The Simonyi Professorship Chair for the Public Understanding
of Science was founded in 1995, by a donation from Dr Charles Simonyi. It is
currently held by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, and based at Oxford University’s
Mathematical Institute and Department for Continuing Education.
Aims
The aim of the Simonyi Professorship is to
contribute to the understanding of science by the public. The chair is intended
to be filled by a scientist of distinction in their field of expertise, and the
Simonyi Professor may hold the post while also pursuing their scientific work.
Just as important as scientific accolade is that he or she has a talent and
interest in communicating science to a wide audience.
Primary goals
The task of communicating science to the layman is
not a simple one. In particular it is imperative for the post holder to avoid
oversimplifying ideas, and presenting exaggerated claims. The limits of current
scientific knowledge should always be made clear to the public. Once done so,
however, there is also a role for presenting speculative ideas, which can
convey to non-scientists some of the excitement of doing true science.
From Charles Simonyi's Manifesto
“The chair is for ‘Public Understanding of Science’, that the
holder will be expected to make important contributions to the public
understanding of some scientific field rather than study the public’s
perception of the same. By ‘public’ we mean the largest possible audience,
provided, however, that people who have the power and ability to propagate or
oppose the ideas (especially scholars in other sciences and in humanities,
engineers, journalists, politicians, professionals, and artists) are not lost
in the process. Here it is useful to distinguish between the roles of scholars
and popularisers. The university chair is intended for accomplished scholars
who have made original contributions to their field, and who are able to grasp
the subject, when necessary, at the highest levels of abstraction. A
populariser, on the other hand, focuses mainly on the size of the audience and
frequently gets separated from the world of scholarship. Popularisers often
write on immediate concerns or even fads. In some cases they seduce less
educated audiences by offering a patronizingly oversimplified or exaggerated
view of the state of the art or the scientific process itself. This is best
seen in hindsight, as we remember the ‘giant brains’ computer books of
yesteryear but I suspect many current science books will in time be recognized
as having fallen into this category. While the role of populariser may still be
valuable, nevertheless it is not one supported by this chair. The public’s expectation
of scholars is high, and it is only fitting that we have a high expectation of
the public.:
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