“It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.” – Dr. Frank Luntz
The members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences must have read Dr. Luntz’s book. A safer bet would be that they’ve probably read Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s progressive-strategy handbook Nudge. The latter is a must read for all socialists and communists-in-training.
After perusing Do Scientists Understand the Public? one can only conclude that Big Government progressives are strategizing how to gain more power.
Beginning in 2008, the academy began workshops with the scientific community to learn how to communicate, more effectively, with the public.
It sounds like they have good intentions, right? This is a totally incorrect assumption for anyone to make. Don’t forget what the road to hell is paved with.
The scientific focal points of the workshop’s communication strategy are a bit generic:
- The internet
- Nuclear waste
- Genetic information
- Alternative energy.
There’s nothing wrong with articulate discussion, particularly regarding science. However, there were a few disconcerting points in Chris Mooney’s summary:
Regarding geoengineering
“The battle has begun between scientists and activists to win over the broader public—which, at least for the moment, appears almost entirely clueless.”
Flock of Dodos
Scientists think Americans are a “flock of dodos.” So much so, one scientist even named his documentary that.
“Whether or not these scientists recognize it, they are working in what science and technology studies (STS) scholars have dubbed the ‘deficit model.’ They assume that if only their fellow Americans knew more about science and ceased to be in a state of knowledge deficit, a healthier relationship between science and the public would emerge.”
Clouded Judgment
“They (Republicans) strain information through a powerful ideological sieve and end up loudly supporting a viewpoint that is incompatible with modern scientific understanding.”
Recommendations
The proposal from the workshops was to use social scientists, public opinion researchers, and media specialists as experts in messaging.
“If scientists wish to better prepare for potential conflicts with the public—and manage existing ones to achieve better outcomes—it will be essential to involve these ‘experts.’”
The workshops suggested forecasting possible reaction scenarios.
“The obvious suggestion, then, is that scientists and social scientists should team up earlier in the issue cycle and figure out—together—how to envision different scenarios in which a nascent field of science may impact or alarm society.”
If any group has a strong bias and liberal agenda, one could argue that it is the scientific community. The Federal Government has nudged the private industry out of scientific research and development. Read Aaron Steelman’s expose.
Scientists can change the wording, but the message is the same. These workshops are a big government strategy attempting to nudge “We the People” to surrender more freedom.
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