Across Canada, there are individuals who have taken on the challenge of educating the public about science to inform the misinformed. Some outspoken individuals have challenged celebrities and have become celebrities in their own right. Others wear the title of “scicomm” champions and work hard to explain science to diverse audiences, sometimes to counteract misinformation, but other times simply to educate and instill a love for science.
And then there are the coordinated efforts of McGill’s Office for Science and Society. Its team of nine, mostly PhDs, has the herculean task of separating fact from fiction and righting pseudoscience wrongs in Canada and internationally. It says it is “separating sense from nonsense” – a worthy pastime and goal! I became aware of them after watching their video for curing cancer. (Don’t worry, I didn’t really think someone had found a cure for cancer and Big Pharma was keeping it a secret.) And I wasn’t alone. Their subversive video went viral and I became a fan.
But why does all this matter? Because After 23 years, Daily Planet has been cancelled. As Douglas Keddy, President of Science Writers and Communicators of Canada put it, “The Discovery Channel program not only brought fun, informative daily science news to Canadians from coast-to-coast, it served as a unique and important training ground for a generation of science journalists, producers and presenters, many of whom are, and have been, valued members of the SWCC.”
We already have a dearth of science journalists in Canada and now we’ve lost a significant platform for their voices. Kate Allen, who covers science and technology for the Toronto Star, was interviewed for this Medium article on science journalism and said: “I wish there were more reporters, especially in the science beat. It’s become quite a small group of us.”
A key finding of the 2014 Science Culture: Where Canada Stands report, by the Canadian Council of Academies, recommended several ways to increase Canada’s scientific literacy. One of those suggestions was to encourage scientists to communicate. (Here are some tips if you’re interested.) This could help battle science’s low trust factor.
Scicomm does matter and fighting pseudoscience isn’t a losing battle. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop will pay US$145,000 for making unscientific claims about a product it promotes. One might consider that a win for the good guys.
Watch this video to learn how you can fight back against institutionalized pseudoscience.
Stacey Johnson
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