Science, junk science, and how to tell the difference

Science, junk science, and how to tell the difference

UC Connect Public Lecture: Science, junk science, and how to tell the difference

How do we tell the difference between science, pseudo-science, anti-science rhetoric and ‘alternative facts’?

As the famous astrophysicist Carl Sagan once said, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology in which hardly anybody knows anything about science and technology”.

Why is the language of science and scientific achievement often viewed with suspicion and, at times, derision?

In the upcoming UC Connect public lecture Science, junk science, and how to tell the difference, Adjunct Professor Simon Pollard will talk about the rewards and frustrations of communicating science to a wide audience.

Dr Simon Pollard is Adjunct Professor of Science Communication at the University of Canterbury. He is a spider biologist and award-winning writer and photographer. He has been involved in contributing to the public understanding of science through writing, exhibitions, lectures and advising on natural history documentaries for 25 years.

He has been an advisor on three Attenborough BBC series; most recently The Hunt in 2015. In 2016, he spent two days a week in Wellington as the external science advisor to Te Papa and Weta Workshop on the $5 million exhibition Bug Lab. Currently, he is writing a book for Te Papa Press on New Zealand natural history for younger readers.

UC Connect public lecture: Science, junk science, and how to tell the difference, Adjunct Professor Simon Pollard, 7pm on Wednesday 19 Julyat the University of Canterbury.

Register to attend free at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect

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