Why ETH will blog more broadly

We’re living in strange times. Scientists worldwide almost unanimously consider climate change to be a real phenomenon, but some of the world’s highest political authorities still doubt its existence or even deny it entirely. Established scientists are derided with impunity from anonymous internet platforms. Every eighth person in Germany states that they don’t believe in science, and only half of those surveyed trust in research. [1] In such strange times, universities are challenged to step up – and to communicate.

Widespread doubt

Thumbs up, thumbs down: we live in an age of rapidly changing values and increasing polarisation. People in general are not anti-scientific – more than half of the people interviewed in the survey cited above stated that science and research improve our lives. However, people are sceptical of university experts. Why?

People do not like scientific findings that contradict their own world view. If someone is against animal research, the use of genetic engineering, meat consumption or nuclear energy, then that’s it. End of discussion.

Facts alone are not enough

It’s not enough to say that we simply have to explain to people how the world actually is. To me, this deficit model (“I’ll explain and then it will become clear to you”) is unscientific, because science is based on discourse, on critical contradiction, on the power of compelling arguments and better ideas.

Science cannot convince the world with facts alone – trust in science is needed. However, trust is not rational and objective. It’s a subjective feeling about a statement’s validity or a speaker’s honesty. And trust has to be developed over time and earned over and over again.

This is also why we have been trying for years to use the Zukunftsblog to convey science a little differently, in a more approachable and understandable way. With the occasional success: at the beginning of the year, we were awarded the silver medal in a competition for the best science blog. [2]

Only human

It’s not the findings alone that are the focus of the articles published on the Zukunftsblog, but the well-founded opinions of the authors; their assessments, their questions and sometimes even their self-doubt. After all, even scientists are only human.

When Christoph Küffer announced here on the blog that he would not be flying for a year, he ignited a debate – because he personally and actively presented his considered opinion and didn’t hesitate to question himself. This is one possible way to create trust.

We blog about our research

This is why ETH Zurich will be blogging on a wider range of topics as of 8 January 2018. In future, the Zukunftsblog will consist of three categories: in addition to sustainability, it will cover two of ETH’s other strategic focus areas, digitalisation and health.

Digitalisation is no simple term; it’s hard to grasp, and has pervaded every area of life for years now. From cybersecurity to new forms of industrial production and computer science education in schools: since Zuse’s Z4, the world’s first programme-controlled computer, was developed in ETH’s lab, the university has contributed decisively to Switzerland and to the world.

Health has been ranked in either first or second place on Switzerland’s Worry Barometer for years. People still rarely connect ETH with medicine – unfairly. ETH hasn’t only offered its own Bachelor’s programme in medicine since last autumn; more than a third of ETH’s 500 professors also conduct research in either a narrow or broad sense on health-related topics. Some of them will blog about that research here in future.

Leave your comments!

There’s one thing we can’t forget: there are two other important prerequisites needed for academia to strengthen trust in science: listening and dialogue. Discourse like that published on the Zukunftsblog requires a response. So please: leave your comments, ask critical questions. Even more than before.

But first, you can look forward to a few surprises. On Monday 8 January 2018, we’re beginning with a triple taste of the new Zukunftsblog. The three prominent authors Reto Knutti (sustainability), Martin Fussenegger (health) and Roland Siegwart (digitalisation) will each contribute a blog post outlining the future of their scientific areas.