Scientific Method: Politics Wreck Your Ability to do Math
Psychology researchers from prominent universities have been studying the effects of political ideology on the ability to do math. In the political article, by Dan M. Kahan, “Science Confirms: Politics Wrecks Your Ability to Do Math”, Kahan shows left-leaning and the right-leaning were equally guilty of using their ideology without using math. This research paper exhibits much of what was learned in chapter two, “Discover Sociological Research,” almost all of the key words can be used when discussing this article. This study used the scientific study correctly and shows that we, Americans, need to be taught to be able to look at statistical evidence (Figure 1)
with objectivity.
The top two tables of figure 1 was the control group, the questioned that researchers asked is as follows, “Does the medicine help the rash get better or worsen?” More than half, 59 percent, of people chose the incorrect answer in the control group. At a glance it looks like the skin cream did help, it is when you look at the percentages that you see this is not true, patients who did use the new skin cream improved at about a three to one ratio while patients without the treatment improved at about a five to one ratio. Chris Mooney stated:
But now take the same basic study design and data, and simply
label it differently. Rather than reading about a skin cream study,
half of Kahan’s research subjects were asked to determine the
effectiveness of laws, “banning private citizens from carrying
concealed handguns in public.” Accordingly, these respondents
were presented not with data about rashes and whether they got
better or worse, but rather with data about cities that had or hadn’t
passed concealed carry bans, and whether crime in these cities had
or had not decreased.
When the statistics showed a decrease in crime with the help of gun control, Democrats were able to do the problem almost perfectly,…