Category Archives: science communication

COVID-19 Vaccine Suspensions May Be Rash Rather than Precautionary

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Thoughtscapism

The wish to take time for careful deliberation of risks, which in itself is perfectly reasonable, immediately lead to decisions to suspend the vaccine while authorities deliberated. This is indicative of a natural quick and less measured reaction happening in tandem with the appropriate data-analysis. The natural reaction to be particularly averse of man-made, unfamiliar risks (like those from vaccine side-effects) easily overshadows our appreciation of natural ones (like the continuing spread and death toll from the pandemic). It feels more reassuring to actively take a step to avoid a risk (vaccination side-effect), while passively allowing the risk of disease to continue. Continue reading →

Posted in health, medicine, science communication, society, vaccines | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Contaminated Concepts about Chernobyl

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Thoughtscapism

Visiting Chernobyl is an opportunity to reflect on a tragic piece of history, but also our own risk perceptions. It is not dangerous. It offers a great chance to observe thriving wildlife – no three headed fish or glow-in-the-dark rats among them. Continue reading →

Posted in energy, environment, nuclear, psychology, science communication, society | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Chemical Exposures: The Good, the Bad, and the Tiny

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

I have often written about the lack of perspective on chemical scares, which is why I was happy to find out that Swedish Professor Emeritus in toxicology, Lennart Dencker, has written a book on this topic called “Not as dangerous … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, chemistry, environment, health, nutrition, science communication | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Toward More Intuitive Toxicology Information

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

Last week I had the privilege to attend a conference on risk science in New Orleans, and hold a roundtable together with neuroscientist Alison Bernstein from SciMoms. We were kindly invited to talk about our approach to risk communication by Center … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, chemistry, health, science communication | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Measures of Toxicity

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

This article is co-written by biologist Iida Ruishalme (yours truly at Thoughtscapism) and neuroscientist Alison Bernstein, aka Mommy PhD from SciMoms. We live amidst a mind-bogglingly rich sea of molecules. Nowadays, we also have astonishingly sophisticated methods of chemical detection … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, chemistry, health, methods, science communication | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Risk In Perspective: Hazard and Risk Are Critically Different Things

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

This series is something neuroscientist Alison Bernstein and biologist Iida Ruishalme have been brewing over for a long time. Risk perception is such a big crux in science communication that it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on. We decided … Continue reading →

Posted in health, science communication | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Risk In Perspective

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

This series is something neuroscientist Alison Bernstein and biologist Iida Ruishalme have been brewing over for a long time. Risk perception is such a big crux in science communication that it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on. We decided … Continue reading →

Posted in health, parenting, psychology, science communication, vaccines | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Conversations with an Anti-Nuclear Protester, Take Two

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Thoughtscapism

In the aftermath of the controversial US panel on energy at COP23, Lenka Kollar was the only panelist who stayed behind and gave interviews to several camera crews. These included one with a pitbullish German reporter, whose demands for exact … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, epistemology, nuclear, science communication | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A Tribute to My Grandmother, A Survivor of War, and a Pioneer Science Communicator 1950-1980

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Thoughtscapism

My grandmother was a strong woman who lived through difficult times, and went on to make science communication history, in both print and TV. Continue reading →

Posted in medicine, meta, science communication, vaccines | Tagged | 4 Comments

From Ideas to Evidence, an Interview: My Organic Crisis and the Birth of This Blog

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Thoughtscapism

In four short years, since I started looking at the science of farming more closely, the topic of organic vs conventional has felt very worn out to me, several times. I already know how it will go: some people have … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, chemistry, environment, health, meta, nutrition, organic, science communication | Tagged | 1 Comment