Across the board, political decision making increasingly depends upon highly technical information. So science itself is being drawn into ever more political contexts in which it is covered by media, spun by advocates, and misused by politicians. This won't happen on every research subject, but it will surely happen on the high-profile, controversial ones. We've already seen the same pattern on climate change, embryonic stem cell research, reproductive health, evolution, and many other topics. And I suspect we will see it with future issues on the horizon like genetic engineering and nanotechnology ...
Scientists who try to communicate on these subjects often feel as if they're howling into a maelstrom ...
Endeavor to find out what the public thinks before trying to change its mind or sway its opinion. Try to learn which messages will resonate, and which ones will not.
Or, just contact the General Memetics Corporation.
