It’s not enough to be a scientifically savvy person, because your scientific savviness can be hijacked by your tribal impulses, leading to such things as intelligent people vigorously arguing that climate change is a hoax.

That is the conclusion of Dan Kahan, writing for The Atlantic in “Why Smart People Are Vulnerable to Putting Tribe Before Truth.”

Unless accompanied by another science-reasoning trait, the capacities associated with science literacy can actually impede public recognition of the best available evidence and deepen pernicious forms of cultural polarization.