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It's one thing questioning the intrusion of social science into science subjects but a more fundamental question exists.
Is the science curriculum in schools these days structured towards rote learning or understanding?
Back in my days at school (a long time ago), the emphasis was definitely on understanding. One of the flow on effects to understanding, is the development of critical thinking skills. I doubt rote learning will have the same benefits.
The ability of thinking critically seems to be an ever decreasing commodity as given by the examples in Stuart's post. People are too easily swayed by dubious "science".
I would extend Stuart's post even further by suggesting that science bashing which is now a very popular pasttime on the Internet and in some media circles is another example where critical thinking is replaced by emotive and irrational ideas.
Regards
Steven
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