Science Cafe: Can pop culture make science more relevant?

Can pop culture make science more relevant?

Panelists:
Dr. Ken Clark,
SNOLAB

Dave Lickley,
Film Director and Producer

Hoi Cheu
Associate Professor, Laurentian University

Nina Nesseth
Author of the Science of Orphan Black, Staff Scientist Science North

FREE! (No registration required)

According to science icon Neil deGrasse Tyson, science has become part of the pop-culture lexicon, and it’s here to stay. With countless science documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth or number one sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory dominating the air waves, we are more inundated with access to scientific information and culture than ever before. More and more students are flocking to physics programs, taking up careers in forensic science, or studying the human genome. Many of them have been influence by pop culture towards these careers. What are the benefits for scientific fields with an increased interest in science? What are the risks to science when pop culture gets it wrong? If pop culture is embracing science, should scientists also embrace pop culture?

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