Public engagement - a waste of money?
The #scicomm discussion that arose after Ben Goldacre criticised the Science Museum for tweeting a link to the widely-panned "Dr Love" oxytocin story, and Simon Singh the IoP's "Lab in a Lorry" and their dance production with Ballet Rambert.
i didnt mean to sound harsh, but the @sciencemuseum endorsing that silly "omg teh trust molecule!!!" stuff exemplifies, for me, the worst..
@bengoldacre What's the alternative though ? Wide-reach profit-making corporate-sponsored research with dubious agenda & doubtful science ?- (a) people like me and @robinince who make it (with hard ideas) work commercially and (b) blogs that get big audiences without state funding
@bengoldacre Reckon this is due to funding source? Govt inevitably politically motivated, so start with desired conclusion & work backwards?
- @bengoldacre @robinince u also utilise things like PR & media (for book things) and that helps. Many fail to use those properly & reach out
@bengoldacre I was once given £1000 by the IOP for an engagement project. I'll happily give you £1 ;) (I have some sympathy for your view)
@bengoldacre @robinince and media such as twitter for instant broadcasting with no cost. Engagement with science is a must for the world.- @bengoldacre often the social media accounts can be half efforts for things because people think it is 'a good thing to do'
@bengoldacre This cost 3000 GBP to date and we've answered over 6000 questions and had about 6 m views. askabiologist.org.uk- @bengoldacre are some good examples of where unis especially can help w hard to reach areas like in the highlands - ausm.org.uk/2011/11/the-hi…
@bengoldacre Chris Rapley, the director of the Science Museum, is a big fan of publicity and media engagement - but has overstepped the mark
@bengoldacre don't get me started on all the things that are wrong with what was done at the RI, it makes me very sad. A wasted opportunity
@bengoldacre agree, families, free tickets. Glasgow Science Centre offering free visits for primary kids. Science engagement starts at home.
@bengoldacre But haven't both you and Ince have received huge support from the BBC? Where would Infinte Monkey Cage be without it?
@bengoldacre I found out last night that @Bloodhound_SSC budget is £10-15m (no public £). Amazing value for the level of inspiration.
Institute of Physics: 2 mentions for least cost-effective science engagement ideas labinalorry.org.uk & bbc.in/O9RBm2- I'd be v interested to read blogs championing either of these bad ideas bit.ly/O9RCqc & bbc.in/O9RBm2
