Protagonists for ‘the public understanding of science’ still sometimes fail to recognize that there is also a need for ‘the scientists’ understanding of the public’ and that for most of science most of the time we are all public. ‘Science’ is communicated to ‘the public’ through popular books, museums, TV, the Internet, but far too often the present state of scientific belief is presented uncritically as the onward march of truth as discovered by Euro-American males. This has contributed to a widespread public concern, if not mistrust, in many areas of science, not least genetics and neuroscience. Although researchers often criticize the media for misrepresenting their work, the hype and simplifications often begin with the press releases put out by the researchers, their institutions and the scientific journals themselves. I conclude by looking more optimistically at the ways in which, by bringing natural science into theatre, novels and other art forms, the fragmentation of our culture may be diminished.
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April 2003
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Conference Article|
April 01 2003
How to (or not to) communicate science
S.P.R. Rose
S.P.R. Rose
1
Professor of Biology and Director, Brain and Behaviour Research Group, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, U.K.
1e-mail s.p.r.rose@open.ac.uk
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
Copyright 2003 Biochemical Society
2003
Biochem Soc Trans (2003) 31 (2): 307–312.
Citation
S.P.R. Rose; How to (or not to) communicate science. Biochem Soc Trans 1 April 2003; 31 (2): 307–312. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0310307
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