At the risk of giving you the impression that Idaho is full of backwoods uneducated types, I’m going to mention a recent article about the “vaccination debate” here in Idaho.
The article tells the story of a group of anti-immunization crusaders in Northern Idaho through the lens of two contrasting women. One of these is the leader of the anti-immunization folks, Ingri Cassel. The other is state epidemiologist Christine Hahn.
I’m not going to wade into the depths of the ...(read more)
Tagged as:
communication,
immunization,
politics,
science
The global warming debate stirs up passions from both supporters and deniers.
One thing that is clearly lost in most of the “popular” debate is the underlying science.
There was an article that studied this: “Balance as bias: global warming and the US Presige Press“.
They make an interesting case about why the popular press coverage of the issue, under the guise of “balanced reporting,” actually skews away from the science.
Here’s a simple thought experiment to illustrate how “balanced” reporting is biased
Say we ...(read more)
Tagged as:
agw,
communication,
marketing
I’m writing a book in which I claim that “you need to market your science!” Upon hearing the word “marketing”, a lot of scientists look at me as if I’ve gone over to the dark side. It’s almost as bad as carrying the bubonic plague.
But marketing has got to be better than some of the stupid mistakes I’ve made in my career (maybe I should call it “career blunders?”). More than once I developed a great idea and then it ...(read more)
Tagged as:
basefinder,
communication,
marketing,
science,
writing
