Science Communication

“When Celebrities Talk Science”

“It’s not entirely surprising to see Deschanel — a mid-2000s hipster icon perhaps best known for her role in the Fox sitcom “New Girl” — suddenly talking about food mileage and azodicarbonamide. As many celebrities have discovered, the combination of wellness culture…

“Cheese Powder and Other Hobgoblins: A Double Standard in Risk Reporting”

“Moreover, when the story provides a link to the “study,” you are taken not to the research itself but to a summary written by an advocacy group, the Coalition for Safer Food Processing and Packaging…

“Reader beware: Science covered in the news is pretty likely to be overturned”

“Their analysis of media coverage indicates that studies written about in newspapers are highly likely to be later overturned.

“This is partly due to the fact that…

“A Feminist Walks Into a YouTube Science Video…”

“In aggregate, this sentiment I’ve repeatedly noticed betrays a fearful sense of invasion. Through this panicked lens, science preserves logic, whereas sexism invokes emotion, and never the twain shall meet. Therefore by extension, science…

“Give the public the tools to trust scientists”

“Much of the science that the public knows about and admires imparts a sense of wonder and fun about the world, or answers big existential questions. It’s in the popularization of physics through the television programmes of physicist Brian Cox…

“Take the time and effort to correct misinformation”

“Most researchers who have tried to engage online with ill-informed journalists or pseudoscientists will be familiar with Brandolini’s law (also known as the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle): the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is…

“Neil deGrasse Tyson: pedantry in space”

“You are trapped in the world of the popular TV astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and you know this, because here the sunrise isn’t a sunrise at all. In fact, the earth is a sphere orbiting the sun, so the sun does not in any sense actually ‘rise’ — it’s…

“Scientists of a feather flock together”

“as I read through the Pew study, I couldn’t help but wonder if the differences in opinion might be evidence of scientists and nonscientists talking past each other. We tend to hang out with people who are similar to ourselves. Scientists are friends with…