Why can't flat-bottomed natives and people who deny science argue about solar eclipses?

People may reject climate change and vaccine science, but they can easily believe what scientists say about solar eclipses. (? Igor Zh /Shutterstock) This article was originally contained in the dialogue. This article was published in Voice of Experts: Life Science Columns and Perspectives.

If you have been paying attention, you will know that on August 2 1 day, we will have a special cosmic feast: the American solar eclipse on August 20 17.

Shadow of the Moon will track No.4, starting from Debo Bay, Oregon, and ending in McClellenville, Southern California in 93 minutes, with a total distance of 1000 km, across the continental United States, from east coast to west coast. . Therefore, tens of millions of Americans will enjoy this rare natural wonder: total solar eclipse.

Unfortunately, Canada will not experience a total solar eclipse, but the scenery will still be impressive: 86% in Vancouver, 70% in Toronto and 58% in Montreal. Canadians who want to experience wholeness in a comfortable home need to wait until April 8, 2024 (Hamilton, Montreal and Fredricton), August 23, 2044 (Edmonton and Calgary) or May 1 day, 2079 (St. John and moncton).

Meanwhile, back here at 20 17, everyone concentrated on August 2 1. Under the path of solar eclipse, schools were closed and traffic became a nightmare. Days Hotel rooms will be sold at the price of 1 USD, 600 times per night.

Absolute confidence in solar eclipse prediction Among all these excitement and fanaticism, the most striking thing is the lack of "solar eclipse deniers". No one doubts or questions the detailed scientific prediction of what will happen.

I will watch the solar eclipse in Simpson County, Kentucky. Where I expect, thousands of people will join me. All of us know in advance that our whole project will start at 1:26:44 pm and end in 14 1 sec. None of us can imagine that these predictions were wrong for a second.

No one will argue in advance that the solar eclipse is inconclusive. Scientists tampered with the data. The eclipse was faked by NASA, and exposing children to the eclipse can lead to autism. Eating for days is a scam of China people. Throughout Europe, there will be climate deniers, creationists, anti-vampires and flat indigenous people looking up through their eclipse glasses, and everyone will be immersed in this wonderful moment with others.

[Editor's note: Neil de Graces Tai Sen, an astrophysicist and popular science communicator, also responded to the core point of this article when editing. ]

This is a mystery: why do people accept the absurd and concrete prediction of every solar eclipse for the sake of science, but there is no doubt? "One possible reason why we selectively deny science is that we were right every time before. But for most people, the total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Most people have not experienced such a prediction personally, and they must believe that what happened before will happen to others again.

Another explanation may be that, unlike climate change or vaccination, the science behind the eclipse is simple and uncontroversial. Although astronomers have been making quite accurate solar eclipse predictions for thousands of years, the required calculations are very complicated, far exceeding the mathematics involved in high school and even many university courses. Most people will find it difficult to reproduce or confirm these solar eclipse predictions. The more likely answer is that the eclipse is not a threat. There is no danger. A solar eclipse will not endanger our way of life or standard of living. No one is worried that the solar eclipse may have an economic impact, which may challenge our belief system or threaten our children. No anti-Japanese food lobby tries to set a story, so there is no well-funded artistic activity or scientific research conducted by adve to ask questions in our minds or skillfully shape our thinking.

Scientific Law: An eclipse has no agenda. Science and the extraordinary experience it produces depend on us.

The problem is that we can't choose which scientific facts or knowledge are controversial and which are not. The same strict scientific laws can be seen everywhere.

Therefore, if you are willing to pay a non-refundable deposit for your eclipse hotel, if you let a 30,000-foot-high steel pipe take you to a small town under the path of the total solar eclipse, if you check the weather forecast on the morning of August 2 1 and hope the sky will be clear, if you pay for breakfast with a credit card, if you take a photo of the eclipse with your smartphone that afternoon, then you can put your bank balance, August holiday and your life.

The total solar eclipse is a strange cosmic coincidence and an awesome extraordinary experience. But they also profoundly remind us that when emotions, money and politics are deprived, no one in our hearts is a denier of science.

Bryan Gaensler, Director, Dunlap Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto

This article was originally published in Dialogue. Read the original. Pay attention to the voice problems and debates of all experts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and become part of the discussion. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. This version of this article was first published in Life Science.