American scientists and general public have widely differing views about certain scientific issues, as per a recent survey. Among all, climate change and genetically altered food are the two subjects in which prominent differences can be observed. A telephonic survey was carried out by the researchers of Pew Research Center for analyzing the perception of public and scientists. About 3,750 Americans and 2,002 scientists were included in the survey and they were asked numerous questions related to science. The results showed that the opinions of these two groups had a vast gap.
American scientists mostly believe that the climate change is occurring due to human actions. However, less than 50 percent of general public have the same view. Majority of general public thinks that natural rapid alterations in both climate as well as human attitudes are responsible for climate change. Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science expressed his views about this difference. According to Leshner, opinions of scientists are based on scientific evidences whereas general public perceive everything from their surroundings. This leads to differences in the opinion of two communities.
Another difference was found on the subject of genetically modified foods. 88 percent of scientists believe that genetically modified foods are safe to eat whereas only 37 percent of the general public has the same view. Similar research was also carried out in 2009. The only thing which has changed in these years is the way this gap is viewed by the people. They opine that this gap is created by scientific knowledge and facts and figures.
