Have people stopped listening to science? How citizens gauge the authority of expert knowledge
Name of applicant
Lars Thorup Larsen
Title
Associate Professor
Institution
Aarhus University
Amount
DKK 1,028,497
Year
2025
Type of grant
Monograph Fellowships
Summary
The objective is to write a book about how lay people understand expert knowledge and how they decide when to follow or ignore expert advice, for example regarding diet or vaccines. Contrary to the polarized public debate, most people are not squarely pro- or anti-science, but often combine elements of both praising science while still keeping some experts at arm’s length.