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Scientific American's departing editor and the politicization of science

(reason.com)
473 points Bostonian | 1 comments | 18 Nov 24 22:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.211s | source
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tlogan ◴[19 Nov 24 13:33 UTC] No.42183230[source]▶
The issue isn’t that Scientific American leans “pro-Democrat” and it is political. It always has, and that’s understandable.

The real problem is that the modern Democratic Party increasingly aligns with postmodernism, which is inherently anti-science (Postmodernism challenges the objectivity and universality of scientific knowledge, framing it as a social construct shaped by culture, power, and historical context, rather than an evidence-based pursuit of truth).

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felixgallo ◴[19 Nov 24 13:42 UTC] No.42183318[source]▶
What in the holy hell are you talking about? Are you really saying But it’s the Democrats that reject science and reason?
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tlogan ◴[19 Nov 24 13:54 UTC] No.42183433[source]▶
Yes, a portion of Democratic Party leadership has appeared to move away from science and reason in some cases.

One example that frustrated me as a taxpayer and parent with kids in school: here in California, it was Democratic policymakers who removed Algebra from high school curricula, arguing that it would help address disparities among minority students.

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UncleMeat ◴[19 Nov 24 14:08 UTC] No.42183587[source]▶
This is a pedagogy and social policy decision, not a scientific one. You can disagree with it, but it isn't like we have scientific research that incontrovertibly provides education policy recommendations to address social disparities.

Changing math curricula isn't denying math and reason itself.

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1. NeutralCrane ◴[19 Nov 24 15:58 UTC] No.42184889[source]▶
How about insisting that puberty blockers are an effective treatment for gender dysphoria despite international reviews that fail to show a benefit? [0] And despite virtually every other first world nation no longer recommending the treatment? And refusing to publish NIH funded studies on puberty blockers when they fail to show they effectiveness you thought they would? Does that count as denying science and reason?

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/health/hilary-cass-transg...

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/science/puberty-blockers-...