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Fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ or brain function, long-term study shows
(www.nbcnews.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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people don't understand science at all.
It's not a 'do it once and it's the truth forever' type of thing. It's a perpetual process. You are SUPPOSED TO REPEAT STUDIES. Result replication is the point. You also re-do studies to create new datasets, see if baselines have shifted etc.
The notion science is some system of eternal truths is not science. That's Scientism... where science has been elevated to a extra-empirical authority.
It's also why you do experiments in science class... and you compare results.
anyway, a couple of times I tried to explain this to people, even as a teacher, and they basically told me that means science is stupid and worthless if that is how you are suppose to do it. people generally, do not think science is an empirical process, they think it should be revelatory, like the ten commandments.
Since you brought it up, it's worthwhile that most Abrahamic churches include common folk arguing about the nitty gritty of what scripture means, what are the consequences of those meanings, and how to account for those consequences in their daily life.
Which is kinda exactly how we should treat scientific studies.
Yup, a little skepticism is healthy. But that doesn't mean you should actually assume that everyone is a liar and you should only listen to "alternative" sources.
I assume that everyone trying to assert anything could be wrong, and if I do not know their process or track record, I work from the position that they are wrong.
I do not assume lies, since mostly they are simply wrong without malice. They may have believed someone else's lie, though, especially if there is money to be gained.
People crave certainty. Like are obsessed with it. They will do anything to obtain it including believing all kinds of wildly untrue things. Intuition is usually associated with these hard fictions.
Science starts from the premise that the universe is uncertain. Uncertainty is baked into all scientific measurements. This mindset leads to true knowledge but it is fundamentally not how people are naturally wired to think. It takes repeated practice to stay scientifically minded even if you are trained in the practice and you exercise it regularly. It’s uncomfortable to stay in the uncertain place for long periods of time for most people. Regression to certainty is the norm, science is the exception.
I give people a lot of empathy for the certainty mindset, even if it is wrong it helps people cope with the gaping abyss of uncertainty. It’s not an easy thing to grapple with.
I think its slightly different I'd say its closer to: People crave simplicity.
That can frequently mean certain answers, but even if the answers aren't certain, but simple, they accept it. This is the root of most conspiracy theories. It is much simpler to accept that a global cabal is specifically trying to convince people the Earth is flat rather than accept that we live on the surface of a very large round planet, that "down" doesn't always mean down, and that gravity exists to prevent people on the "bottom" of Earth don't simply fall off into space.
Oh I have met plenty of scientists who are scientific only about their own research field. And complete dumbasses about anything else, like they do biology all day but can't drive for shit because they have zero understanding of the laws of physics, including gravity, and they get hyper defensive if you tease them about this.
It's mind-boggling, but that's just how human beings are. And if you aren't wired like that... it's pretty hard to socialize successfully because social group identity is so often solely generated on shared beliefs many of which are 'hard fictions'.
Yes! That’s my point on it being very difficult to live in uncertainty all the time. You can live with it in a field of study but boy is it hard to live with in everything. You should live with it, but its psychologically challenging.