Wednesday Wisdom: Trust & Science Communication in Australia

Written By Michael Cowling

Back from your Australian long weekend? Time for some Wisdom Wednesday hump day reading! To get us back into the grove, something a bit more substantive this week, a piece from Nature showing trust in Australian scientists is in the top 5 in the world (thanks to Australian Science Media Centre for bringing to my attention!).

This of course engenders the question, if we all trust scientists so much, why do we struggle to listen to them so often? ;) I think perhaps it comes down to that old chestnut (for me at least) of good science communication (#scicomm). Sure the public trusts us, but they also need to understand what we are telling them, otherwise it’s all for nought! Luckily Australia has some good science communicators too! ;)

But interested in your thoughts! Do you think Aussies trust science? And if not, why not? And have a good Wednesday all. :)

https://idp.nature.com/transit?redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41562-024-02090-5&code=b452037e-9c94-4d0f-9ce2-809e1b37e1a1

Michael Cowling

Professor Michael Cowling (Associate Professor - Information & Communication Technology, CQUniversity Australia) has been a leader in educational technology for over 20 years and was the 2020 recipient of the Universities Australia AAUT Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences). He is an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion, and an Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) Community Fellow.

Tens of thousands of academics, teachers, and students have heard his mantra, 'pedagogy before technology', whilst learning directly and indirectly from him through his award-winning educator workshop series ‘Weaving Technology into the Fabric of the Classroom’, and his Australian government supported ‘Professor Tech’ K-12 student engagement program.

http://www.michaelacowling.com
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Wisdom Wednesday: On oligarchy, and how the past informs the future