Framing Science
cmooney | April 1, 2008*** Not An April Fools Entry.***
Well, folks, I am deviating from my original plan in this series of framing posts that I've promised. I had wanted to launch into a long--and, I think, revealing--insider narrative account of how it is that we wound up being this polarized. But that will take me some time to write.
People on the last comments thread, though, seem impatient for me to get to "substance." So I thought a slight deviation in my plan would be both more satisfying to them, and also quite illuminating.
What follows, then, is a series of premises that, at least to me--not necessarily…
nisbetmc | March 31, 2008A few weeks ago I highlighted this relevant finding from the massive amount of data contained in Pew's annual State of the Media report. And Chris highlighted the results of this separate survey. The posts grabbed the attention of a reporter for Science and the news nuggets are featured in the latest edition of the magazine with some quick analysis from me.
SCIENCE OFF THE AIR
Nearly half of Americans cannot name a "role model" scientist, living or dead. And only 11% can come up with the name of a living one, according to a survey released last week by the Museum of Science and Industry in…
cmooney | March 31, 2008After taking some time to mull over the events of last week--when I saw a side of Scienceblogs.com I've not seen before, and that troubled me a great deal--I felt a strong need to clear the air. So let me say, at the outset of this first post in a series, that I speak for myself alone. There has been plenty of confusion of late about what Sheril thinks, what I think, and whether either is the same as what Matt Nisbet thinks, but at least with this post there can be no mistake. It is by its author and no others.
Reading over all the comments we managed to generate here last week--in which we…
nisbetmc | March 29, 2008You don't have to be a social scientist to recognize that the distribution of opinion among people who comment at Scienceblogs is very different from the perspective found among the wider science community and even among leaders in the atheist movement. The reality of this perceptual gap was reinforced for me over the last two days as I gave the latest round of Framing Science talks at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. At the two campus presentations, roughly 150 faculty and students turned out to share in a very thoughtful and inspiring discussion about new directions in science…
nisbetmc | March 28, 2008From E.O. Wilson's appearance last year on PBS Bill Moyers talking about the common moral obligation among atheists and evangelicals to take collective action on the environment:
Let us-- in the service of a transcendent moral obligation and concern put aside our differences for the time being and not fuss with each other over evolution. In other words where it all came from. Let us agree looking at the evidence that is disappearing. And let us, dare I use the word, gather at the river.
Come together on common ground where we can exercise the extraordinary power we have jointly. And I argue…
gregladen | March 24, 2008Here is an updated set of links to postings on the critique of Myers and Dawkins' response to Myers-Dawkins-Expelled!-Gate. The point of these links is to provide quick access to the critiques coming from The Intersection and Framing Science blogs, and responses to them. I'm not going to keep updating this entry, so if you have any links please add them in the comments.
If your comment gets moderated it is probably because links with comments get tossed automatically in the dungeon, sometimes. I'll be checking the dungeon now and then and freeing such links.
It all started here:
EXPELLED!…
sheril | March 24, 2008Chris and Matt have already explained at length the danger in PZ's unintentional promotion of Ben Stein's Expelled. What's also interesting to consider is the strategy employed in the 'super trailer', which utilizes many subtle techniques that have proven successful in the social marketing of ideas to large audiences over time. They include a call to question authority, hints of a 'big science conspiracy', unspoken references to abortion through imagery, inadequate interpretation of Darwin's evolution, spooky music, and a seemingly reputable purveyor in Stein. I still don't understand the…
nisbetmc | March 23, 2008
If you haven't seen this clip yet, above is a preview of the central message on how "Big Science" views religion in the documentary Expelled. There's little work needed on the part of the producers, since the message is spelled out via the interviews provided by PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins.
Notice the very clear translation for audiences as to what supposedly establishment science believes:
A) Learning about science makes you an atheist, it "kills off" religious faith.
B) If we boost science literacy in society, it will lead to erosion of religion, as religion fades away, we will get more…
nisbetmc | March 20, 2008In the March 14 issue of Science, a letter was published responding to our April 2007 Policy Forum essay and our October 2007 cover article at The Scientist. In her letter, Ruth Cronje emphasizes that it is important for the public to understand science as a process and method, a goal that is best accomplished through formal education where you have (usually) a motivated and attentive audience and (hopefully) well designed content.
Cronje is on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and I look forward to discussing the topic with her further when I am in town next week giving…
nisbetmc | March 20, 2008At the popular site Ars Technica, science editor John Timmer pens a detailed summary of the "Communicating Science in a Religious America" panel held at last month's AAAS meetings. The article is also picked up by Slashdot.
cmooney | March 11, 2008
Over the past few days, it has been possible to catch the two "framing science" perpetrators jogging along San Francisco Bay under the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.
We haven't hung out in a while, so we had a lot to catch up on. Nisbet is a former Osher Fellow at the San Francisco Exploratorium who is still reeling from the massive attention paid to his AAAS panel (wink). And as for me...well, you already know I moved to LA. And as you'll soon hear, Sheril and I are embarking on a new project (besides Science Debate 2008) about the intersection between science and society.
So we're in…
nisbetmc | March 6, 2008
In his regular column at Nature this week, David Goldston weighs in on the themes discussed at the AAAS panel "Communicating Science in a Religious America," which Goldston moderated. In the column titled "The Scientist Delusion," Goldston notes that even very religious publics often strongly support many areas of science. To use as bogeymen and as a rallying cry "religious fundamentalists" and a "public hostile to science" doesn't make much sense and may even serve to harm the goals of promoting science in the United States. As he writes:
The point here is not that there's nothing for…
nisbetmc | March 4, 2008I will be spending next week (my spring break) in San Francisco as an Osher Fellow at the Exploratorium science museum. While in the Bay Area, Chris Mooney will be flying up from LA to join me Tuesday evening at UC Berkeley for our latest in the Speaking Science 2.0 tour. Details are below. (We are expecting a pretty sizable turn out for the event, so make sure you arrive early. The auditorium holds roughly 150 people.)
Speaking Science 2.0:
A New Paradigm in Public Engagement
A conversation with Chris Mooney and Matt Nisbet
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
5:00 pm-6:30 pm
Location: 155 Dwinelle…
nisbetmc | March 1, 2008
In this week's Point of Inquiry podcast, host DJ Grothe and I share a wide ranging discussion about the relationship between science and religion in the United States and the impact of the New Atheist movement. Much of the discussion revolves around the themes that I explored in the presentation at the AAAS panel on "Communicating Science in a Religious America."
From a description for the show:
In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Nisbet highlights the recent AAAS panel he organized titled "Communicating Science in a Religious America." He details his ideas for the most effective strategies…
nisbetmc | February 27, 2008
For readers in the Madison-to-Minneapolis region, on Thurs. March 27 I will be giving a talk at the University of Wisconson-Eau Claire. I will be covering much of the same ground that was featured on the two AAAS panels I appeared on earlier this month.
In the talk, not only will I be focusing on the need for new directions in communicating about evolution but also in the area of climate change (see this column for a preview on that latter topic.) In fact, there are many parallels between the two issues in how polarizing communication strategies keep us from making progress.
The talk…
nisbetmc | February 26, 2008There's more press coverage and follow up on the AAAS session "Communicating Science in a Religious America." My colleague Dietram Scheufele, a professor of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin, has this blog post up outlining his presentation on how religious Americans view nanotechnology and the role of framing in this process. Also see the ScienceDaily press release and discussion at the Wall Street Journal's BizTech blog.
nisbetmc | February 24, 2008A few more bloggers who were in attendance at the "Communicating Science in a Religious America" panel have weighed in.
-->The editor of Nature's blog network describes the panel as the most interesting session she attended at AAAS.
-->And if you read French, Agence Presse has this report.
In addition, following the panel, Ken Miller was interviewed by the Guardian and offers these audio remarks on his suggestion that scientists recapture the term "design" from creationists. Miller wowed the packed audience with a brilliant presentation, but I'm not sure this particular communication…
clock | February 18, 2008Orac: The American Academy of Pediatrics versus antivaccinationist hypocrisy
Drake Bennett: Black man vs. white woman
Sheril R. Kirshenbaum: The Presidential Science Debate That Happened TODAY In Boston! and The Boston Debate
Mike Dunford: The Role of Science in Politics: A Plea for Activism
John S. Wilkins: The 'design' mistake and, Brian Switek: No thanks, Ken; that argument is poorly designed
Ed reports on how we are messing up with future historians: I Always Wondered Where Those Things Went. How many historical artefacts and writings we believe to be true, but are not?
Paul Jones:…
nisbetmc | February 18, 2008I hope to have more details on Sunday's Communicating Science in a Religious America panel later this week and there will also be several media reports forthcoming. The turnout was stunning with the room packed, people sitting on the floor and crowding the doors. As discussion and dialogue took place over the three hours, it was clear that the diversity of perspectives really helped generate a feeling of unity and strong community in the room. A staffer from the Royal Society UK even talked to me afterwards about organizing something similar at a future meeting in London.
A few bloggers who…