Abstract
Fact or Faux addresses issues of misinformation and science media literacy. Here, we address those who reject the scientific consensus and justify their beliefs by appealing to Galileo. They claim that the majority persecuted him for his scientific beliefs, but his evidence proved right in the end. However, this view is historically incorrect and also misrepresents the social nature of science and the critical role of consensus.
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Douglas Allchin
Douglas Allchin ([email protected]) (ORCID: 0000-0003-4038-5155) taught high school biology in Washington, DC many years ago. Now he is a historian and philosopher of science, author of Teaching the Nature of Science and Sacred Bovines: The Ironies of Misplaced Assumptions in Biology. See more at http://douglasallchin.net.