Quiz questions

Fact or value

Relevant topic(s): 1.1 Introduction and When Is Science Relevant

In an international forum on climate change, the following statements are made by various parties across the globe. Identify if each of these statements is a claim of fact or a claim of value.

Leader of a major first world country: “The current change in global climate is not caused by humans.” (Fact/Value)
1. A climate activist: “A world whose economy is built around environmental consciousness rather than corporate greed is a world that’s worth living in.” (Fact/Value)
An economist: “By my conservative estimate, the clean energy sector will create 1 million jobs within the next two years.” (Fact/Value)
An industry lobbyist: “More than half the population would prioritise maintaining job security over reducing the risks of climate change.” (Fact/Value)

Genetic engineering conference

Relevant topic(s): 1.2 Shared Reality

At a conference on genetic engineering, two panelists, Dr. Hallstein and Dr. Yamazawa, are having a heated debate over the effectiveness of gene editing of mosquitos in reducing the spread of malaria. Dr. Hallstein thinks the approach can drastically reduce disease spread, whereas Dr. Yamazawa argues that it has negligible effect. How can the attendees of the conference decide who is correct in reality? Choose one.

They cannot. Both panelists are correct to themselves, and they should agree to disagree.
The attendees should take a vote. The claim receiving more than 50% of the votes is the correct one.
They should defer to the most reputable senior scientist at the conference.
They cannot yet, but they can continue to gather more evidence to see which opinion is more likely to be correct.