Conservatives, liberals read different scientific books
Suggesting that science is not immune to political partisanship, new research shows liberals and conservatives share an interest in science but have stark differences in the types of scientific books they read. An analysis of online book sales found people who bought liberal political books also tended to buy books on basic sciences, such as physics and astronomy. In contrast, purchasers of conservative political literature were more likely to buy books on the applied sciences, like criminology and geophysics. The new study appeared April 3 in Nature Human Behaviour. 'When we look at what science books they read and on what topics, liberals and conservatives are noticeably divided,' said co-author Michael Macy , the Goldwin Smith Professor of Arts and Sciences and director of Cornell's Social Dynamics Laboratory. 'They tend to not read the same books, and they don't follow the same topics.' The research was motivated by the possibility that science might provide a much-needed bridge across political divisions, which have become ever deeper over the past 20 years, Macy said. And the study did find left-leaning and right-leaning readers can agree on dinosaurs, for example.
