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"Science can be viewed as an elite endeavour"
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One of our academic authors recently commented that The Conversation has become “very mainstream in what it’s publishing”. I’m taking it as a compliment, since we’re now read by more than 5 million people every month from all reaches of Australia and beyond.
“Mainstream” is at the heart of what The Conversation needs to be to fulfil our aim of ensuring quality, diverse and intelligible content reaches the widest possible audience.
As Darrin Durant said in one of this week’s most–read articles: “science can be viewed as an elite endeavour.” The Edelman Trust Survey shows people increasingly prefer the views of “people like me” to those of experts. Bombarding people with more facts doesn’t work to change their mind, particularly if they see those with the facts as part of a “cultural elite”.
We are a small team, but if The Conversation can’t help convince mainstream audiences of the value of experts and their expertise then I don’t think we’re delivering on our charter.
With that said, here’s some articles that I think do a fantastic job of promoting the value of expertise – they’re not just informative, many are practical as well.
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Charis Palmer
Deputy Editor
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Top story
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Yeah, I’m not hearing that.
Woman picture via www.shutterstock.com.
Rose Hendricks, University of California, San Diego
Quirks of human psychology can pose problems for science communicators trying to cover controversial topics. Recognizing what cognitive science knows about how we deal with new information could help.
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Who are you calling anti-science?
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Left, right, populist, elitist: there are many different ways to be anti-science.
arindambanerjee/shutterstock
Darrin Durant, University of Melbourne
Whether you're talking about climate change, vaccination or agriculture, the term "anti-science" means different things in different political contexts.
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One of these is a human, the other not. Can you tell the difference?
from www.shutterstock.com
Rod Lamberts, Australian National University
Experts may be dismissed when they express values, offer advice or make mistakes. But these expectations are unreasonable and unhelpful.
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Making a point at a Washington, D.C. protest in January.
stephenmelkisethian/flickr
Elizabeth Suhay, American University
Scientists are concerned that politics will trump evidence in the new administration. A researcher of political psychology explains why these worries matter far beyond questions of science.
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Research has shown kids can be duped by native advertising.
Syda Productions/Shutterstock
Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University
We must have open conversations with kids so they're able to identify reliable news online.
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A shot of fake news now and your defenses are raised in the future?
funnyangel/Shutterstock.com.
John Cook, George Mason University
Does science have an answer to science denial? Just as being vaccinated protects you from a later full-blown infection, a bit of misinformation explained could help ward off other cases down the road.
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Shutterstock
Paul Braterman, University of Glasgow
Playing to the intelligent design mob, Mike Pence is simply spinning words in his war on evolutionary biology
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Children play in the DDT fog left by the ‘fog truck’ in a New Jersey neighbourhood.
George Silk/LIFE 1948
David Schlosberg, University of Sydney
The undermining of environmental science, and the creation of lies and bribes to distort public policymaking, is as old as industries that know their products do harm, but lie to keep them in use.
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University of Technology Sydney — Sydney, New South Wales
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Elisabeth Murdoch Building, Spencer Rd, Parkville VIC 3052, Parkville, Australian Capital Territory, 3010, Australia — Embassy of France in Australia
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