It is true that humans don't like grey areas. Policy-makers like grey areas even less. As an epidemiologist working on HIV for Asian governments, I can't count the number of times I've had some minister say "I don't want a range, just give me a number". Which is why scientists (and we are after all humans too, though I know some who doubt it) are often forced to over-simplify the results of our research.
Having said that, there is some pretty bad science out there, even by good scientists. Witness, for example, the torturing of the statistics that has been uncovered by the new meta-analysis of anti-depressants. The conflict between science and religious faith has much to answer for, but the conflict between science and money does it bit to screw things up, too.
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It is true that humans don't like grey areas. Policy-makers like grey areas even less. As an epidemiologist working on HIV for Asian governments, I can't count the number of times I've had some minister say "I don't want a range, just give me a number". Which is why scientists (and we are after all humans too, though I know some who doubt it) are often forced to over-simplify the results of our research.
Having said that, there is some pretty bad science out there, even by good scientists. Witness, for example, the torturing of the statistics that has been uncovered by the new meta-analysis of anti-depressants. The conflict between science and religious faith has much to answer for, but the conflict between science and money does it bit to screw things up, too.