Maps of the uncertain: a new approach to communicate scientific ignorance
Item Type
Abstract
While uncertainty and the unknown are not only accepted but favoured within scientific debates, these concepts are less tolerated in instances of exchange with society. In scientific communication, definitive statements are expected and thus delivered; and this societal expectation of the scientific community has obviously been internalized by the scientists themselves. After giving an overview of the lively discussion about scientific uncertainty and nescience (landscapes of the uncertain), this paper presents a new tool for the communication of scientific uncertainties: Maps of the Uncertain. These maps take the form of infographics, which allow a different kind of communication of uncertainties, and thus a different relationship between science and society. The paper presents and discusses examples of six maps.
Subject
Ignorance
Uncertainty
Science communication
Extreme events
Infographics
Publication Title
Publication Year
2017
Publication Date
2017-01-02
Source
Taylor and Francis+NEJM
License
ISSN
1351-1610
Physical Description
vol. 30, n. 1, pp. 121-136
Short Title
Maps of the uncertain