Lack of such understanding in the general public has led to many situations where the interested Parties, both scientifically ignorant and those who, though not ignorant, decide to use their knowledge to obfuscate and mislead others. Such instances are many, a few of the major ones since the 1950’s are listed in Annexure- III below.

It is only when the general public understands the Fundamentals of Science, the Scientific Methodology for validating a hypothesis and the methods used to present the results or conclusions drawn, and understand Articles and Editorials, Advertisements and Graphs in the mass circulation Press and Media, and have a good general sense of what are called ‘ball park’ estimates, of what is vital and what is not and be risk savvy, can they avoid being confused by such type of mistaken and illogical conclusions.

Researchers have found a strong correlation between a talent at reckoning or estimating, and success in formal mathematics. A flair for estimation seems to foster mathematical aptitude, hence, maths classes should be less about ‘times table’ and more about honing skills at comparing sets of things (whether they be clusters of dots or birds or animals etc).

People need not be Scientists themselves to be able to understand the purpose, methodology and validity of claims arising out of scientific and other studies / research. They need only; to grasp the scale, the measure, the implications, the probabilities / odds, and the ethics, of what is being proposed or claimed. They need only, to know the route to their destination and how to drive, and not need to understand the workings of the car they sit in to get there, to know how to use the computer and not need to understand details of its design and programming.

As Robert Winston writes in ‘Bad Ideas’ – without such literacy, it will be very difficult for the Citizens to take wise decisions and for Political representatives and Policy makers to make good choices. Science is an important part of our civilization and ignorance of the fundamentals of Science is therefore today unacceptable.

Good Citizenship requires that Society should be more closely involved in the important and far reaching decisions about how scientific knowledge is used, and be engaged continuously with the scientists in a debate or discussion on the implications and dangers of the research efforts.

“Science can lift people out of poverty and cure disease. That in turn will reduce civil unrest.” – Stephen Hawking

As Daniel Kahneman demonstrates in his book ‘Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow’ – it helps to understand how one’s biases and emotions affect the decisions one takes, so that better decisions can be the result.

Schools here have the most vital role to play in encouraging young people to see and understand the natural world, its ecological relationships and the wonders of Science. We should promote more practical and experimental work for children and recognize and appreciate and reward inspirational Teachers (not necessarily only financially). We should encourage curiosity and innovation. Of course we should also, continue to seek a balance, and encourage knowledge of Arts and Humanities, not necessarily as a separate water tight compartment, and also, encourage the development of an attitude of empathy and mindfulness towards others. This will allow us to build a better, more capable, caring and harmonious Society.

There is pressure today for even greater emphasis to be placed on the study of Arts and Humanities and further reducing the already low emphasis on Science and Mathematics. This change, it is claimed, will result in a better understanding of ethics and morality and also, inculcate a stronger attitude of questioning the Authorities to ensure a more responsive Government. The inherent erroneous implication in such a stand, that the development of a better understanding of Science and Mathematics is mutually exclusive of an understanding of ethics and morality or of a properly questioning attitude towards our Government, is not explained. Such a stand only evidences the phobia, in many people, against Science and Mathematics inculcated because of lack of understanding, due to a poorly designed curriculum during their education.

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