Contrarian - Contrarianism in Science

Contrarianism in Science

In science, the term "contrarian" is often applied to those who reject a general scientific consensus on some particular issue, as well as to scientists who pursue research strategies which are rejected by most researchers in the field. Contrarians are particularly prominent in cases where scientific evidence bears on political, social or cultural controversies such as disputes over policy responses to climate change, or creationism versus evolution.

Writers on scientific topics commonly described as "contrarian" include David Berlinski, a critic of mainstream views on evolution, and Richard Lindzen, a critic of the scientific consensus on climate change. Bjorn Lomborg, who claims to accept the scientific consensus on climate change, but argues against action to mitigate it, has been called "the poster boy of the contrarian trend".

Scientific contrarianism is frequently referred to, favorably, as skepticism and, pejoratively as denialism. An example of the latter usage is climate change denialism.