Download Keith Gibson`s The Importance of Rhetoric in Science Communication

The Effective Use of Rhetoric in
Scientific Communication
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How to get to know your audience
Keith Gibson
Senior Design Consultant
Allen Communication Learning Services
Aristotle’s Reasoning
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• Demonstration—when the premises from which the deduction
starts are true and primitive
• Dialectic—when it reasons from reputable opinions
Simon Locke
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• The technical sphere is nonrhetorical because it is the
sphere of truth; rhetoric is employed only as “handmaiden”
in imparting truth to nonspecialist, public audiences, whose
reasoning is “untrained.” –The Public Understanding of
Science, 2002
My Claim
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• The effectiveness of science communication is directly
proportional to the level of knowledge about the
audience
Three Questions
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• What does our audience need?
• Where do we disagree with them?
• What do we have in common with them?
Three Audiences
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• Public
• Journalists
• Politicians
Building Metaphors
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• Thomson’s plum pudding model of the atom
• Schrodinger’s cat
• Turing test
Telling Stories
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• “If we are to win the battle that
is now going on around the
world between freedom and
tyranny, the dramatic
achievements in space which
occurred in recent weeks
should have made clear to us
all, as did the Sputnik in 1957,
the impact of this adventure on
the minds of men everywhere,
who are attempting to make a
determination of which road
they should take.” --John
Kennedy
Finding Relevance
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Kepler Spacecraft
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• 76 stellar systems
explored
• 242 exoplanets
confirmed
• 3,277 exoplanet
candidates identified
• $550 million
Identify the Issue
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• Stasis Theory
• Fact
• Definition
• Quality
• Procedure
Climate Change - Fact
Source: NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Climate Change - Definition
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Climate Change - Quality
World’s Ten Most Important Challenges
Armed Conflict
Chronic Disease
Education
Infectious Disease
Population Growth
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Hunger and Malnutrition
Natural Disasters
Water and Sanitation
Climate Change – Quality/Procedure
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5
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Challenge
Solution
Hunger & Education
Infectious Disease
Infectious Disease
Infectious Disease
Infectious Disease
Hunger & Biodiversity
& Climate Change
Natural Disasters
Infectious Disease
Chronic Disease
Chronic Disease
Chronic Disease
Climate Change
Education
Infectious Disease
Education
Water and Sanitation
Bundled Interventions to Reduce Undernutrition
Subsidy for Malaria Combination Treatment
Expanded Childhood Immunization Coverage
Deworming of Schoolchildren
Expanding Tuberculosis Treatment
R&D to Increase Yield Enhancements
Investing in Effective Early Warning Systems
Strengthening Surgical Capacity
Hepatitis B Immunization
Acute Heart Attack Low‐Cost Drugs
Salt Reduction Campaign
Geo‐Engineering R&D
Conditional Cash Transfers for School Attendance
Accelerated HIV Vaccine R&D
Information Campaign on Benefits From Schooling
Borehole and Public Hand Pump Intervention
Climate Change - Procedure
Source: stevenleahy.net
Climate Change Stasis
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Fact: How much warming has there been?
Definition: What is an acceptable level of warming?
Quality: Is climate change more dire than other problems?
Procedure: How can we most efficiently slow the warming?
Find a Commonplace
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• What does the audience value?
• What are their goals?
• How can your project help them achieve those goals?
Commonplace?
Commonplace?
Commonplace?
Climate Change Stasis
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Fact: How much warming has there been?
Definition: What is an acceptable level of warming?
Quality: Is climate change more dire than other problems?
Procedure: How can we most efficiently slow the warming?
Three Questions
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• What does our audience need?
• Where do we disagree with them?
• What do we have in common with them?