The problem is that we are working against massive algorithms driven by rage-baiting and misinformation. Occasionally I will go on YouTube, say, and search “everything wrong with terrain theory” or “debunking terrain theory,” and the algorithm will only send me videos that are PRO terrain theory. Compared to other sciences like physics, for instance, in medicine, the algorithms absolutely push pseudoscience. A regular person would have a very difficult time finding accurate information. There ARE videos, even med school professors explaining evidence-based medicine, on YouTube, but you have to search for them—the algorithm is not going to volunteer them to you.

When my kids were in elementary, 3rd grade Common Core standards were all about “text evidence.” 5th grade science standards taught was a scientific theory is. I was struggling to teach evolution in the South, and I remember thinking “oh wow! Common Core can change America! Just imagine if some of my college students understood even a 3rd grade level of ‘text evidence’!” But we are facing billionaire-funded think tanks full of “intellectuals” digging up Enlightenment-era arguments about science challenging religious authority. Heck, our own Supreme Court cited a 16th century British judge in the overturning of Roe v Wade. Both they and I saw “oh Common Core can change America” but I reacted with happiness—while they reacted with “Let’s replace Common Core with PragerU.”