Science occupies a very special position in modern society. The research industry has given us striking successes, innovations and discoveries that continue to change the world for the better. But today, mistrust in medical and scientific institutions is rising, especially among members of marginalized groups. A science-denialism movement battles against a movement that urges people to “believe science” and “respect the experts.”

Polarized responses are understandable in conflict-filled times, but is there a problem with how we’re drawing these lines? Can giving science too much trust be harmful too?

Contrary to the drive to see scientists as “experts,” most scientists are in the habit of questioning what their peers say. Since science is about what nature shows us, not what we think, scientists also need to be ready to question their own findings, assumptions, models, and experimental choices.

But this attitude of humble skepticism does not come easily to most people. Worse, the highly competitive, publish-or-perish culture of today’s science industry makes it even harder to put the necessary self-questioning into action.

“Science is the organized skepticism in the reliability of expert opinion.” -Richard Feynman

As a researcher and as a scientific writer and consultant, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in the ways scientific discoveries are made, reported, and put into practice. I’ve seen disturbing flaws in the ways academic and industry scientists interact with knowledge holders and knowledge users outside of science – and I’ve also seen signs of hope.

In the Humble Science project, I am exploring whether cultivating active humility toward what we know can make science not only more respectful, but more scientific.

Join me as I explore:

• Surprising stories from science’s past and present that show how science can benefit when its practitioners and institutions stay humble
• How the structure of the research industry contributes to a replication crisis – the failure of influential scientific findings to hold up to further testing – that is shaking up science fields
• What a series of recent, controversial FDA drug approvals says about the changes we need
• Why laboratory workers are organizing for better working conditions in academic science departments across the US, and what working conditions have to do with the quality of scientific results
• How the growing demographic and life-experience divide between decision-makers in science and the rest of us impairs the relevance and even the accuracy of scientific results
• How science can benefit from respecting the knowledge of patients, farmers, and other “outsiders” to science who may know more than us about some of the questions science tries to answer
• How scientists can learn from ways of thinking, people, and cultures that have experience in cultivating a humble attitude

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