Lawrence Krauss: Why, how public misunderstands the nature of science

What possible connection could current events have to the perspectives of a world-renowned physicist?

More than you’d think.

The initial reaction to shootings were as predictable as they were speculative. Was the real problem terrorism? Mental health? The ready availability of assault weapons?

Every group had an instant answer, offered even before hardly any facts were known.

Dr. Lawrence Krauss is one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals and a public advocate for science. On this week’s Think Tank, he discusses the scientific approach, the nature of scientific proof and what, indeed, a scientific theory is —and how each is widely misunderstood by the general public.

We also explore how misunderstanding of science is negatively impacting both our political discourse and rational public policy.

This misunderstanding has real-life consequences: Science dictates that we should collect data, test hypotheses, search exhaustively for alternative explanations and only then offer an explanatory theory. In most cases, the opposite of how we formulate public policy.

If you never have heard Krauss speak, you have missed something. If you have, you know that this will be no dry academic discourse.