Sunday, April 7, 2013

The First Step to Being a Science Detective: Find the Facts


Science writers can only do so much to validate facts. There are some that write the truth and others that write pure fabrications. Laws to regulate the inconsistency need to be mandated.  However, even these laws will not be foolproof. Science can be manipulated just as much as the statistics and facts that come from science. Since science writers are not always trustworthy, science readers must become detectives.

As Mark Twain said, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” A person will believe in whatever they fancy. While their opinion may be wrong, facts can be manipulated to fit and prove/disprove any idea as needed. Often, science writers manipulate their facts in order to prove their opinion. Until laws are passed, science readers must find the facts within the article and research more than one article on the topic in addition to the scientific studies.

The facts in different science articles usually contain different truths. Statistics used must come from scientific studies, but the chosen statistics may only represent one point. In addition, some studies are more valid than others. The best advice for a science reader is to look at where the facts originated and attempt to understand the science behind the article. Even if one does not understand the science, one may begin to see and begin comprehending the truth.

Readers must be cautious of straight opinionated ‘science writing’ since there is not much regulation on science writing and so called ‘science’ is everywhere.  “Every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective,” said John Buchan. Readers want to be detectives and form personal opinions. If science writers were to present true facts, the detectives could continue to find facts from science writing thereby creating another level of fact finding. The human mind is designed to be curious. If readers listened to their minds, they would find the truth and not be misinformed by certain science writers.