From “Trust science!” to “trust-science”
There is an evangelistic strain in humanity that propels both progress and chaos. The word “should” can precede a gift of precious wisdom or a put-down. We have all been on both sides of advice giving and know how getting advice can breed reactions spanning gratitude to resentment. Giving advice can arise from selfish and altruistic motives- often both. The promise of the public health profession has been discovering scientific facts that allow communities to work together to create the conditions for health. The public health cycle assesses population health, develops policy , assures solutions , and then repeats. Some areas in public health make progress within insulated circles of scientists and technocrats. For example, the basic scientists in public health work out biological mechanisms of what causes diseases and exchange their ideas with their professional enclave. However, the closer one gets to applying discoveries—changin...