Crises in science and a crisis for science

image bird lecture

The TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalypse network are hosting a talk ‘Crises in science and a crisis for science’ with Professor Alexander Bird (University of Bristol).

Abstract

Kuhn describes crises in science as the driver of revolutionary scientific change.  What does he mean by this?  And is it true?  I move from discussing crises within science to crises in the relationship between science and society.  Does the public understand how science works?  Supposing that it does not, what are the consequences for the public's understanding of scientific debates and their trust in science and scientists?  I look in particular at the replication crisis, which some regard as particularly problematic for science.  I argue that it is only apparently a crisis and can be explained as a case of the fallacy of neglecting the base rate.