Data Worth Defying

According to an alleged survey of public attitudes toward nanotechnology:

"Our data show a much lower percentage of people who agree that nanotechnology is morally acceptable in the U.S. than in Europe," says Scheufele, an expert on public opinion and science and technology.

………

The moral qualms people of faith express about nanotechnology is not a question of ignorance of the technology, says Scheufele, explaining that survey respondents are well-informed about nanotechnology and its potential benefits.

There are times when a survey produces results so nonsensical that the only response is to defy the data and then wait until another researcher does the survey right. The above sounds like a survey showing people believing that 2 + 2 = 3 even though “survey respondents are well-informed about” arithmetic.

But wait, there's more. This is attributed to religion. Never mind that secular Europeans have a record of opposing agricultural biotechnology. Never mind that most Americans approved of embryonic stem-cell research back when it was thought to be necessary. Never mind that the supposed grounds for opposition (that nanotechnology involves “playing God”) only applies if the scientists in question are trying to create an infinite universe …

I'd like to know exactly what questions they asked.

By the way, was this published in The Lancet?