Why Should People Hate Science?

Science has conquered so many diseases and is promising to cure genetic diseases and even grow us new organs. It has given us mobile phones, tablets and computers that have reduced the global village to a global mall; and yet, there are people who still refuse to accept the power of science as the major agent of change in our society.

Some people find it easier to believe that special people can cure serious diseases by simply placing their hands on the diseased, while others cannot accept the fact that human beings evolved from lower animals by a process of Natural Selection over billions of years.

Locally, it is a no-brainer that the lack of science teaching at a primary level has had a negative lasting effect on people, and this can be seen in newspaper, radio and TV station editors, opinionists, politicians and talk-show hosts, all of which wield the power of mass media and can influence public opinion and what people think. Unfortunately, many of them are educating the masses in the concept of GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out.

GIGO is an interesting concept that refers to the fact that people are continously bombarded by pseudo-scientific and mistaken ideas, and eventually start believing their veracity and transmit them to others. These people are not necessarily uneducated individuals, but usually pick the information online and reinforce false opinions by choosing websites that agree with their views.

For example, they follow a TV programme where some beautician with a dubious diploma is expounding upon the healing virtues of homeopathy and explaining how “like cures like” and some mumbo-jumbo about the bodies mysterious healing energies, and presto, the audience start searching online and find sites full of anecdotes on how homoeopathy is a gentle form of alternative medicine that heals without any side-effects.