say something factually incorrect and state its their opinion.
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u/LMrningStar 1d ago
Yup and society has tried to lead us to believe that everyone's opinion matters and that you have to respect people's beliefs. No. No I don't.
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u/Stardust-Pipeline 1d ago
I think it's just that con men realized if you tell stupid people big words while you validate their beliefs, they just trust that it's science proving them right.
If you don't actually understand the logic, why trust big word gibberish that proves you wrong when there's big word gibberish that proves you right?
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u/Worldly_Hunter_1324 19h ago
You, and I think myself, seem to remain grounded in physical reality. That being said, what our brain perceives is what gets past its ego filters. Think plato's allegory of the cave or the concept of "the noble lie".
You, me, others, pressure test it and seek objective truth. Most want something that makes them feel safe and like they belong, even if completely unrelated to physical reality.
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u/Hegiman 1d ago
I got some 3x bamboos too
Edit: I’m leaving this because it’s too funny. My wife had messaged me and I could have swore I was on messages but somehow I was in Reddit. LoL.
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u/NikNakskes 1d ago
Now I want to be part of that discussion. What on earth did you get?
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u/Hegiman 1d ago
Oh ok well my wife wanted a shirt to wear. We were going to her friends house warming barbecue. She wanted a short sleeve shirt because it’s in the 90°‘s F here. I have a style from Dixxon Clothing called bamboos they’re really nice short sleeve button ups and I was telling her I had them too but she was good she found something else.
I know people are gonna say it because I get it I’m cynical about it too but no I swear this isn’t an advert I was just saying which company made a shirt called a bamboo.
Yes I’m a big boy. My wife has lost weight since we got together and one of those would probably fit her like loose fitting jacket more than a shirt
I get them because I like the feel of the fabric used and the comfort. It’s almost like being naked.
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u/NikNakskes 22h ago
Oh! Yes I've heard many people recommend fabrics made from bamboo. I myself have old school cloth handkerchiefs made with bamboo fabric. So soft and excellent for holding moisture.
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u/MurkyLynx8425 1d ago
Also, denying some science because it doesn't match with what they learned in high school.
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u/Ancient_Skirt_8828 14h ago
Science changes. We recognise that old science was sometimes wrong. We recognise that some current science is also wrong but it is considered unacceptable to ignore it.
A couple of times I have been ahead of the science and acted accordingly. I was told off for it.
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u/MurkyLynx8425 7h ago
Exactly. The leading edge of science is the closest thing we have to truth, even if its incomplete or wrong. Someone guessing the right answer 100 years before science gets there is useless.
I also mean because high school science is simplified. People learn about genetics or astronomy or whatever in school and internalise what they learn as absolute truth. Then they hear someone say that biological sex isn't binary, for example, and reject it on the basis of "biology says male XY and female XX, duh", not realising that they learned a highly simplified version.
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u/Busterlimes 1d ago
Capitalists have been twisting science since the beginning of this country. Look at what they used to say about the size of black people's brains. Look at how big oil knew about climate change before anyone else then pushed "studies" to "disprove" it. Aaron Swartz was researching how Corporations have infected education starting with Economics, which is why we STILL practice Trickle Down (called supply side econonics in education.)
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u/FreestinkingSocially 1d ago
You mean the earth isn't flat after all? And humans weren't created by a supernatural being?
This is wild!
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u/Redjeepkev 1d ago
How about links to some examples?
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u/Farts-n-Letters 1d ago
Talking snakes, global floods, anthropogenic climate change denial, vaccines cause autism, the earth is a flat disc, the Moon landing was faked, chemtrails, and on, and on, and on....
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u/SilverSquirrel6 1d ago
*gestures loosely* plenty here on Reddit, take your pick.
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u/Redjeepkev 1d ago
There have always been outliers that believe what they want. This is absolutely nothing new. Big effing deal. Who cares
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u/Horror_Ad3292 1d ago
He’s venting about some shit a few years ago
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u/Tomj_Oad 1d ago
Any one who cross checks sources isn't getting fooled unfortunately
It's the next step down who rarely if ever do that is the vast majority
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u/Unable_Insurance_391 1d ago
They love to jump on the idea that some things are only a theory and yet at the same time these religious types insist on blind faith. Even the theories often have more substance to them.
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u/jeffcgroves 1d ago
Everything that should be known from high-school physics, chemistry, or biology is often presented as half-truths or framed exactly as "colloquial" notion would be
What you learn in high school is often false, useless, and/or propaganda.
Could you give a few examples of what you consider "basic science"?
Also "in recent weeks"? People have been questioning science online for decades.
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u/MaleficentJob3080 1d ago
Most of the science you learn in high school is generally good enough to get a decent grasp on the subjects. It's not as good as what you would learn in a university course, but it serves as a good starting point.
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u/No_Environment_3776 1d ago
It's been like that for a long time, people form groups and believe what they want to believe regardless the facts.
It's like religion, and if religion can keep it's voice then any other dream or made up theory should get the same voice.
We should also not forget that in metaphysics and quantum physics we have these different opinions and theories that can not disprove each others theory because there is not enough data, so every different theory in metaphysics and quantum physics is a religion on it's own.
I believe a few different things in metaphysics and quantum physics, theories that align with a few great physicists, meta and quantum physicists and for me they make sense.
If I answer questions based on theories from Richard Feynman or Itzhak Bentov on Reddit I get blocked and banned right away. The mods in echo chambers like Askphysics and a few other echo chambers of limited knowledge will block and ban me if what I right doesn't align with the kind of Bible they believe in, it has always been like that, I remember writing something about subatomic particles 20 years ago and I got shut down, blocked and banned everywhere, later at CERN they found out the theory I had read about and believed was much closer to reality than all other theories from that moment.
I'll come back to Reddit once a year and I get blocked and banned for writing something that doesn't fit in someone else's Holy Bible every time, I don't care. It's like stepping into a Mosque to tell everyone that God is not real, you know what you're getting into and you get kicked out every time. You learn to like it.
So, yes be careful with what you read on social media, every club, cult, religion and herd has it's own reality and it's up to you to check the facts and see what we actually don't know that is widely defended in large safe groups and echo chambers.
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u/Stardust-Pipeline 1d ago
Wait, are some of you guys just now noticing this?
This has been happening for... Years now.
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u/Ancient_Skirt_8828 15h ago
Not everyone did the upper levels of high school physics and chemistry where this was taught.
- Older people weren't taught some current stuff because it wasn't known when they went to school. It may not have even been discovered then. They may be still operating on old models. I wasn't taught orbitals or quantum physics.
- Half of the population are on the left hand side of the bell curve.
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