Ateneo - UPO

General aspects of scientific practice. Models and predictions. The role of the uncertainty. The communication of results. Physics on the media and in public debate. Some major scientific issues and their public understanding: climate change, energy, space, etc. Outline of science communication, problems related to popularisation, both in presence and through media.

S. Bencivelli, F. P. De Ceglia, "Comunicare la scienza", Carocci.
Papers and documents provided by the lecturers.

The course's educational goals are: 1) To acquire the ability to critically analyze key scientific issues in public debate. 2) To develop the skills needed to argue and communicate scientific ideas in diverse contexts and through different channels. 3) To understand the basic techniques of scientific communication.

None

Lectures, class discussions, group work and project work

The slides of the lectures will be available on the DIR page of the course.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request
specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse
e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-
students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted
the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination
modalities.

Math module:
Presentation and discussion of a communication project. The project is evaluated based on: (i) connections with previous results (up to 8 points); (ii) choice of topic and communication channel (up to 8 points); (iii) analysis of examples of other similar communication projects (up to 8 points); (iv) final presentation (up to 8 points).
Physics module:
Students will be asked to write a short essay (10,000-15,000 characters) on one of the course topics, freely chosen. The essay will be judged based on four criteria: clarity, coherence, critical analysis, and documentation. A text that sufficiently satisfies at least two of these criteria will be considered satisfactory, while a text that fully satisfies all of these criteria will be considered excellent.
The final grade for the course will be the average, rounded up if necessary, of the grades assigned in the evaluation of the individual modules. Honors ("lode") will be awarded if the student obtains the maximum score (30) in both modules and honors in at least one of them.

Physics module:
Scientific Attitudes and Practice. The Role of Uncertainty. Models and Predictions. Error in Science. Major Discoveries and Daily Research. Communicating Results. Peer Review and Open Access: The Experience of arXiv. Pseudodiscoveries and Pathological Science. Physics in the News. The Problem of Climate Change: Scientific Data and Denialism. The Debate on Nuclear Energy. Space sustainability.
Mathematics Module:
An overview of science communication, issues related to dissemination, both in person and through the media.
Probability theory as the logic of uncertainty. Uses and abuses of statistics. Modeling phenomena: strengths and weaknesses of models.

- Knowledge and understanding:
acquiring basic theoretical concepts regarding science communication, problems related to popularisation, both in person and through media. Awareness of the uncertainty attached to scientific results (both experimental and theoretical), of probability theory as the logic of the unknown, of uses and abuses of statistics. Knowledge about mathematical models of phenomena.
- Applying knowledge and understanding: being able to produce popularisation and educational materials on contemporary topics of mathematics and science.
- Communication skills: being able to present to a non specialised audience the basic aspects of the scientific method, of mathematics, of sciences with particular attention to physics.