The American Academy of Sciences wrote this paragraph in 1989:
"Scientific habits of mind can help people in every walk of life to deal
sensibly with problems that often involve evidence, quantitative
considerations, logical arguments, and uncertainty; without the ability
to think critically and independently, citizens are easy prey to
dogmatists, flimflam artists, and purveyors of simple solutions to
complex problems."
http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/intro.htm
I suppose, in 1989, we were allowed to worry that citizens could fall
prey to "dogmatists, flimflam artists, and purveyors of simple solutions
to complex problems.", but it seems to me, that time has passed.
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