Page 4 - Biased Science

INTRODUCTION

Scientifi c Bias

Science is a central part of the human quest for understanding
and knowledge about the world around us. Life sciences such
as biology and zoology help humans make sense of the living

world and the way various species interact. Through earth sci-
ences such as geology and meteorology, we learn about how
the earth was formed and how it can best be protected. Phys-
ics, chemistry, and other physical sciences teach us about mat-
ter and how it behaves throughout the universe. Scientists of-
ten see their work as seeking truth on a grand scale. Moreover,
they like to view what they do as dispassionate and impervious
to error. “A scientifi c theory,” writes Nobel Prize–winning scien-
tist Steven Weinberg, “is culture-free and permanent.” 1
But in fact, science is not at all permanent. On the con-
trary, scientifi c thinking has changed many times and in many
ways over the years. Until just a few hundred years ago, after
all, scientists believed that the sun revolved around the earth.
Germ theory, which explains how certain diseases are trans-
mitted, is less than two centuries old. So is the theory of evo-
lution. The notion of continental drift—that landmasses have
moved around the globe over the years instead of remaining
in a single fi xed position—was not developed until the middle
of the 1900s. Far from being stable and enduring, science is
ever-changing; we discard and reshape old ideas as we learn
more about what the universe is actually like.
Neither is science culture-free. For years it has largely been
the domain of White men from Europe and North America,

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