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1346 publications found

Jun 21, 2005 Commentary
Why we need more thought

by Nigel Sanitt

All science undergraduates should do at least one philosophy course as part of their curriculum to augment their communication skills. This article sets out the arguments and the wider benefits for students of such courses.

Volume 4 • Issue 02 • 2005

Mar 21, 2005 Focus
Science communication in India: current situation, history and future developments

by Marzia Mazzonetto

Nowadays, India is experiencing a widespread diffusion of science communication activities. Public institutions, non-governmental organisations and a number of associations are busy spreading scientific knowledge not only via traditional media but also through specific forms of interaction with a varied public. This report aims to provide a historical overview of the diffusion of science communication in India, illustrating its current development and its future prospects.

Volume 4 • Issue 01 • 2005

Mar 21, 2005 Editorial
The Tsunami challenge

by Pietro Greco

Many lives could have been saved on 26 December 2004, when the tsunami unleashed by an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 off the coast of the Indonesian island Sumatra struck a dozen coastal villages along the Indian Ocean. Those lives could have been saved if, on that day, science communication had not resulted in a complete failure to communicate scientific information adequately in many cases, in different places and at different levels. A long time passed between the violent shock and the devastation caused by the tsunami waves ­ in most cases, many hours.

Volume 4 • Issue 01 • 2005

Mar 21, 2005 Article
Historians of science and the "Sobel Effect"

by Paola Govoni

In 1995, journalist Dava Sobel's Longitude caused an earthquake in the history of science community. The present article analyses how only recently historians of science have fully realized the novelty the book represented. In the meantime, the international success of popular books by journalists on the history of science has become a well-known phenomenon. The author suggests that the huge publishing success of Sobel's book ­ the "Sobel Effect" ­ has provoked three main kinds of reaction among historians: rejection, detachment, and imitation. Which of the three strategies is the best, for both public and authors?

Volume 4 • Issue 01 • 2005

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