Avoid Influencers That Say This...

People (social media influencers) often use the term "science" and phrases like "well, the science says..." to justify certain beliefs in the face of disagreement or criticism, and to create a sense of false credibility that unknowing social media goers can't see through. The use of "science" in these ways implies a misunderstanding of what science actually is and is a gross misrepresentation of what we use science to accomplish.

There is no such thing as "science-based" opinion, or "science-based programs", or "science-based exercises". Science is a process more than anything else. The dictionary definition of science is: the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.

In other words, science is the process of making observations in order to tentatively create conclusions about what we think we know. Science does not provide answers - only better questions.

If you talk to any real scientist (or if you read any legitimate scientific journal), you will never see them say or write things that imply any certainty. Researchers often say things like "it is likely that", or "it's possible that because of X, Y happened, but we remain skeptical of Z".

This kind of phrasing may seem overly pretentious or pedantic, but it accurately represents what the purpose of science actually is and respects the fact that we will never know everything about anything.

You do not have to be a scientist to be scientific. The truly scientific individual is one that values what he does not know more than what he does; one that knows that there is always more to understand, and that, with more understanding actually comes more questioning, and not less.

The era of social media has allowed the most unscientifically minded individuals to have a voice about topics that they think they know everything about. As the Dunning-Kruger Effect would have it, the more that you think you know, the less that you likely do. This is toxic for everyone that is interested in a particular topic, including the individual making them claim themselves.

While I cherish the existence of social media because it has allowed me to share my interests and connect with all of you, I acknowledge that these massive platforms have clear downsides that degrade and disrespect science and the scientific process.

I am not without my flaws, and I still have much to work on in this regard. Tom from a few years ago was certain that he knew everything, and Tom now knows that he knows nothing (or, at most, very little).

To quote Alan Watts: "The greater the scientist, the more he is impressed with his ignorance of reality, and the more he realises that his laws and labels, descriptions and definitions, are the products of his own thought. They help him to use the world for purposes of his own devising rather than understand and explain it."