I wish I could teach the world to understand the scientific method - that it is often impossible completely to prove or disprove a theory, and that judgements must often be made on the weight of evidence.

If the world understood this, then people would find it much easier to understand government decisions. It might be impossible to completely disprove that the MMR vaccine causes autism, but the huge weight of evidence is that there is no link, and that the benefits of the MMR vaccine are overwhelming. It might be impossible to absolutely prove that smoking causes cancer, but the overwhelming evidence is that it does, and people should stop smoking. It might not be possible to absolutely prove that greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming, but the evidence suggests that they do, and so wise governments act accordingly.

If people understood this principle then the government could far more clearly make decisions based upon the weight of evidence, without waiting until 'clear proof' emerges. Governments could even change their position, when the evidence changes, without being accused of u-turns or incompetence.

See Stephen Ladyman's website.