Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Science That Will Save Us

Summary

In Denying to the Grave, Sara Gorman and Jack Gorman explore the psychology of health science denial. Using several examples as case studies, they propose six key principles that may lead people to reject "accepted" health-related wisdom: the charismatic leader; fear of complexity; confirmation bias; fear of corporate and government conspiracies; causality and filling the ignorance gap; and the nature of risk prediction. This fully updated new edition of Denying to the Grave reviews the most recent research on health science denial, offering a new chapter on how the contemporary "assault on science" waged by certain political administrations has eroded public trust in national health and science agencies. Also new to this edition is a chapter investigating the relationship between health crises and misinformation, and what happens to science denial amidst a global public health crisis. Finally, the book proposes a novel approach to counteracting misinformation and improving our ability to understand and accept scientific consensus.

In an era in which trust in science has become more important, and yet more elusive, Denying to the Grave sheds light on why we often choose to ignore scientific evidence, pointing the way toward a new understanding of how science should be conveyed to the public in order to save lives with existing knowledge and technology.