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We’re Talking Past Each Other On Things That Really Matter
Scientific discussions are going up against cultural debates, and people can’t tell the difference between the two.
I was having a discussion on social media with a friend the other day, when one of their friends decided to jump in and post their comments. My friend and I are epidemiologists. They hold a master’s degree in public health with a specialization in epidemiology. I have the same degree plus a doctoral degree in public health, also in epidemiology. Between us, we have almost 30 years of public health practice experience. Their friend? He’s a car mechanic.
No, I’m Not Being Elitist
Now, if you think that I’m going to be an elitist and say that the third person in the discussion doesn’t know anything because they’re a car mechanic, you’re wrong. My father is a car mechanic, and he helped me get on the path to loving science and thinking critically about the world around me. He knows a lot about physics and how things work. I inherited his sense of wonder when it comes to complicated machinery, complicated systems. As we’ve learned in this pandemic — though I knew this before — public health is one hell of a complicated system.
