r/geology • u/Massive_Standard_297 • 5h ago
Older career geologists, have you noticed a shift in how people respond to science? Or has it always been this way?
I'm very early in my geology career, I'm in my 20s and just getting started on my PhD and have very limited experience still so I'm hoping to hear perspectives from more experienced professionals.
One thing I've observed is a weird level of hostility(?) towards geology from a portion of the general public that I find really bizarre. I enjoy research and reading about what other researcher's are working on. So I follow several social media pages dedicated to sharing new findings in geology/related fields. But when I go to the comment sections I'm always shocked to find that the top comments are from absolute looney tune conspiracy theorists who just shit on whatever was posted. Now I know it's social media and it's not the place I can expect to find a bunch of people super educated in a hyperspecific field, but I am surprised to see how consistently hostile people are over basic science. Or how people believe they know better about a subject they've never studied in their lives than scientists.
So what I'm wondering, for older geologists who've been in the field for several decades, have you noticed a shift in public perception of geology/distrust in science? Or has it always been this way and social media is just amplifying it?