Two Stanford historians of science have developed a new field of study: agnotology. Don’t know what that is? You’re right, in an ironic sort of way. It is the study of ignorance. There’s even a new book to spread knowledge… or is it ignorance?… of the new discipline around: Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance. The editors are Robert N. Proctor and Londa Schiebinger.

As the blurb at the Stanford University Press website puts it:

The essays assembled in Agnotology show that ignorance is often more than just an absence of knowledge; it can also be the outcome of cultural and political struggles. Ignorance has a history and a political geography, but there are also things people don’t want you to know (“Doubt is our product” is the tobacco industry slogan). Continue reading What Is the Study of Ignorance Called? →