ABSTRACT
A scientist has a willingness to test a belief against the evidence. The scientist gets to the heart of an issue by converting those swirling ideas and heated discussions into a testable statement called ‘the hypothesis’. Science only exists in a concrete sense through its outputs. Science is more than carrying out an experiment well and generating data – this has to be interpreted and converted into a product. Some scientists who have worked for many years in a particular field and perhaps built up a reputation can feel the need to jealously guard it from interlopers. Evidence and science are commonly misused in two ways. First, some choose to ‘cherry pick’ isolated evidence that supports their convictions whilst conveniently ignoring information which does not. Second, some may attempt to avoid taking action by pointing out the lack of complete scientific consensus and thus promote doubts.
