The rise of anti-intellectualism and suggestions to combat it

Recent events have made clear that there is a sizable population, in the US and across the globe, who are beginning to openly distrust and undermine science--from denial of clear-cut data to slashing of funding for many key research, engineering, and long-term protection programs. One can point to things like fractured communities, social media driving antisocial behaviors, increasing economic inequality, bad actors and bad-faith argumentation, and general societal discontent and turmoil as plausible causes. However, in this presentation, I would like to explore what I think is a root cause of this "war on science": a fundamental disconnect between scientists and the public about what science actually is. In a word, the public believes scientists to be wizards, a label that any self-respecting scientist disavows with great vigor; and yet, that very denial can open the door for less scrupulous players to sow discontent and cast suspicion on scientists, stripping them of the legitimacy that they once enjoyed. I propose taking a step back and adopting a more compassionate, patient communication posture with everyday individuals, one that avoids telling them what they should think and labeling them ignorant and uneducated, one that leaves room to answer their questions and address their concerns. Perhaps, in the age of overwhelmingly proliferating misinformation, the time of debunking and fact-checking is now in the past; perhaps it is time for science to listen patiently and earn back the trust of the wider population, one ear at a time.