- Thinkstock
- Mad scientists? More like sad scientists.
New research has identified another group of American professionals who feel underappreciated. A study released Thursday by the Pew Research Center indicates that the public respects this profession, but not to the degree its members believe they deserve to be respected, and that the public has more doubts about some of the methods they employ than the experts employing them do. Even though most Americans still believe these people are doing a superior job, they’re not as certain of that as they used to be. There are signs the people doing these jobs are getting a little discouraged.
88 percent of AAAS scientists think it’s safe to eat genetically modified foods. Just 37 percent of the public agree.
And only 54 percent of Americans believe American science is best in the world or even above average. Six years ago that number was 65 percent. Not by coincidence, surely, the number of scientists who consider today a “good time for science” has dropped to 52 percent, from 76 percent in 2009.
