tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post4706688116839678861..comments2023-10-23T08:56:50.127-06:00Comments on Angry by Choice: The Changing Climate of Science in the USA (not a post on climate change)The Loraxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13361004494346338824noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post-67271262247643606562014-06-25T12:06:00.376-06:002014-06-25T12:06:00.376-06:00Well I got linked here from Uncomm. To say anyone ...Well I got linked here from Uncomm. To say anyone is unhappy after reading about you is pretty self-important, because really, we were all brainwashed coming up and we all got handed "science" with the same attitude minus the self-important ego-pumping four letter words. So I think I can speak for most of us skeptics, after 10~15 years of waking up to the fraud, we look at a blog like this similarly to looking at caged tigers at the zoo. Or snakes.MSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05482232168982031574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post-90752304933362929482014-06-11T18:42:16.803-06:002014-06-11T18:42:16.803-06:00Happy to say uncommon descent is unhappy with me.Happy to say <a href="http://www.uncommondescent.com/junk-dna/precious-american-atheist-finds-encode-to-be-bullshot-science/" rel="nofollow">uncommon descent</a> is unhappy with me.<br /><br />The Loraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361004494346338824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post-27296313805996028272014-06-11T18:40:38.623-06:002014-06-11T18:40:38.623-06:00Thanks Kenny Chaffin and TheBrummel.
@TheBrummel ...Thanks Kenny Chaffin and TheBrummel.<br /><br />@TheBrummel I basically agree with your assessment that we are pushed to sellsellsell and that we are not well trained (in general) to communicae with non-specialists. I am not so sure that the two necessarily go hand-in-hand though. I have always taken the dissemination to non-scientists to be more active and direct. Writing letters, blog posts (in my case), going into schools, talking with reporters, the community etc. about science in general. I have not, and am probably in the wrong here, considered dissemination of science to non-specialists a way to specifically bolster my own ego. Maybe if I did more of this, I would have more funding.<br /><br />Regardless, I do think the big press release from a group or university is not a function of disseminating science to non-specialists. I believe it is more to land more funding and fame by making a bigger deal about minor results. Again ENCODE, As bacteria, and almost every fucking 'missing link' article are examples of this.The Loraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361004494346338824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post-74530287745076630392014-06-11T14:16:24.387-06:002014-06-11T14:16:24.387-06:00I agree - thanks for writing this.
I think a seco...I agree - thanks for writing this.<br /><br />I think a second influencing factor, after the funding, is the perceived need to sell one's science as much as possible, to reach out to the general public and try to make non-scientists as interested in one's work as possible. <br /><br />There are two sub-issues there, as I see it. First, the mindset of sellsellsell is clearly susceptible to overselling results and not being rigorous in testing hypotheses fully before accepting or rejecting them. Second, most scientists, it has been said over and over, lack the skills to properly convey their results and the other aspects of their work to non-scientists.<br /><br />I have been offered many workshops, and have attended a few, designed to improve my Education & Outreach skills. I've been given piles of advice on this topic. I've been told over and over how important it is for scientists to engage with the public and with policymakers. There have been only a few, and very weak, admonisions or warnings regarding overselling or oversimplifying. It's always "elevator pitch" this and "convey the excitement" that, but never "run one more test to disprove that idea first" except from co-authors.<br /><br />We are expected to police ourselves, and I think we do a fairly good job of it - peer review is far from perfect, but it's still a decent filter most of the time. Besides blog posts such as this one (and Larry Moran's long series dismantling ENCODE), I hardly ever see any words of caution regarding the process of self-selling and/or "outreach".TheBrummellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973380652057861796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448663046375322498.post-7883134667666687102014-06-10T05:52:18.928-06:002014-06-10T05:52:18.928-06:00Yep! Thanks for writing/posting this! Another issu...Yep! Thanks for writing/posting this! Another issue in the War on Science, but perhaps a more subtle piece. <br />Kenny A. Chaffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594992494662507238noreply@blogger.com