How the Public Perceives the Uncertainty of Different Scientific Fields (IMAGE)
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Many policies -- from medicine to terrorism -- depend on how the general public accepts and understands scientific evidence. People view different branches of sciences as having different amounts of uncertainty, which may not reflect the actual uncertainty of the field. CMU researchers took the first step to understanding more of the whole picture by measuring scientific uncertainty broadly -- across many areas of science, not just topics that are typically polarized. This map plots scientific disciplines from least to most certain. 'The map shows that perceptions held by the public may not reflect the reality of scientific study,' said Stephen E. Broomell. 'For example, psychology is perceived as the least precise while forensics is perceived as the most precise. However, forensics is plagued by many of the same uncertainties as psychology that involve predicting human behavior with limited evidence.'
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Carnegie Mellon University
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