2011 Yale experiment on climate change perceptions concluded that becoming more scientifically literate actually made study subjects less willing to entertain the opposing side. Why? Additional information just made them better at defending their credo. “Cultural polarization actually gets bigger, not smaller, as science literacy and numeracy increase,” concluded the researchers. “As ordinary members of the public learn more about science… they become more skillful in seeking out and making sense of—or if necessary explaining away—empirical evidence relating to their groups’ positions.”
