Gulfstream

Entry Posted September 12, 2005

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,12980,
1564369,00.html “Nobody dumbs down the finance pages. Imagine the fuss if I tried to stick the word ‘biophoton’ on a science page without explaining what it meant. I can tell you, it would never get past the subs or the section editor. But use it on a complementary medicine page, incorrectly, and it sails through.”

(In an introductions to one of the essays in Mark Bowden’s Road Work, he writes that it won an award for science writing, which was “proof positive that you didn’t need to know a lick about science to conquer science writing.” The essay itself isn’t bad, but this is a dangerous attitude—particularly when so cavalierly expressed!) 17:03

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… http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_13_a_murray.html Article about the hard-case street alcoholic homeless, their massively disproportionate effects on our support systems, and some possible solutions. A very good read.http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,12980,1564369,00.htmlArticle on the absolute nightmare that is the current media's reporting of science. http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/10/29/071029on_onlineonly_surowiecki?currentPage=1 Article on the absolute canard you hear repeated so often that "tax cuts pay …

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… getting relevant non-academic input into academic projects. A full report will be presented on the Reuters Institute webpage later, but here are some initial, very scattered, observations: People did not in general seem to agree with science writerBen Goldacre’s viewthat bad science journalism is basically down to the fact humanities graduates who don’t understand science are doing the reporting (though it does seem that writing skills are more values than science skills when recruiting science journalism, at …

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… unanimously agreed that while the public is consuming more science reporting now than ever before, mainstream journalism is doing a lousier job of covering the field my inner cynic asks "Isn't all reporting like that? What's so special aboutScience journalism?" I don't want to attack good journalism, or journalists. But there is a failure to realize, on the part of people like you and me, just how difficult it is to report factually, accurately and relevantly. I'm a hobbyist; it takes me as long as I want …

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