Scientists today seem out of touch with reality. In the past, when a new administration proposed deep cuts to federal research, scientists reflexively girded for battle using a tried-and-true playbook. We circulated petitions, attended protests, fired off angry emails, lauded our accomplishments, and hoped the storm would pass, all while patting ourselves on the back. But these days, the rising tide of anti-science sentiment is not receding. The same public that once rose to support us is not showing up. Americans’ confidence in science has slipped to its lowest point in almost half a century. Only a third of Americans today think highly of universities — a number that has dropped by half in only a decade. The world changed, and scientists stubbornly did not.
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