tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post3962488609242161971..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: The eternal tug of war between science journalists and scientists. A graphical story.Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-34892758829663243412014-03-05T10:53:12.047-05:002014-03-05T10:53:12.047-05:00Dr. Tuomi and I have discussed this disinformation...Dr. Tuomi and I have discussed this disinformation problem and he agrees that it is regrettable but that there is little a research group can do when the science and pseudo-science media get hold of a research paper and then misinterpret its conclusions by making sensational and false claims.<br /><br />Let the reader beware. Even a supposedly scientific magazine like Astronomy is claiming that &Robert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-90016295916206755752014-03-04T21:24:49.559-05:002014-03-04T21:24:49.559-05:00Another example of inadvertent misinformation in a...Another example of inadvertent misinformation in a science venue - this time from sciencedaily.com.<br /><br />The headline is: "Most Red Dwarf Stars Have At Least One Planet"<br /><br />Actually, planets are reasonably common for red dwarf stars with masses =/> 0.4 solar mass.<br /><br />BUT, planets are unusually and unexpectedly rare for red dwarf stars with masses between 0.1 andRobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-55499679532608434892014-02-28T17:09:15.097-05:002014-02-28T17:09:15.097-05:00If scientists could all write as well as Sabine, t...If scientists could all write as well as Sabine, there would be no need for science writers. Alas, with some notable exceptions, most scientists are semi-literate and write only for their jargonated peers, and then they typically only express their own agenda-laden point of view. We journalists look at the broader picture and hold scientists accountable. In the best of all possible worlds, Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07983357107198971447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-35086966217700723382014-02-28T11:34:46.309-05:002014-02-28T11:34:46.309-05:00A correction to a statement in a previous comment:...A correction to a statement in a previous comment: to a first approximation, journalists do not write the titles that are attached to their articles. Some do, but it's not safe to assume. My editor at KCET runs headlines and titles past me to make sure he's not misrepresenting things, but he is a rarity.Chris Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02272742732960580374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-63060781655314440642014-02-27T04:50:29.008-05:002014-02-27T04:50:29.008-05:00George,
Yes! That's exactly what I mean :) In...George,<br /><br />Yes! That's exactly what I mean :) In fact it seems you've had pretty much the same idea years ago, plus you've thought about the technological necessities. <br /><br />I disagree though that science and learning about science 'should be' social activities... I agree that this seems to work very well for many people, but I know many scientists and people Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-49347140755169555612014-02-25T00:34:10.924-05:002014-02-25T00:34:10.924-05:00Hugh,
Yes, that should be done and I find it very...Hugh,<br /><br />Yes, that should be done and I find it very annoying if it isn't the case. But my point is that most readers won't be able to understand the paper anyway. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-636485139830123172014-02-24T15:50:40.911-05:002014-02-24T15:50:40.911-05:00Sabine,
A science journalist often reports on a r...Sabine,<br /><br />A science journalist often reports on a result that has just been published in a journal. A simple solution in this case is for the journalist to provide a link to the journal article. The reader can then easily follow up for details (especially if the journal is Open Source). <br /><br />I do not know why this is not yet standard practice... but perhaps publishers think any Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12646090475275642919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-22913320722332363862014-02-24T15:38:43.450-05:002014-02-24T15:38:43.450-05:00Sabine,
you mentioned the missing bridges between...Sabine,<br /><br />you mentioned the missing bridges between the popular and scientific levels and the support for moving between them in two comments. A remark about that follows here. <br /><br />Initially I also expected such input from products of science journalists or blogs. However, this has been brought down to earth very soon.<br /><br />Newspapers and magazines reduced for years the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-40555809252546088892014-02-24T09:27:37.805-05:002014-02-24T09:27:37.805-05:0017Hi Bee,
Congratulations on reaching your milest...17Hi Bee,<br /><br />Congratulations on reaching your milestone 8th year!<br /><br />As a former journalist a long time ago (the 70s)and now almost set to retire from my third career as a technical writer-editor, my sympathies are with George Musser.<br /><br />For me, reporting results from a major research university (only part of my "beat") for commercial mass media was usually a t h rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00150085167540063914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-3078218268561280972014-02-24T05:25:32.516-05:002014-02-24T05:25:32.516-05:00Michael,
Your redshift example just drives home m...Michael,<br /><br />Your redshift example just drives home my point that simplifying terminology can cause much confusion. As you probably know (it sounds like you do) the expression for the cosmological redshift (or that in the gravitation field of the Earth) is very similar to that of the usual Doppler effect and I can see that a scientist, not being able to just write down the damned equation,Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42225016729583549472014-02-24T05:18:47.762-05:002014-02-24T05:18:47.762-05:00Nemo,
I agree with you on the problem, but I don&...Nemo,<br /><br />I agree with you on the problem, but I don't think the solution can be no popular reports on fundamental physics at all. I think it is part of our profession to share our knowledge, and to share it not only with our colleagues but with the societies that we are part of and that support us. <br /><br />I think what will happen (and you can already notice this happening) is Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-38135683677057499912014-02-24T05:09:29.584-05:002014-02-24T05:09:29.584-05:00Giotis,
Yes, I agree with you, there's proble...Giotis,<br /><br />Yes, I agree with you, there's problems on both sides. Though I want to add it's not all bad. There's lots of great writing out there and some scientists are very good communicators. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-13996522431733210272014-02-24T05:07:51.776-05:002014-02-24T05:07:51.776-05:00Michael,
Same remark to you as to George. Yes, re...Michael,<br /><br />Same remark to you as to George. Yes, readers can find their level, but it is very hard to get from one to the other. There is presently a huge gap between popular science and academic literature. At least in physics, in this gap there sit the membership magazines of the physical societies, but most people don't know them or it doesn't occur to them they exist or they&Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-58417025877770974042014-02-24T05:01:50.563-05:002014-02-24T05:01:50.563-05:00George,
No, I don't think the system is worki...George,<br /><br />No, I don't think the system is working. Yes, there are levels, I agree. What is missing is to help those who are interested making a transition between the levels. That's why I keep talking about introducing readers to terminology. <br /><br /><i>"I find that it is often the SCIENTISTS, not the journalists, who push the knowledge curve toward the left. They Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-32729595700239206312014-02-24T02:36:45.875-05:002014-02-24T02:36:45.875-05:00Michael,
This is not obvious to me and there are p...Michael,<br />This is not obvious to me and there are papers recently suggesting space is not actually expanding.<br />If what every undergrad knows is how you say how would that be news and not just a review of what is taught?<br />And where are comments on Sabine's graphic method here? The masses crave the content perhaps as distractions and some do benefit as I have done following new L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-88847620045386583482014-02-23T12:59:06.035-05:002014-02-23T12:59:06.035-05:00And here is one more example where a scientist cre...And here is one more example where a scientist creates inaccuracy in the popular science presentation of his field:<br /><br />"The redshift phenomenon [of distant galaxies] is a manifestation of the Doppler effect - the faster the motion, the larger the shift of the frequency. Therefore, the larger the redshift, the greater the distance to the observed galaxy."<br /><br />:-o Every Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-11733696985269172842014-02-22T21:16:52.535-05:002014-02-22T21:16:52.535-05:00Here is a real example of a dumbed down and over-g...Here is a real example of a dumbed down and over-generalized news story that badly misled many people.<br /><br />Short version: an Australian group used a new technique to test for cosmological fractality and found none of a specific type over a limited scale range. Many pop-sci venues picked up on this single paper and announced that "the Universe is not fractal!"<br /><br />The more Robert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-43768864534798887842014-02-22T10:51:24.247-05:002014-02-22T10:51:24.247-05:00The worst thing I see too often happen, in particu...The worst thing I see too often happen, in particular in popular reports about theoretical/fundamental physics is that the science writers and/or editors try to maximise the size of the audience at the expense of reporting true facts and information about too fundamental topics such as quantum gravity for example.<br /><br />Sometimes, the media outright promote so-called controversial articles, Nemohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15937686207028627202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-24094718303041041412014-02-22T01:48:30.868-05:002014-02-22T01:48:30.868-05:00In this case I’m not sure who are worse, the scien...In this case I’m not sure who are worse, the scientists or the journalists. I blame scientists as the inventors of the stupid misleading metaphors, journalists for the eye catcher misleading titles of their articles and for not pushing the scientists they interview hard enough for a better understanding of the actual science.<br /><br />More than often scientists are arrogant and treat readers (Giotishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03594944884584261018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-29690324516498607842014-02-21T20:19:40.221-05:002014-02-21T20:19:40.221-05:00There is a big difference between creative writing...There is a big difference between creative writing and creative accounting. Science and the world is so much richer when you can understand both as a few of you do. Communication grounded in theoretical inquiry is indistinguishable from teaching in a world where inquiry is possible. As far as this poetic scientist or whatever I am or do, this blog and commenters, links and even detractors of L. Edgar Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00525169618204198073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-62716700650002207062014-02-21T17:59:04.853-05:002014-02-21T17:59:04.853-05:00The conflict between science journalists and scien...The conflict between science journalists and scientists is much smaller than it appears in my point of view.<br /><br />I see two big trends, both have been heavily supported by the WWW during the last 20 years. One trend is the increasing childishness, which is satisfied and increased by parts of the press, private radio and tv, and especially the internet as cheap medium for mass entertainment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-5932565423055980922014-02-21T17:10:10.770-05:002014-02-21T17:10:10.770-05:00Your illustrations answer the question. The curve...Your illustrations answer the question. The curve peaks not slumps at constant scale at high temperatures. "Quantum Foams Reel in String Theory!" Luboš will go ballistic. Publicly argue in high scholarship and poor taste. Loathsome social media will swim in it. Details are irrelevant, hence affordable when accurate. Our White House Obamanation farts rainbows while ignoring Uncle Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056804084187606211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-90186826602090815762014-02-21T13:50:16.418-05:002014-02-21T13:50:16.418-05:00Shredder Online Chess levels are easy, average and...Shredder Online Chess levels are easy, average and hard.<br /><br />Do you want maximizes readership?<br /><br />Always, literally, always have three versions of the research online from which the reader can chose.<br /><br />The real challenge comes original sources - the free access to other grand masters players o, in this case, the original papers.hushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16176588791118304829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-12332903610038563872014-02-21T13:49:37.538-05:002014-02-21T13:49:37.538-05:00Physics Today has a specialized audience I agree, ...Physics Today has a specialized audience I agree, in that 85% of its readership has a masters or higher in the Physical Sciences, the problem (from our perspective) is that they are all in different fields, so you have to be careful in not making assumptions that a particle physicists understands biology and vice versa. I don't think we do too bad a job at it, which is probably why a lot of Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973381491677593186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-17049488702210713732014-02-21T12:34:40.530-05:002014-02-21T12:34:40.530-05:00coraifeartaigh,
Is the result a good one from you...coraifeartaigh,<br /><br />Is the result a good one from your perspective? I actually think that science journalists have an important task, that of adding objectivity to a reporting that the scientist can't really claim to have. That, I'd think, requires at least some background. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com