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Anita Makri argues that the form of science communicated in popular media leaves the public vulnerable to false certainty.
What is truth? How do we find it and does it still carry weight in public debate? Given recent political events, these are important and urgent questions. But of the two industries I work in that are concerned with truth — science and journalism — only the latter has seriously engaged and looked for answers. Scientists need to catch up, or they risk further marginalization in a society that is increasingly weighing evidence and making decisions without them.
[...] What's overlooked by many is how science is losing its relevance as a source of truth. To reclaim this relevance, scientists, communicators, institutions and funders must work to change the way that socially relevant science is presented to the public. This is not about better media training for researchers. It demands a rethink about the kind of science that we want to communicate to broader society. This message may sound familiar but the new focus on post-truth shows there is now a tangible danger that must be addressed.
[...] If the public is better equipped to navigate this science, it would restore trust and improve understanding of different verdicts, and perhaps help people to see through some of the fake news that circulates on scientific matters.
http://www.nature.com/news/give-the-public-the-tools-to-trust-scientists-1.21307
What do you think, will the general public trust these tools, if available ?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday January 18 2017, @06:12PM
people who are really interested in all the important facts without embellishment should watch a documentary
Ah if only. There's real documentaries like the BBC World at War series and then there's modern infotainment filler drama. I really do think the BBC WaW series increased my IQ by a point or two, whereas this Ken Burns "The West" documentary I binge watched a couple weeks ago could have been replaced by a very short wikipedia article. Its like taking 12 hours to read a short story almost painful slow pacing. Eh it was the holidays I rarely drink but I had plenty of cider in me for that. Well this episode was crap but "Ken Burns" so I'm sure I'll love the next episode. Not so much. Oh well. They're all like that now. NOVA is crap. In the 80s I don't remember NOVA being crap. It was crap by the 90s when I stopped watching. I'll probably stop watching NOVA again, soon.
Its not that the highs are too low, its that they're taking a three paragraph wikipedia article and a 15 second youtube clip both of which are excellent and forcing you to sit thru an hour of filler to see those good parts.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Wednesday January 18 2017, @06:37PM
> They're all like that now. NOVA is crap
TV is an awful medium to transfer information. Read a book.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday January 18 2017, @11:04PM
Watch NOVA for the pretty pictures. I remember Treasures of the Earth: Gems being pretty good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nova_episodes#Season_44:_2016.E2.80.93present [wikipedia.org]
(these are upcoming episodes)
"Search for the Super Battery" - Given how many battery tech articles we sit through, sounds terrible.
"Secrets of Origami" - I assume DNA origami is on the agenda. There's a lot of research to keep up with in this area, so it might be interesting.
"Death Dive to Saturn" - Cassini's mission has done hundreds of flybys of its science targets, plopped a lander on Titan, and accomplished a lot over its lifespan. Although you could just read the Wikipedia article [wikipedia.org], this episode will probably be worth watching. However it should be noted that this airs several months before the actual "death dive"...
"Secrets of the Shining Knights (working title)" - You'll get to see them play blacksmith.
"Flint (working title)" - I assume this will feature interviews of many of the key players, like LeeAnne Walters [motherjones.com]. Probably similar to a Frontline episode, except with more water science and less focus on the corrupt officials.
There's only one episode I need NOVA to make, and that's the Planet Nine [wikipedia.org] one. And I doubt they will make it before the thing is at least directly imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. If we do find it, it could be decades before we can get a probe there to find all of its moons.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]