(03-09-2021, 03:55 AM)PaulP date Wrote:https://theconversation.com/5-ways-to-sp...nce-138814I'm afraid this article uses the very same tactics he criticises, there are a lot of good resources for scientists to use while framing outreach and public commentary, this article might not be one of them! Maybe the author is taking the piss!
Well worth reading IMO.
He doesn't even match written commentary to the headlines, example;
4. Overly simplistic explanations
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Conspiracy theories, such as the one suggesting 5G is the cause of COVID-19, take off because they offer a simple explanation for something frightening and complex. This particular claim also feeds into concerns some people may have about new technologies.
As a general rule, when something appears too good or too bad to be true, it usually is.
I'm particularly disturbed by 3. Reference to ‘the science not being settled’. Science is never settled, consensus based on current evidence and understanding can be achieved, but the science is never settled.
If science was settled we(humanity) would be able to predict the future of many events with near perfection, but good science always reports facts in terms of probabilities not certainties!
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"