Over the past twenty years, many commentators have claimed that there is a growing distrust of science in the United States. They cite this as the cause of public opposition to technologies as varied as fluoridation, the anti-ballistic missile, and nuclear powerplants.1 Others claim that science is more highly regarded than most American institutions,2 and still others suggest a more mixed picture.3 This Note reports the degree of public confidence in science, as measured in six national opinion surveys, over the period 1966 to 1975. Respondents were told:
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Allan Mazur (1977) studied this question.
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