The whole day could not have been better, from being given a chance to give to speak to graduands from the IT and Health faculties (see below) to the honour of receiving the degree, hearing about remarkable work done in those faculties, and the pleasure of meeting fascinating people, from Sir Magdi Yacoub to the University Chancellor Dame Mary Archer (who I'm pictured above alongside). Not to mention sharing this with family and Buckingham-based friends.
Here's an approximate version of what I said to the students.
This excellent establishment was not granted royal charter until well after I left education, but is a place I would have been proud to attend for its open-minded approach. Basing decisions on evidence, not bias, is is so important when it comes to dealing with truth - and truth is something it's essential to understand in my job as a science communicator. Science is often portrayed simply as a search for truth, but I think it's important the public understands that the reality is more nuanced than this.
Part of the problem we face in explaining science is that researchers hope to achieve the next big thing so they can secure funding. This often leads to university PR departments over-hyping findings. My favourite example of this occurred a few years ago when Fox News trumpeted
Star Wars lightsabers finally invented
I think it's fair to say that many would expect Fox to go a little over the top, so to balance this from the more sedate end of the media, the Guardian reported
Scientists Finally Invent Real, Working Lightsabers
I just love the way they both say 'finally', as if to ask 'What have these scientists been doing all this time?' Intrigued, I took a look at the original paper that the press release was based on. It described how two photons - particles of light that usually ignore each other - briefly interacted in a special substance known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, cooled to near absolute zero. A lightsaber it was not.
This is an extreme example, but every day newspapers carry reports of the latest research findings - what this week's view is on the impact of red wine on your heart, for example. More often than not, these are preliminary findings that need further work to get anywhere near something that could be regarded as 'the truth.' Often there will never be certainty.
Most of the time science doesn't prove things. It's not really about absolute truth. Mathematicians can prove theorems because they control their environment. They define what the entities they work with mean - and the result is absolute mathematical truth. They don't have to deal with a messy, real world. Usually, though, the most we can say about science is that it gives us the best possible theory give current data - but we have to remember that this may change in the future.
For a science communicator this can be difficult to put across. People like things in black and white, with clear outcomes. But results often have to be interpreted statistically. In some fields, sample sizes are rarely big enough to have confidence in the outcomes. It's arguable too that some subjects that consider themselves sciences (dare I mention economics) may use the tools of science, but arguably aren't true sciences at all.
However, I don't say this to be negative about science. It has done a vast amount for us practically, as well as hugely expanding human knowledge, a joyful pursuit in its own right. The best possible theory given current data will always be far better than a random opinion on Tik Tok - scientific findings provide a wonderful resource as long as we understand what they are saying. And this is why I love being a science communicator. I'm not dispensing absolute words of wisdom and truth - that's more the remit of the clergy [the ceremony took place in Buckingham parish church]. I have the privilege of explaining these remarkable theories and why they provide the best understanding we have of the universe... unless new data changes our view.
I hope that with the open-minded and thoughtful approach the university has given to you, that you too can enjoy the fascination that arises from the scientific view of the world around us. By all means search for the truth - but make sure your truth is backed up by the best theory given current data. And if that's the case, you can't go far wrong.
Image by Peet Morris
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