SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Modern neuroscience now confirms what the poets always knew about getting to people’s heads through their hearts (that’s a metaphor, by the way–one of the chief communication techniques that Joseph Romm discusses in the new book “Language Intelligence.”)
SCIENCE OF POLITICS
A new study concludes that in all likelihood, there isn’t going to be any one gene to explain political ideology–the phenomenon is going to be polygenic, and very difficult to study.
POLITICAL PSYCOLOGY
We’ve all heard the saying, “never let a crisis go to waste.” Dylan Otto Krider, in a guest post, describes differences between liberals and conservatives in the way they view disasters and policy goals.
PSYCHOLOGY
Guest blogger Dylan Otto Krider discusses the power of intense emotional experiences to shape our prejudices and stereotypes, sharing a personal experience that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Dylan Otto Krider, a skeptic, journalist and science fiction author, shares thoughts on the challenges of scientists pushing back when the media gets the science wrong.
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Both houses of the Tennessee legislature have now passed an anti-evolution and anti-global warming (and anti-cloning) education bill, and the Tennessee Science Teachers Association is already calling the bill “very likely unconstitutional.”
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Chris Mooney review the new book, “Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion,” and offers thoughts about the scientific understanding of why we differ over ideology–and also over reality.
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Chris Mooney looks at interconnected online communities that help debunk falsehoods, and asks whether there will ever be a “killer app” for fact-checking and defeating anti-science lies.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
“Although not initially of his own choosing, Michael Mann has been the most important, resilient, and outspoken warrior in the climate battle–responding to threats and persecution with courage and resolve every step of the way.”
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Rather than looking at political neuroscience as alienating and judgmental, try and look at it as giving you tips on how best to reach your target audience.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
For scientists, the importance of framing, outreach, avoiding jargon, and going to your local science communication trainings are increasingly taken as givens, and that may signal a sea change in the effort to educate the public.
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Chris Mooney interviews Eugenie Scott, longtime head of the National Center for Science Education, about their new initiative to protect the accurate teaching of climate science in classrooms.
CLIMATE AND POLITICS
While studies have shown conservatives to have an anti-science bias, a recent study about liberal and conservative reactions to arguments for geoengineering show that perhaps liberals do too.
SCIENCE OF POLITICS
Chris Mooney introduces new Intersection bloggers and sets the stage for a deeper conversation about not just the politics of science, but the science of politics itself.
INTERVIEW
Chris Mooney interviews Jonathan Moreno about science and governance, the Obama administration’s Plan-B decision, The Body Politic, and more.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
A recent moral intuition study found correlation between indicators of conservative morality and scores on the “Dark Triad” Personality Inventory – a measure of three related “socially destructive” personality traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy.
PODCAST
Ever wonder what Bill Nye the Science Guy has been up to since he left teaching science to children on his popular TV show? Chris Mooney of The Intersection had a chance to catch up with him and find out.
PODCAST
A new Point of Inquiry podcast is up. In it, Jonathan Moreno and Chris Mooney discuss human cloning, synthetic biology, mood altering drugs, and personalized medicine among other key issues in Dr. Moreno’s new book The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America.
PSYCHOLOGY
A quick thought on the psychology of how delusions can persist despite repeated contradictory evidence.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
A new book from Cambridge University Press is helping advance the science communication revolution. Science Progress Action’s Chris Mooney has a chapter in the book on “Dealings with the U.S. media.”
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.