The Science of Trust

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

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.