Scientific literacy is on the decline. It’s time to act.

Recent news stories about poor attainment in mathematics and science across Europe, and in France in particular, make for grim reading. This development is all the more alarming at a time when, as a global society, we are becoming increasingly reliant on engineers and researchers to tackle the immense climate, energy and technology challenges that lie ahead.

Putting issues of education and training to one side, I see this trend as indicative of something even more worrying: a decline in scientific literacy that, in the longer term, poses a threat to our democracies. We must act to reverse this trend as a matter of urgency.

With each new crisis, it becomes clearer that the age of social media is also the age of doubt.[1] On these platforms, every information source is ascribed the same level of credibility, to the extent that expert insights and personal opinions are given equal weight. Under the guise of misplaced equality, some armchair commentators and self-proclaimed thought leaders believe they are entitled to contradict the views of recognised experts based on nothing more than thinly sourced or misguided arguments, emotional appeal or partisan ideology. This idea implies that, in today’s digital society, every argument is worth listening to – and that doubt should be our default attitude.

In my view, this widespread scepticism stems from a misunderstanding of the epistemic virtues of doubt: while doubt is the cornerstone of critical thinking – and, consequently, scientific method – it is neither rational nor reasonable to doubt everything we see, hear and read. We must not be afraid to stand up for incontestable scientific truths. Human activity is driving climate change. The Earth is round. Vaccines are effective at containing infectious outbreaks. These are facts that cannot be disputed: they have been extensively modelled and proven by science, confirmed by rigorous observation and found to be consistent with a growing body of knowledge in other, related fields. There is nothing reasonable about questioning these established truths on the basis of shaky personal accounts – often shared anonymously and devoid of all accountability – or of “facts” found online.

This misplaced scepticism is anything but harmless. Because questioning scientific consensus can have serious consequences and ultimately lead to the loss of human lives. Concerted efforts by tobacco companies to sow seeds of doubt among the public in the 1950s are a case in point.[2] More recently, we have seen pushback against government measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, and against the overwhelming evidence that failing to adequately address climate change could spell disaster. When we question established facts, we tend to be slower to act. And that is how irrational mistrust of science costs lives.

If we are to counter this growing threat, I firmly believe we must once again turn our attentions to education. Schools should be tasked with developing the scientific literacy of all students, not just those destined for careers in engineering and research – and they should be resourced accordingly.

More specifically, I believe that we need to focus on four priorities.

First, as citizens we must ensure we have a basic grasp of the scientific realities and technologies that shape and govern our day-to-day lives. With our increasingly sophisticated knowledge of the world around us, the 17th-century concept of the “worldly man” has become an unattainable ideal: it is no longer realistic to expect us to keep abreast of the latest advances in every discipline. But abandoning any attempt to understand the technologies we use and the environment we live in, and resigning ourselves to the role of passive users and observers, is a dangerous position to take. By mastering key scientific concepts and principles – such as how the greenhouse effect works, what an algorithm is, or how a nuclear power station functions – we can equip ourselves to guard against the worst forms of disinformation.

Second, I believe that mathematics should be restored to its long-held and rightful place at the forefront of developing critical thinking. More than any other scientific field, mathematics plays a key role in teaching students to analyse information, cut through complexity and build disciplined reasoning skills.

Third, as well as encouraging young people to think critically, we must also teach them when and how to trust statements and information that purport to be grounded in science. American philosopher Elizabeth Anderson, for instance, has proposed a relatively straightforward method for assessing the legitimacy of these kinds of claims, using readily available information: Do the individuals making the claim hold recognised qualifications in the field in question? Are they attached to credible institutions? Have they published in peer-reviewed journals? Do they have demonstrable ties with lobbies and interest groups?[3] Simple questions like these are enough to flush out pseudo-experts spreading falsehoods dressed up as science. By equipping every student with these critical faculties, we will be protecting our young people against the scourge of baseless, pernicious scepticism.

As the fourth, final and perhaps most important priority, I believe we must do more to familiarise young people with research methods and the standards against which scientific truths are measured. They should experience first-hand and observe for themselves the degree of rigour involved in designing scientific experiments. They should learn to recognise the critical importance of peer review and the process by which researchers hunt down even the subtlest cognitive biases that could skew their findings. Armed with this understanding, they may come to better appreciate the worth of a conclusion that has passed these stringent tests.

As our society prepares to face immense challenges in the immediate future, equipping everyone with an understanding of fundamental scientific concepts should be our absolute priority. Because our ability to rally behind science will prove crucial in our efforts to shape a better world and build a future we can all trust.

[1] Research has shown that people are increasingly turning to social media for information: it is the leading source among under-35s in France (Kantar Barometer, 2021) and more than half of Americans use social media as a regular source of information (Pew Research Center, 2020).

[2] For further reading on this subject, see: Proctor, R., Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition, University of California Press, 2011.

[3] Anderson, E., “Democracy, Public Policy, and Lay Assessments of Scientific Testimony”, Episteme, 2011.