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   Dr. bicycle whisperateror (adamsteer@mapstodon.space)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jul-2026 18:15:00 JST Dr. bicycle whisperateror

   in reply to

   riffing further: my take on communicating science is to always aim for levelling people up.

   "its too complex for [cohort]"

   ...do we know for sure?

   As an example, avoid value statements like "powerful model". Say what the model is, what it does, explain its assumptions.

   et cetera.

   As well as the piece that inspired this mini rant, I read some excellent science communication today about orbits and crash clocks - leaving feeling levelled up rather than talked down at.

   So it can be done!!

   • Embed this notice
     Dr. bicycle whisperateror (adamsteer@mapstodon.space)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jul-2026 18:15:02 JST Dr. bicycle whisperateror

     PSA: whenever academia reverts to hyperbole in communication, eg:

     "we used a powerful model to..."

     ...without saying what model - it's a red flag, meaning you should always look up the actual model and check its assumptions.

     #academia

     13 barn owls in a trenchcoat repeated this.