The 7 Deadly Sins Of Science Journalism

  • Thread starter Thread starter Astronuc
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Science
AI Thread Summary
The discussion critiques the use of oversimplified language and clichés in science journalism, highlighting frustrations with phrases like "magic bullets" and "holy grails." Participants express concern that such language can obscure complex scientific concepts, leading to misunderstandings. The conversation references an article that ironically employs an overworked cliché while discussing the "seven deadly sins" of science journalism, emphasizing that factual accuracy is paramount, but context is equally important. The complexity of scientific experiments is acknowledged, suggesting that discussions often focus on implications rather than the experiments themselves, which can lead to further oversimplification.
Astronuc
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
22,351
Reaction score
7,168
Does the author get it right? Anything left out?

Oversimplifying/getting it wrong really irks me, as does Overworked cliches!

Could pond scum power our future? Why do so many studies "shine light on" interesting questions or "pave the way" for new inventions? When did a Higgs boson become promoted to a God particle? Where do all these "magic bullets" and "perfect storms" and "holy grails" and "missing links" keep coming from? Why do we always say DNA is a blueprint and why are those shifty paradigms always shifting? Heck, who knows. I just know I read it somewhere and it sounded right and I didn't have time to think of a new metaphor, so I thought I'd use it too.

http://www.science20.com/parkinson_report/seven_deadly_sins_science_journalism
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Ironic that he would complain about overworked cliches in an article titled with an overworked cliche! :smile:

Of these seven sins, the worst is error. I don't mind the rest so much as long as the facts are stated correctly. But facts without context can be just as bad, so oversimplication can be as bad as getting it wrong.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Ironic that he would complain about overworked cliches in an article titled with an overworked cliche! :smile:

Or he could be implying public executions for poor scientific journalism?

The trouble is the experiment is really complicated, see, like really really complicated -- in fact, I think it might even be black magic -- so we're not going to talk about the experiment, we're just going to talk about the potential implications.

:smile: that's hilarious
 

Similar threads

Intro Physics Bad pop science books ("Galileo's Finger") vs. good?
Replies
8
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top