“Scientists must also communicate about errors and develop ideas” – Science 2021

“Why do I say that!” In the 1980s, you could have gotten away with being a parent, but few kids today are satisfied with that phrase. Children today are important and they are encouraged to be critical as well. justly! There are also very few adults who take the words of a politician, teacher, or pastor as true. “Boldness to Think” has been the smart motto of Ghent University for years. And we can all do more and more. We no longer accept parents, politicians, or teachers who think for us and then tell us what is right and wrong and how we should act.

The downside to this is that some, by definition, no longer believe in people with a certain authority. They assume that all politicians are liars, that priests are brainwashed cult leaders, and university professors are manipulatives who want to impose their worldview.

Scientists must also report errors and provide insight.

its a problem. I don’t want to talk about politicians and priests, but about scientists. Because scientists are excellent and we need them badly. They provide facts, figures, ideas, and solutions to problems big and small. They are studying how wool can reduce heat, how we can combat climate change and how we can better deal with the Corona pandemic. Therefore, it is important that your ideas are widely disseminated. As science helps the world move forward, more knowledge makes us more human and generally makes us better choices.

Scientists try to understand the world, and when it suits them, they also try to improve the world. Scientists focus on a little bit of reality, and by putting all these tiny particles together, all of humanity will end up getting smarter and maybe even better. But for us non-scientists to continue, they must communicate. Because we no longer accept “because I say”. Therefore, scholars need to explain to us, to the general public, what they know about the saint’s patience and clever storytelling techniques. This is not always obvious because in our critical society, good science communication means not only explaining that something is that way, but also why it exists. If (almost) all scientists said that a vaccine saves lives and is safe, I wouldn’t conduct scientific studies to find out if that was the case. I couldn’t do that either. But I would still like to know why these vaccines work and whether what you say about vaccines is true. And if there are risks associated with the vaccine, it’s important that scientists say so honestly. So that we can conclude for ourselves based on as many facts as possible that vaccination is really a good idea, and not based on “because I say so”.

It also means that scientists can sometimes say out loud that they were wrong. Nobody is blaming scientists for underestimating how the virus spread through the air at the start of the Corona pandemic. But it is important that we also receive a clear status update while we collect the information. Otherwise, mistrust will begin to fade, mistrust that is already greater than that of scientists in some circles.

That’s why it’s great that so many academics try every day to make science available to everyone. On Everyone is famous profession The appointment, On Good feeling profession eos, documentaries and lectures on screen at the University of Flanders, on podcasts, on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and even on TikTok. It is great to see the scale of scientific communication – initiated by scientists, universities and colleges and at the request of the media.

So we thank you for the many academics who take the time and effort to translate their knowledge to a wider audience, thank you! The more you tell us, the more we learn to think scientifically and thus we can think creatively based on facts and ideas!

Catelyn Brack is the editor-in-chief of the University of Flanders. The University of Flanders wants science for all, where scientists explain their research and experiences in a way that is clear and understandable to all.

“Why do I say that!” In the 1980s, you could have gotten away with being a parent, but few kids today are satisfied with that phrase. Children today are important and they are encouraged to be critical as well. justly! There are also very few adults who take the words of a politician, teacher, or pastor as true. “Boldness to Think” has been the smart motto of Ghent University for years. And we can all do more and more. We no longer accept parents, politicians, or teachers who think for us and then tell us what is right and wrong and how we should act. The downside to this is that some, by definition, no longer believe in people with a certain authority. They assume that all politicians are liars, brainwashed shepherds, cult leaders and manipulative teachers who want to impose their worldview, and that’s a problem. I don’t want to talk about politicians and priests, but about scientists. Because scientists are excellent and we need them badly. They provide facts, figures, ideas, and solutions to problems big and small. They are studying how wool can reduce heat, how we can combat climate change and how we can better deal with the Corona pandemic. Therefore, it is important that your ideas are widely disseminated. As science helps the world move forward, more knowledge makes us more human and generally leads us to make better choices. Scientists try to understand the world, and when it suits them, they also try to improve the world. Scientists focus on a little bit of reality, and by putting all these tiny particles together, all of humanity will end up getting smarter and maybe even better. But for us non-scientists to continue, they must communicate. Because we no longer accept “because I say”. Therefore, scholars need to explain to us, to the general public, what they know about the saint’s patience and clever storytelling techniques. This is not always obvious because in our critical society, good science communication means not only explaining that something is that way, but also why it exists. If (almost) all scientists said that a vaccine saves lives and is safe, I wouldn’t conduct scientific studies to find out if that was the case. I couldn’t do that either. But I would still like to know why these vaccines work and whether what you say about vaccines is true. And if there are risks associated with the vaccine, it’s important that scientists say so honestly. So that we can conclude for ourselves on the basis of as many facts as possible that vaccination is really a good idea, and not on the basis of “because I say so”. It also means that scientists can sometimes say out loud that they were wrong. Nobody is blaming scientists for underestimating how the virus spread through the air at the start of the Corona pandemic. But it is important that we also receive a clear status update while we collect the information. Otherwise, mistrust will begin to fade, mistrust that is already greater than that of scientists in some circles. That’s why it’s great that so many academics try every day to make science available to everyone. In Everyone Famous and De Afspraak, in Goed Geluk and Eos, in documentaries from the Canvas and University of Flanders lectures, in podcasts, on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and even TikTok. It is great to see the scale of scientific communication – initiated by scientists, universities and colleges and at the request of the media. So we thank you for the many academics who take the time and effort to translate their knowledge to a wider audience, thank you! The more you tell us, the more we learn to think scientifically, so we can think creatively based on facts and ideas! Catelyn Brack is the editor-in-chief of the University of Flanders. The University of Flanders wants science for all, where scientists explain their research and experiences in a way that is clear and understandable to all.