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In the fourth and final part of The War on Science, Otto shifts his attention to the goal: winning the war. He first makes it clear that he believes the economy and the greater well-being of humanity and the planet are in direct opposition to each other, individualism vs collectivism. His analogy of the farmer’s adding to their herds only benefiting them but depleting the greater resources lends itself to the assumption that selfishness pays the individual but steals from the world.

Although our brains remain the same size since early childhood, they continue to rapidly develop all the way into adolescence and even early adulthood. During this critical period in development, the cells within our brains called neurons continue to refine connections with each other so that important connections are strengthened and irrelevant connections are eliminated. Adolescence is also associated with alterations in the amount of chemicals released by neurons and the amount of receptors the chemicals bind to.

Otto begins chapter 10 by reiterating one of his main points so far — science is not independent of politics. He then gives some background on past efforts to shape public opinion in the U.S., focusing on Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays. Bernays is known as the “father of public relations”; he originally served on the Creel Committee, which sought to sway public opinion in favor of joining WWI. He continued afterward to help companies shape public opinion, advocating a “third party technique” in which the company itself is not the one seen promoting its viewpoint.

Do you feel like you are unsuccessful despite your accomplishments? Do you feel you “got lucky” when receiving an award or getting a promotion? If you answered yes to these questions or others found in this survey, you likely experience imposter phenomenon. Imposter phenomenon, or IP, is not a psychological disorder but it is a very common experience across a broad spectrum of adults. We wanted to learn strategies to overcome IP, so we invited clinical psychologist Dr.

In Chapter 6, Otto continues his examination of the evolution of public thought and scientific ideas through the space age and into the 21st century. During this time, he argues, the public’s skepticism of science was due to its focus on research with primarily military and industrial applications. During the countercultural movement of the 1960s, young people were critical and suspicious of the government, and therefore government-funded science.

Shawn Otto begins the 8th chapter “The Identity Politics War on Science” by introducing the notion that truth as a construct is fundamentally different from scientific claims. Truth may very well be subjective and unique to the perspective of the observer but scientific claims are considered truly objective, meaning that the same conclusion will be reached regardless of who is measuring/observing/determining the claim.

I often wonder what makes my tomatoes wilt. Most of the time it’s because I don’t water them enough (sorry, plants!). But it could also be because they have been infected by a pathogen, causing them to wilt. These pathogens, like the fungus Fusarium and the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, are found in the soil and can infiltrate the vascular system of a plant thereby blocking its ability to take in water. This causes the plant to wilt — and die — in a manner that looks almost exactly the same as my thirsty tomato plants.

Our July 2020 event featured an engaging conversation with Drs. Pamela Ronald, Brittany Anderton and Kevin McLean about digital science communication.

To prepare for the workshop, attendees watched a video produced by each of the speakers:

Is your mother to blame for your constant anxiety? For decades, Sigmund Freud made it popular belief that all mental health problems were products of how your parents raised you. Although this idea fizzled out by the 1980’s, it still influences the way many clinicians treat their patients. However, your mother is not necessarily to blame for your anxiety, especially in a society where socioeconomic challenges can have a huge impact on parenting.

In Chapter 6, Otto continues his examination of the evolution of public thought and scientific ideas through the space age and into the 21st century. During this time, he argues, the public’s skepticism of science was due to its focus on research with primarily military and industrial applications. During the countercultural movement of the 1960s, young people were critical and suspicious of the government, and therefore government-funded science.