'We cannot equate denialism with scientific rigor,' says Leandro Karnal

Abstract: Leandro Karnal and Marcelo Gleiser highlighted the importance of scientific dissemination to combat denialism at Rio Innovation Week and argued that opinions are not equivalent to scientific rigor, emphasizing the need to occupy communication spaces such as social media.

Leandro Karnal is a historian and Marcelo Gleiser is an astrophysicist. Both are renowned science communicators and have teamed up to write the book "Humanity in Search of Itself," the second volume in the "Secrets of Life" series, which addresses topics such as truth, justice, and growing uncertainty in light of contemporary issues. The two also appeared together on Thursday afternoon, the 14th, at Rio Innovation Week .

Both stated that there is still considerable prejudice against scientists and academics who discuss their research topics with the general public, such as those gathered today at the innovation event. They believe, however, that the fact that many academics only speak to their peers—and not to the general public—has paved the way for the rise of vaccine deniers, flat-Earthers, racists, and homophobes, among many others.

"We live in the age of opinion. Systematic reflection has been replaced by doxa, that is, opinion: the internet has equated the two," Karnal stated. "The 'opinion' on history of someone with over forty years of experience in the classroom and dozens of published books cannot carry the same weight as that of another person. They are not equivalent 'opinions' because they both have Instagram accounts. My aunt told me not to get vaccinated, so Sabin, Pasteur, and the scientific method don't matter? It's impossible."

According to Karnal, many speeches are not comparable even in the name of democracy or freedom of expression.

"We cannot equate denialism with scientific rigor, or Nazis with non-Nazis, as if they were two versions," he said. "We must be tolerant of individual opinions. For example, I hate cilantro; I also have the right to worship certain gods and believe they exist, but I cannot turn this into public policy. I cannot be elected president and ban the sale of cilantro in Brazil."

In line with his colleague, Gleiser said that there is still a lot of resistance to the role of science communicator.

"It's as if a serious scientist couldn't waste time speaking to the public," he said. "I've always thought that was complete nonsense. Plato and Socrates were science communicators. Galileo chose to write in Italian to speak to the lay public, Einstein was a great communicator. Academic knowledge can't be confined within academia. We need to give knowledge a voice."

For Karnal, it is necessary to occupy all spaces.

"Science and critical thinking are less appropriated in spaces like TikTok than reactionaries, who use more dynamic language," he said. "We need to occupy all spaces."