European science conversations
by the community, for the community
Big data, AI, social media, the Internet of things and cybersecurity are transforming our work environments as well as our life as citizens and consumers but more than 56% of Europeans is still lacking the basic skills and competences to navigate effectively Read more [...]
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest"
said Benjamin Franklin, to whom we owe the invention of the lightning rod and bifocals, among other things.
More than two centuries later, the American mathematician's observation could not Read more [...]
Are a Steve Jobs like digital guru or a Mr Bean of the digital world? Play iNerd to find out!
iNerd makes you explore your knowledge of four key areas of the digital world: big data and artificial intelligence, social media and Internet of Things. Read more [...]
Fake news is everywhere. Science-related pseudo facts have taken over the gossip sites and social media. And we are only at the beginning of an uphill battle to set the record straight. In this contribution, Melissa Hoover, shares her investigation on how people's response to fake news makes it easier for such inaccurate stories to propagate at a rate that is way more important than fact-based news. And here is why... Read more [...]
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Five years ago, the World Economic Forum declared that the spread of misinformation through social media was one of the greatest global risks to our future and prosperity. At that time, the future scale of the threat was still unclear, even to media experts. However, for anybody with the slightest doubt about how rapidly social networks are changing news consumption and its effects, last year was eye-opening and overwhelming. Misinformation and fake news have influenced every major voting process and strengthened science-denial movements — consider how ubiquitous anti-vaccine and climate change scepticism propaganda is. But what are the consequences and the remedies to this? On the 29th of June, this and other questions are the subject of discussion in the 'Science journalism in a post-truth world’ session of the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists (ECSJ2017). Read more [...]
Science may be opening up, but there are still areas that researchers would like to see remain private. Indeed, under the auspices of open science, scientists are increasingly expected to present a virtual projection of who they are. Appearance has gained an unprecedented level of importance. Scientists who do not play along open themselves to being mistreated or misunderstood. Living in a world of social media network means that scientists’ every utterance is recorded, dissected and analysed. Unfortunately, researchers have come to this game unprepared and without the type of training that politicians typically benefit from. Nobel Laureate Tim Hunt has had a bitter experience in this new era. Read more [...]
Trust. You can trust scientists, can’t you? They investigate the world, are curious, and always tell the truth, don’t they? In this editorial, you will find rather unscientific elements of trivia related to trust. It is designed to get our readers thinking about the true nature of trust, as part of our special issue on the topic. Read more [...]
“We are all singing somebody else’s songs.” With this image, Mark Pagel, evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading, UK, describes how difficult it is to be innovators. “We are followers, not innovators.” He is the author of a book on the subject called ‘Wired for Culture. The Natural History of Human Cooperation.’ Read more [...]
Welcome to this special edition of the EuroScientist looking into how sharing practices are affecting research and innovation. And why sharing matters! You will find, in our lead article, a wealth of information concerning the impact that the technology has had on sharing practices. We also look into the limitations of current sharing practices, despite the unprecedented availability of technologies to make collaborations happen. Read more [...]
Sharing practices build the essence of science. In the process they generate two important “Rs” for scientists: recognition and reputation. This trend has been exacerbated by an increase scientific activity. This means they have the potential for enhancing the sharing practices associated with the scientific endeavour. Ultimately, this trend will also have an impact on the way research is translated into innovation, albeit at the cost of enhanced collaboration and at the detriment of competition. Read more [...]
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