Library of Scientific Information for Nonscientists

What makes Present Tense different from other sources of scientific information?

• Most science information web sites give you “facts,” but they don’t tell you where those facts come from.
• The Present Tense brings you “behind the facts” information about the people and procedures that comprise the scientific enterprise. Present Tense focuses on presenting you with the evidence that is generated by scientific research. We help you understand that evidence so that you can make informed decisions about questions important to your life.
• Although scientists are supposed to consider only the evidence when they draw conclusions, they’re only human. Scientists are influenced by social, political, economic, and subconscious factors that can bias the conclusions they make. The Present Tense points out how some of these factors could influence the conclusions scientists draw about evidence.
• Present Tense promotes awareness and understanding of scientific ways of knowing--the creative, skeptical, logical process by which scientists produce knowledge.