BY ERICA GUSTAFSON, OPINION EDITOR
I can’t even count how many times I have seen articles, news stories, reports or heard people use science as an authority figure. It usually is phrased similar to, “the science shows that it is impossible for this type of phenomenon to occur.” People generally use it in conversations to prove their point or win an argument with someone who has an opposing viewpoint. This tends to get on my nerves.
It bothers me because it is simply not true. Science does not have the power to do this completely on its own. I am not the only one who feels this way.
In my sophomore year here at St. Bonaventure University, I decided to take on a psychology minor as part of my undergraduate education. Within the minor, I have taken two psychology courses based on statistics and research methods by the same professor. I have had the chance to listen to the professor speak about this topic on a number of occasions, and he was very clear in his views.
In summary, science is not an authority figure. I can never truly be one on its own. When talking about specific research, methods or hypotheses, people tend to speak of science as proving these on its own. It is as if they completely forgot about who developed and implemented the research itself, and science just revealed itself to us. No matter how much we wish for this, the world does not work that way. If you want to understand science, you need to observe, research and study the science yourself. Science is not a person or institution that provides findings to the scientific community, but it is a means of understanding for scientists.
This is a huge pet peeve for me, not only because I am taking various science courses, but I am pursuing a career in the communications field. Though communications has taught me hundreds of important aspects, one has stuck with me all throughout my four years. Proper crediting of a source in all different types of journalism is correct and ethical writing. This applies when speaking about science, research and data as well. It is extremely important to properly reference specific sources when speaking or writing about facts in the science field.
With this being so important, crediting science with quotes or facts is inaccurate and misguided.
Most of this may sound like I’m rambling on about the same things, but this is important.
We always talk about fake news and knowing the correct statistics, especially with scientific information. This means that referring to correct sources of information is vital to our understanding and good communication about these topics. It is a better way for us to track false information from the source. In simple terms, it is people owning up to what they are saying and giving proper credit to those who are doing the work.
It may be easier to just say science, but we need to try and move away from this habit. Science does not prove anything on its own, but people use it to make fascinating discoveries.
