By a wide margin:
But the English-speaking world is what really stood out. In the UK, the difference between liberals and conservatives was 27 points; Australia was 29 points; Canada was 39; and the US saw the largest difference, with a gap of 42 points between liberals and conservatives. In the States, only 20 percent of conservatives felt that scientists would do the right thing, and only 30 percent felt that scientists made judgements based on facts.
John Timmer, “Conservative unease with science is global, but extreme in the US” at ArsTechnica
Our physics color commentator, Rob Sheldon, offers,
A much more correct title, would say:
Extreme trust difference between conservative and liberals concerning scientists.
Which perfectly encapsulates News’s point—if you politicize science, people stop trusting you. It has nothing to do with “science” and everything to do with “scientists.”
And the fact that the media spin this as a distrust of “Science” tells you that the distrust is well-placed. Why is this so hard to explain?
Fortunately, a single word sums it up today: Surgisphere
See also: At RealClearScience: Replace juries with scientists! So. In a science world where Scientific American broke with a 175-year tradition to endorse a candidate for U.S. President, we are still supposed to believe in some objective gold standard of science? Precisely what those people GAVE UP is any claim to be considered objective. Sorry. Scientists can’t just deke in and out of objectivity whenever it suits them. And they’ll sure miss it when it’s gone.