New essay warns of dangers in measurement illiteracy

Arthur Paul Pedersen, faculty research scientist with the CUNY Remote Sensing Earth Systems (CREST) Institute and adjunct assistant professor of computer science at The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, is lead author of a critical essay on measurement in scientific discourse. The essay, published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warns of the dangerous implications of measurement illiteracy in contemporary scientific discourse and urges broad, systematic efforts be undertaken to reform measurement literacy.

Measurement literacy is necessary for effectively carrying out the business of science, including inference, experimental design, validation, and treatment of error in theory construction, the paper explains. It provides the foundation necessary for forming perspectives and reaching decisions on matters in science and public policy, including the reproducibility and theory crises and proposals to addresses them, funding decisions for research programs and government agencies, public health and economic policy decisions, and much more.

“From the American eugenics movement to the 2008 market crash, history is replete with episodes showing the adverse impact that failures of measurement literacy can exact on the enterprise of science and everyday human affairs,” said Pedersen. “By drawing on ideas and examples drawn from across the sciences in language accessible to scientists and laypersons alike, this paper makes the case for promoting measurement literacy and being accountable to upholding it.”

“This paper is a call to action to reinvigorate measurement literacy in scientific discourse,” added Pedersen. “By doing so, meaningful steps can be taken to address crises in scientific discourse, such as the reproducibility crisis, and to promote more effective and meaningful scientific communication. Importantly, measurement literacy enables scientists to be responsible and trusted ambassadors of knowledge for policymakers as well as for the public at large.”

Pedersen’s co-authors are affiliated with Syracuse University, the University of Washington, the University of Missouri, the University of Western Australia, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Trento in Italy, and the University of Potsdam in Germany.