Sure, passing on knowledge is very important for improving scientific literacy, but it's certainly not the be-all and end-all of successful science communication.

According to one recent study, sometimes you might be better off focusing on addressing the discrepancies between what someone thinks they know and what they actually know might be a better strategy.

Here's the thing. If you have a strong attitude towards something scientific, you're probably very confident that you understand the science well.

Even if you don't.

Now, this and previous research has found that those who are strongly against something like GM technology often lack the scientific knowledge they think they have.

As for those who are strongly pro-GM technology, they are also prone to being confident in their scientific knowledge. However, they are more likely to be right about their understanding of the science.

Read the science

People with more extreme attitudes towards science have self-confidence in their understanding of science, even if this is not justified. Fonseca C, Pettitt J, Woollard A, Rutherford A, Bickmore W, et al. (2023) People with more extreme attitudes towards science have self-confidence in their understanding of science, even if this is not justified. PLOS Biology 21(1): e3001915. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001915

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