Polytechnique insights A REVIEW BY INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE DE PARIS
Polytechnique insights A REVIEW BY INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE DE PARIS
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π Society π Science and technology

What does it mean to “trust science”?

7 episodes
  • 1
    Truth: why science doesn’t care about your opinion
  • 2
    How to make the future more rational
  • 3
    The curious case of the reproducibility crisis
  • 4
    “The cacophony of ‘science experts’ has done a lot of harm”
  • 5
    How to filter good doubt from bad
  • 6
    Opinion poll: the French have an excellent image of science, but lack knowledge 
  • 7
    Poll: 65% of the French think we need to slow down innovation in the face of climate change
sienceEtDefiance_ScienceDoesntCareOpinion
Épisode 1/7

Truth: why science doesn’t care about your opinion
Yves Laszlo, Professor of Mathematics at Université Paris-Saclay
On June 23rd, 2021
5 min reading time
Yves Lazlo
Yves Laszlo
Professor of Mathematics at Université Paris-Saclay

Key takeaways

  • The recent rise in mistrust of science questions scientific facts and risks hindering its progress.
  • It is characterised by a tendency to favour individual opinions, which are by definition subjective, rather than to the facts, which are objective.
  • However, the universality of facts, and consequently the reproducibility of experimental results, should help to reduce scepticism about science as an enterprise that aims to reach the truth.
  • Contrary to mistrust, doubt within the scientific community is beneficial to science because it allows us to refine knowledge by challenging that which we consider to be ‘true’.
sienceEtDefiance_asRationalAsWeThink
Épisode 2/7

How to make the future more rational
El Mahdi El Mhamdi, Assistant professor at École Polytechnique and Research scientist at Google
On June 23rd, 2021
5 min reading time
El Mahdi El Mhamdi
El Mahdi El Mhamdi
Assistant professor at École Polytechnique and Research scientist at Google

Key takeaways

  • There are two types of logical reasoning: deduction and induction. Deduction used to infer knowledge based on a known ‘rule’, but to first define the ‘rule’ requires the use of inductive reasoning – which is less well understood.
  • In the past, deduction has played an essential role for society, for example in the formation of democracy, which relies on the ability of citizens to make informed and considered decisions.
  • Today, however, the power of automated deduction in our daily lives poses a threat to this capacity, for example through the spread of 'fake news'.
  • With the recent development of automated induction, we must try to preserve our rational autonomy through the education of future generations about the use of logic and the scientific method in general.
sienceEtDefiance_replicationCrisis
Épisode 3/7

The curious case of the reproducibility crisis
Valentin Weber, PhD student in cognitive science at ENS-PSL
On June 23rd, 2021
4 min reading time
Valentin Weber
Valentin Weber
PhD student in cognitive science at ENS-PSL

Key takeaways

  • Social sciences, but also biomedical research and other scientific disciplines are currently experiencing a “reproducibility crisis”.
  • One third of the results of social science studies cannot be replicated and are therefore potentially erroneous – reproducibility being an essential determinant of the scientific nature of the work.
  • This crisis is due, in particular, to the need to provide innovative and significant results in order to be published in prestigious scientific journals.
  • One solution could thus be “registered reports”, which guarantee the publication of the study solely on the basis of its initial hypotheses, even before its final results are known.
sienceEtDefiance_articlesDediesDefiance
Épisode 4/7

“The cacophony of ‘science experts’ has done a lot of harm”
Clément Boulle, Executive director of Polytechnique Insights
On June 23rd, 2021
4 min reading time
mathias girel
Mathias Girel
Philosopher, Lecturer at ENS-PSL and Director of CAPHES

Key takeaways

  • Contrary to what one might think, scientists don’t necessarily fit into the elitist image that we may have of them and therefore is not responsible for the mistrust.
  • Rather suspicion around science is in more likely fuelled by other perceptions of science, reinforced by the health crisis.
  • Scientists' role in the implementation of measures to combat the coronavirus has exacerbated the criticism directed at it as an institution, by consolidating science with a political function.
  • There is also confusion in the media created by “science experts” giving their opinion on issues that do not necessarily fall within their field of expertise, which undermines the credibility of the scientific community and its image.
sienceEtDefiance_TriBonMuavais doute
Épisode 5/7

How to filter good doubt from bad
Agnès Vernet, Science journalist
On June 23rd, 2021
4 min reading time
Jean-Gabriel Ganascia
Jean-Gabriel Ganascia
Professor of computer science at Sorbonne University and Philosopher

Key takeaways

  • Doubt is an essential element of science, and in the scientific community, the absence of consensus is the norm.
  • But in the face of this inherent mistrust in scientists, society is currently crossed by another form of doubt: a general skepticism questioning the results of science.
  • Nevertheless, doubt must be part of the scientific process. For Jean-Gabriel Ganascia, it is therefore essential to give science, and particularly the scientific method, a central place in education.
Confiance science
Épisode 6/7

Opinion poll: the French have an excellent image of science, but lack knowledge 
Jérôme Fourquet , Director of Opinion Department at Ifop
On November 23rd, 2022
4 min reading time
JF
Jérôme Fourquet
Director of Opinion Department at Ifop

Key takeaways

  • Only 21% of French people claim to have a satisfactory level of scientific culture, compared with 37% who consider that they are lacking.
  • 92% of French people have a good image of science, including 22% who have a very good image.
  • 72% believe that science makes humanity better, a score that has increased significantly since the 1970s and 1980s.
  • 8 out of 10 French people consider scientists to be trustworthy, but only 12% completely agree with this statement.
Science debat
Épisode 7/7

Poll: 65% of the French think we need to slow down innovation in the face of climate change
Jérôme Fourquet , Director of Opinion Department at Ifop
On November 30th, 2022
6 min reading time
JF
Jérôme Fourquet
Director of Opinion Department at Ifop

Key takeaways

  • A majority of French people (56%) consider that science does not have enough of a place in public debate.
  • However, 73% of French people feel that science is used as a tool in public debate, including 14% who are completely convinced of this.
  • 15% have the impression that science does more harm than good for humanity: this proportion has increased significantly since the 1980s.
  • 6 out of 10 French people say that technical progress is mainly used to increase the power of those who govern.
  • 2/3 of French people think that innovation should be slowed down in the face of global warming.

Contributors

Yves Lazlo

Yves Laszlo

Professor of Mathematics at Université Paris-Saclay

With a PhD in mathematics from the University of Paris-Sud, Yves Laszlo is a world-renowned specialist in algebraic geometry. After a career at the CNRS and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), he became an associate professor at École polytechnique in 2004, in the Laurent-Schwartz Mathematics Centre (CMLS), which he headed from 2006 to 2010. He then became a professor at the University of Paris-Sud, before going on to launch and head the Jacques-Hadamard Mathematics Foundation and its LabEx LMH, which brings together mathematicians from the Plateau de Saclay. From 2012 and 2019, he was deputy director for Sciences at École normale supérieure de Paris.

Other contributions

Truth: why science doesn’t care about your opinion
El Mahdi El Mhamdi

El Mahdi El Mhamdi

Assistant professor at École Polytechnique and Research scientist at Google

El Mahdi El Mhamdi’s research is motivated by the understanding of robust information processing in nature, machines and society, with a focal line of research on the mathematics of collective information processing and distributed learning. He is the co-author of the upcoming book “The Fabulous Endeavor: Robustly Beneficial Information” on the scientific and social challenges of large-scale information processing, already available in French under “Le Fabuleux Chantier” (EDP Sciences, November 2019)

Other contributions

How to make the future more rational
Valentin Weber

Valentin Weber

PhD student in cognitive science at ENS-PSL

Valentin Weber holds a degree in psychology and is currently preparing his PhD in cognitive sciences at ENS-PSL. His research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology and his current work focuses on iconic memory and other issues in the philosophy of cognitive science. Previously, he has studied psychological methods and has worked on psychometric models.

Other contributions

The curious case of the reproducibility crisis
Clément Boulle

Clément Boulle

Executive director of Polytechnique Insights

Clément Boulle is a journalist and entrepreneur. A graduate of École supérieure de journalisme (ESJ) in Lille, he holds an executive MBA from INSEAD. Before joining Polytechnique Insights, he spent six years developing digital marketing company Local Media, an online advertising agency for local advertisers, which he then sold. Early on in his career, he was a journalist and editor-in-chief in the La Dépêche du Midi media group. He also worked for the French Red Cross as a consultant, helping design and develop a social innovation incubator.

Other contributions

Semiconductors at the heart of the China-US rivalry
Maths: an essential subject whose level is falling in a majority of countries
“The cacophony of ‘science experts’ has done a lot of harm”
“Carbon diplomacy is an issue of power and sovereignty”
Adapting champagne production practices to preserve quality
Voir toutes ses contributions
Agnès Vernet

Agnès Vernet

Science journalist

After her initial studies in molecular biology, Agnès Vernet trained as a science journalist at ESJ-Lille. For the past 14 years, she has been writing for various media, scientific magazines, professional titles and general press, in France and Switzerland. Since 1st February 2021, she is the elected President of the French association of science journalists (AJSPI).

Other contributions

One Health: efforts to find new antibiotics go beyond science
Key data: the antimicrobial resistance crisis 
The post-antibiotic era: a health disaster is predicted
Digital avatars of patients lungs
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's: “tommorrow, AI will detect disease”
Voir toutes ses contributions
JF

Jérôme Fourquet

Director of Opinion Department at Ifop

Jérôme Fourquet is the director of Ifop's Opinion Department and author of "L'archipel français" (Prix du livre politique 2019) and "La France sous nos yeux", co-written with Jean-Laurent Cassely.

Other contributions

Poll: 65% of the French think we need to slow down innovation in the face of climate change
Opinion poll: the French have an excellent image of science, but lack knowledge 

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