Whose word should you respect in any debate on science

One Nation Senator, Malcolm Roberts
 - he rejects arguments favouring
climate change.

The motto of the Royal Society, Britain’s and perhaps the world’s oldest scientific society, is “nullius in verba” which it says translates as “take nobody’s word for it”.

This is a rejection of the idea that truth can be sought through authority. It is a call to turn to experimentation and direct engagement with the physical world to discover truth. A noble sentiment indeed.

It’s also one of the key arguments used by deniers of climate science in attempts to refute both that the world is warming and that this warming is a result of human activity (anthropogenic global warming, or AGW).

This is a common approach, exemplified by Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts in his many interviews on the subject.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a lecturer in Critical Thinking at The University of Queensland, Peter Ellerton  - “Whose word should you respect in any debate on science.”