The Science of Trust
India Legal|December 14, 2020
There are signs that the pandemic could have an unexpected positive side effect—trust in science and those who are working to use it to improve our health, even save lives as the hope for a vaccine gathers pace
Dilip Bobb
The Science of Trust

LAST week, we saw the unusual sight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting three research institutes in India where vaccines to combat Covid-19 are in various stages of manufacture. Unusual because politicians, in general, have not reposed much trust in science, more so in India where faith and religious beliefs tend to undervalue scientific temper. These may be extraordinary times but remarkably, as a recent global survey shows, people in India have the most trust in scientists. It may be a reaction to the devastation caused by the pandemic, but around the world, scientists are starting to be more trusted than business leaders and governments.

The Pew Research Center, an independent body which calls itself a Fact Tank, conducted a global survey across 20 countries. It found that more than half of those surveyed in India had considerable trust in science and scientists to do what was right. That is significantly more than in many Western economies, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Germany. Majorities in most of the 20 countries surveyed viewed medicine and science in a favourable light in view of the global pandemic.

Medical treatments were often seen more favourably than achievements in other areas. Six in every ten Indians say their scientific achievements are above average or the best in the world; slightly fewer say this about their technological achievements. When it comes to university STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), 56 percent say India is at least above average, and 55 percent say this about primary and secondary STEM education.

Similar research by 3M, a multinational producer of healthcare products, also registered a sharp increase in trust of science among citizens of 14 countries they surveyed. They compared two surveys, one before the pandemic, and one after, and found that trust in science has increased to a three-year high.

This story is from the December 14, 2020 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 14, 2020 edition of India Legal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM INDIA LEGALView All
PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
India Legal

PIL, Difficult To Swallow?

In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?

time-read
6 mins  |
February 13, 2023
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
India Legal

Till Infertility Do Us Part...

The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
IS THAT LEGAL?
India Legal

IS THAT LEGAL?

Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis

time-read
3 mins  |
February 13, 2023
The Big Lie
India Legal

The Big Lie

In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Flying into the Sunset
India Legal

Flying into the Sunset

Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Star Crossed
India Legal

Star Crossed

Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Walkouts in the UK
India Legal

Walkouts in the UK

An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
Myanmar's Misery
India Legal

Myanmar's Misery

Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.

time-read
1 min  |
February 13, 2023
AMERICA'S ANGST
India Legal

AMERICA'S ANGST

From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection

time-read
4 mins  |
February 13, 2023
JUSTICE LEAGUE
India Legal

JUSTICE LEAGUE

There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences

time-read
9 mins  |
February 13, 2023