NanoBots’ Howard Lovy muses on the challenges of reporting on technology so small it can dance on the point of a pin.
… take a look at the way important science policy issues are being presented right now (including some of the nanotech writing I’ve pointed out on this site), and you’re forced to think that maybe it’s time to ? well, start small. The way the public is being “educated” about genetically modified foods, cloning, global warming and the possible dangers of childhood vaccinations (more on that later), is through the mainstream press seeking out extremes on the issues, then giving them both equal weight. The papers and TV news can’t really be blamed because it’s conflict that will get readers into the story in the first place. I’ve gone on ad nauseam about that on these pages every time the “gray goo” scenario is given equal time with reality.
But this miscommunication of science is really all my fault.
Well, not mine, specifically, but all of us in science/technology niche media who are so impressed with ourselves and our knowledge that we fail to do our jobs ? properly communicate these complex and nuanced ideas to the public, and to the mainstream journalists who read us as they try to get a grasp on the issues before they write about it. The more I learn about how a misunderstanding of basic science has lead to backward laws and misplaced boycotts, the more I see how serious this issue is, and how we are failing in our basic mission to help create an informed citizenry.