Why journalists don't understand science and why scientists don't understand science journalism

Mayo 26, 2022
De 3:00pm hasta 4:00pm

IFT Seminar Room/Red Room

Theoretical Physics, general interest
Speaker: 
Ernesto Lozano
Institution: 
Freelance science editor
Location&Place: 

IFT Seminar Room/Red Room

Abstract: 

When scientists read science news, they are often shocked by inaccuracies, fallacies and hype. When journalists talk to scientists, they are often confused by jargon, complicated reasoning and the lack of a clear message. In this talk we will explore this well-known tension between science and science communication. A unifying explanation could be that many science journalists simply don't understand the science. However, this explanation doesn't capture the full complexity of the phenomenon. The tension has several causes, but since this talk will be aimed at scientists, I will place a special emphasis on explaining in a constructive way why, at least sometimes, scientists' criticisms of science journalism are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what science communication is and how it works.