The statement, "For a lot of bad ideas science is society's garbage disposal" tells us the following about scientific attitude and critical thinking:
1. Curiosity about the world around us- A scientific attitude involves curiosity about various phenomena in the world around us. For instance, scientists are curious about topics such as: cell functioning in humans, how to treat diseases like cancer, how to increase levels of happiness, etc.
2. Skepticism about unproven claims and ideas- A scientific attitude is characterized by skepticism about unknown and unproved claims or theories. Scientists do not accept a theory or idea to be true unless it is rigorously tested and proven by legitimate scientific experimentation. For instance if a scientists hears that a certain drug cures heart disease, he or she should be wary and skeptic of that claim unless it is scientifically proven.
3. Humility about one's own understanding- A scientific attitude lastly involves examining our own ideas and understandings before believing that we are correct. When we objectively examine our own ideas and verify that it can be scientifically proven, that is when we are adopted a scientific attitude by showing humility about our own understanding.
