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> matters of science are not just matters of science. They change peoples' behavior, in ways that the scientists may not have taken into account. And given thi

by pdonis 5y ago

> matters of science are not just matters of science. They change peoples' behavior, in ways that the scientists may not have taken into account. And given this, the only defensible position for the scientist to take is to tell the truth as best they know it, including the truth about what we don't know or don't understand, as well as about what we do know and do understand. That way the responsibility for other people's behavior is on the other people--they were told the truth as best the scientists knew it, and if they made a bad judgment based on that truth, it's their responsibility. Whereas, if a scientist tries to twist or filter the truth because of some belief they have about how it might change other people's behavior, now it's their responsibility if those other people end up doing something harmful, because they didn't just tell the truth as best they knew it, they tried to judge what they wanted other people to do and filtered what they said based on that. And that's not their job.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago
I agree, but I will go one step further: It is also the responsibility of the science reporters to not filter out the truth about what we don't know and don't understand. That part's important. Don't skip it to make the story sexier or more viral. In fact, I wonder if more of the responsibility for the recent problems is on the reporters, rather than the scientists.
- pdonis 5y ago
  > I wonder if more of the responsibility for the recent problems is on the reporters, rather than the scientists. Back when most science information only got to the general public through reporters, I think this might have been a valid point. However, now many scientists are communicating directly with the public, through blogs, articles, interviews, etc., so I think more of the responsibility for miscommunication falls on them directly. Some scientists are even doing end runs around the scientific process by publishing popular articles on their own research before it has been replicated or even reviewed by other experts in the field. (Personally, I never even bother reading an article by a science reporter; if I'm interested enough in the topic, I find the actual paper documenting the original research and read that.)
  - AnimalMuppet 5y ago
    Yes, many scientists are communicating through blogs, etc. However, I suspect that the general public still mostly gets their science information through reporters. The general public is not reading scientists' blogs. They're free to do so, but they don't.

by pdonis 5y ago

AnimalMuppet 5y ago

I agree, but I will go one step further: It is also the responsibility of the science reporters to not filter out the truth about what we don't know and don't understand. That part's important. Don't skip it to make the story sexier or more viral. In fact, I wonder if more of the responsibility for the recent problems is on the reporters, rather than the scientists.

pdonis 5y ago
> I wonder if more of the responsibility for the recent problems is on the reporters, rather than the scientists. Back when most science information only got to the general public through reporters, I think this might have been a valid point. However, now many scientists are communicating directly with the public, through blogs, articles, interviews, etc., so I think more of the responsibility for miscommunication falls on them directly. Some scientists are even doing end runs around the scientific process by publishing popular articles on their own research before it has been replicated or even reviewed by other experts in the field. (Personally, I never even bother reading an article by a science reporter; if I'm interested enough in the topic, I find the actual paper documenting the original research and read that.)
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  Yes, many scientists are communicating through blogs, etc. However, I suspect that the general public still mostly gets their science information through reporters. The general public is not reading scientists' blogs. They're free to do so, but they don't.