Jan 1st, not April 1st
Only days into 2007 and already I have a contestant for weirdest piece of science communication of the year.
PUS campaigning group Sense about Science have published a "science for celebrities" leaflet. This will be placed in "VIP hangouts" such as VIP lounges at airports, Premiership football clubs, exclusive restaurants and clubs, aiming to catch the attention of those foolish celebs who ignorantly expose the dangers of MMR or the wonders of eating sprouting beans. BBC story here, The Guardian here.
I assume they are taking the mickey as a PR stunt, but (a) it's hard to tell with Sense About Science and (b) I'm still not entirely sure of what they are trying to achieve.
4 comments:
Haha well it's quite a good idea really. I always get irritated by articles in fashion etc magazines (such as Vogue, Elle and less exclusive ones) which spout complete nonsense about different products, diets and different treatments. One has to wonder how they are allowed to publish things which are blatantly false. Celebrity endorsements certainly don't help!
don't you think it's a bit patronising though?
It may be patronising but in some cases it might actually be a way through to help send out correct scientific public messages and in that way surely it is a good thing. Maybe patronising is the way to get through to some celebrities.
Firstly, I very much doubt Jamie Oliver et al are there prime audience. Do you *really* think celebrities will read these leaflets?
More to the point, don't you think patronising is going to turn people off, so they ignore the message.
The biggest issue I have with this piece is they suggest it's crazy we simply believe the celebs, who have no actual knowledge of science. Fair enough. But what they give as a replacement are decontexulised head-shots of "scientists" waggling their fingers. If they explained to me why the scientists point of view was more reliable, or at least gave me some insight into the processes of constructing knowledge, then I might have more sympathy for their cause.
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