Science Writing in the Age of Denial - 2012 - DAY1
Science Writing in the Age of Denial Conference at the University of Wisconsin. April 23-24
@sivasothi : many great sci writers coming to Madison for Science Writing in Age of Denial. bit.ly/HS7WwG #denialconf @wilsondasilva
Anti-modernism in tension w the advancement of knowledge. David Ward opens with pluralism vs ideology and polarization #sciencedenial
Chancellor Ward: Paradox of science's place in a time of revival for religion & other ideas not rooted in reason. #sciencedenial- Ward: That tension is part of the subtext in the advancement of knowledge. Anti-modernism, anxiety behind this tension. #sciencedenial
- Ward: Tension has blossomed into antagonism. Polarization w/o nuance. Argument is difficult. #sciencedenial
- Ward: Tenets of scientific revolution are under pressure and doubted. Good sci communication even more important. #sciencedenial
- WIRED mag named David krakauer one of 50 most likely to change the world. WID as a greenhouse experimenting with hybrids #sciencedenial
my motivated reasoning primer in Mother Jones, quoting Lupia #sciencedenial motherjones.com/politics/2011/…- Krakauer: journalists and academics follow their own kinds of denial #sciencedenial
- Krakauer: Can we solve this problem w/o "incendiary device" that disrupts the entire social fabric? #sciencedenial
David Krakauer: "The departmental reward systems are inadequate for the (energy) challenge we face." #sciencedenial
"We're actually in the age of denial - of the end." John Krakauer #sciencedenial- Lupia: How do people make decisions? How do they make complex arguments? Need to look inside selves for insight & opps. #sciencedenial
- Lupia: Familiar communication plan is that if we give people right info, they will make the right decisions. But often fails #sciencedenial
In attempts to educate public & policymakers about science, failure is common. What can we do? #UWMadison #denialconf @sciencedenial
Theory ~ trying to educate public about science. Expectation: Shiny new car wrapped in bow. Reality: car crashing in lake. #sciencedenial
First session by Arthur Lupia communicating sci in politicized environments #sciencedenial- Lupia: The problem is us, not them. We have unrealistic expectations about how they'll react to info. #sciencedenial
Arthur Lupia: Sci communicators can fail in getting public to interpret sci the way they want. Are we a part of the problem? #sciencedenial
We have unrealistic expectations of our audience. We're ignoring basic science of how people ingest information. #sciencedenial
e.g. "If only [scientists] would make a little effort, my attempts to communicate with them would be more successful" #sciencedenial
Lupia: sci comunicators need to stop blaming "them" for #sciencedenial because it absolves us of the need to find better approaches.- Lupia: "Experts and advocates don't understand their audience...are not finding them where they are" #sciencedenial
- Lupia: Can't give direction to audience to guide them out of "woods" if we don't really know where they are. #sciencedenial
Lupia UMich: if science communicators think of audience as Dumb & Dumber, it absolves us of challenging our own practices. #sciencedenial
