[chuck_the_tv_out]

“why do people believe scientifically untrue things?”

Because they are lied to.

Case in point, global warming. Politically-motivated, “hide the decline”, pseudoscience.

There is an element of believing because they want to believe, because it makes them “part of the group”, this is true.

But it all starts with a lie.

Likewise with evolution. The lie in that case being “unproven theory with many counter-indicators is settled science”.

[Norm Lenhart]

““why do people believe scientifically untrue things?”

Because Global Warming makes for a really good hammer.

[heye2monn]

Only six or eight percent of scientists believed that God did not guide the process of evolution? How do those geniuses know that God does not exist? God is bigger and smarter than Ronald Bailey and a host of Phds.

Also, conservative-promoted abstinence education does not work, therefore Democrats are smarter? Once again, Ronald Bailey is an idiot. Sure if you throw kids into the cesspool of sex that we call public high schools, they will wind up having sex even if a teacher tells them no. But telling them to use condoms causes lots of problems, too. I cannot believe the “science” and “studies” on this. There are too many uncontrollable variables at work — bad parenting, filthy rap music and everything else.

The one thing that does work for sure — and Bailey the libertarian will never, ever admit this — kids who go to good Christian schools with both parents and teachers as dedicated Christians — do far better than public school kids. Even if they don’t toe the politically correct line on evolution.

[GeronL]

like “transexual” being a fantasy

[muir_redwoods]

In science, there is no such thing as a proven theory. Einstein’s theory of relativity corrected Newton’s Laws of Motion. School still teach circuit theory.

[Texas Songwriter]

Look at the presuppositions (not science) in the question. The presupposition is that what they say is science is and any other is untrue. The presupposition is that only in science can one find truth. The inference is that any other than the cult of science is not to be believed. Science, after all, is the new keeper of the culture.

Science is the the laborious effort to discover an order imposed upon this universe. Truth is absolute, unchanging regardless of location, exclusive, and narrow.

Science is not without its own faith. Science presupposes philosophy and is a slave to it. Science declares it as the arbiter of reason but cannot account for science. The materialist declares a world of matter, energy,time, and space. There is, in their mind, no other. Yet logic, rational thought, and reason must not exist in the materialist world. Neither consciousness, mind, vice, or virtue can exist. Scientific method itself, cannot be accounted for by the scientific materialist because there is no scientific method to prove scientific method. So, objective truth claims cannot be verified as scientific truths. So when scientific materialists claim the truth they must do so without reason or logic to be consistent-because reason itself is impossible in a world goverened by chemical and physical forces.

[exDemMom]

Likewise with evolution. The lie in that case being “unproven theory with many counter-indicators is settled science”.

In the case of science, "theory" refers to a framework that ties together the known facts and allows for the formulation of testable hypotheses that uncover new facts. It is not, as in ordinary lay language, a wild supposition. The theory of evolution is, like the theory of electromagnetism, the theory of gravity, etc., supported by a boatload of experimental evidence. It affects our lives.