I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Science is messy and knowing its limitations is just as important as knowing its conclusion.
Scientific opinion can and should be able to change pretty rapidly, the educational system can’t.
Besides, a cardiologist is highly unlikely to be able to reliably tell whether a neurological study’s conclusions are sound, or not. Let alone someone, who isn’t even a doctor.
To top it all up, the monetary incentives in academia are about as corrupt, as it gets. It wasn’t so long ago, when studies about how smoking tobacco isn’t actually harmful, or addictive, got published in mainstream journals (funded by the tobacco industry, of course).
The result is being taught science that was disproven 20 years ago. I think primary education should focus just as much on critical thinking as it does on learning facts at the very minimum.
I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Science is messy and knowing its limitations is just as important as knowing its conclusion.
Scientific opinion can and should be able to change pretty rapidly, the educational system can’t.
Besides, a cardiologist is highly unlikely to be able to reliably tell whether a neurological study’s conclusions are sound, or not. Let alone someone, who isn’t even a doctor.
To top it all up, the monetary incentives in academia are about as corrupt, as it gets. It wasn’t so long ago, when studies about how smoking tobacco isn’t actually harmful, or addictive, got published in mainstream journals (funded by the tobacco industry, of course).
The result is being taught science that was disproven 20 years ago. I think primary education should focus just as much on critical thinking as it does on learning facts at the very minimum.
I don’t mean cutting edge science. But a basic understanding of physics, mathematics, biology and chemistry.
You can’t understand global warming without physics and mathematics.
You can’t understand a pandemic without biology and mathematics.
And so on