. While
focuses on recent
scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often
written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in
many formats, which can include books, television documentaries,
magazine articles and web pages.
as a
professional medium of scientific research, and the realms of
popular political and cultural discourse. The goal of the genre is
often to capture the methods and accuracy of science, while making
the language more accessible. Many science-related controversies
are discussed in popular science books and publications, such as
the long-running debates over
and the
biological components of intelligence, stirred by popular books
such as
The purpose of scientific literature is to inform and persuade
peers as to the validity of observations and conclusions and the
efficacy of methods. Popular
science attempts to inform and convince scientific outsiders
(sometimes along with scientists in other fields) of the
significance of data and conclusions and to celebrate the results
through
rhetoric. Statements
in scientific literature are often qualified and tentative,
emphasizing that new observations and results are consistent with
and similar to established knowledge wherein qualified scientists
are assumed to recognize the relevance. By contrast, popular
science emphasizes uniqueness and generality, taking a tone of
factual authority absent from the scientific literature.
Comparisons between original scientific reports and derivative
science journalism and popular science typically reveal at least
some level of distortion and oversimplification which can often be
quite dramatic, even with politically neutral scientific
topics.
Popular science literature can be written by non-scientists who may
have a limited understanding of the subject they are interpreting
and it can be difficult for non-experts to identify misleading
popular science, which may also blur the boundaries between formal
science and
| Name |
| Carl Sagan, astrobiologist,
broadcaster, (astronomer) author; co-writer and host of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage |
| David Attenborough,
broadcaster and naturalist |
| James Burke,
BBC science historian best know for the series
Connections |
| John Acorn, naturalist and
broadcaster known as the "Nature Nut" |
| Amir Aczel, author and
mathematician |
| Isaac Asimov, author and
biochemist |
| Johnny Ball, broadcaster and math
popularizer |
| David Bellamy, broadcaster,
author, and botanist |
| Bob Berman, astronomer |
| David Bodanis, author |
| Daniel J. Boorstin, author and Librarian of
Congress |
| Jacob Bronowski, mathematician,
biologist, author and pioneering science broadcaster |
| Bill Bryson, author |
| Fritjof Capra, physicist and
author |
| Nigel Calder, broadcaster and
journalist |
| Brian Clegg, author |
| Jack Cohen, reproductive
biologist |
| Brian Cox , Broadcaster,
musician and physicist |
| Paul Davies, physicist, author and
broadcaster |
| Richard Dawkins, evolutionary
biologist and author |
| Jared Diamond, evolutionary
biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and author |
| Sir Arthur Eddington,
astrophysicist |
| Peter Fairley, journalist and
broadcaster |
| Michael Faraday, scientist and
lecturer |
| Richard Feynman, physicist and
author |
Brian J. Ford, biologist, lecturer and author
|-
|
George Gamow, physicist and
cosmologist
|-
|
Martin Gardner, mathematician and
author
|-
|
James Gleick, author and journalist
|-
|
Ben Goldacre, GP
|-
|
Stephen Jay Gould,
paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and science historian
|-
|
Brian Greene, physicist
|-
|
John Gribbin, astronomer and author
|-
|
Heinz Haber, physicist and
author |
| Thomas Hager, author and science
journalist |
| Bas Haring, philosopher and
author |
| Stephen Hawking, theoretical
physicist and author |
| Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard, broadcaster |
| Roald Hoffmann, chemist |
| Douglas Hofstadter, computer
scientist, cognitive scientist, and author |
| Jamie Hyneman, special effects
artist and television personality (MythBusters) |
| Jay Ingram, broadcaster and
author |
| Steve Jones,
evolutionary biologist and author |
| Horace Freeland Judson,
historian of molecular biology and author |
| Olivia Judson, evolutionary
biologist, broadcaster, and author |
| Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist
and author |
| Lawrence Krauss, physicist and
author |
| Robert Krulwich,
broadcaster |
| Karl Kruszelnicki, aka Dr
Karl, broadcaster |
| Richard Lewontin, evolutionary
biologist, geneticist and author |
| Chris Lintott, astrophysicist |
| Robert A. J. Matthews, physicist,
mathematician, computer scientist, and journalist |
| Bob McDonald, CBC
journalist and host of Quirks and Quarks |
| Fulvio Melia, physicist,
astrophysicist and author |
| Julius Sumner Miller,
broadcaster |
| Sir Patrick Moore, amateur
astronomer and broadcaster |
| Desmond Morris, zoologist,
ethologist, and author. |
| PZ Myers, professor and author of the
science blog Pharyngula |
| Jayant Narlikar, Cosmologist and
author |
| Bill Nye, broadcaster and mechanical
engineer known as the "Science Guy" |
| Tor Nørretranders,
author |
| Robert Olby, author and historian of
science |
| John Allen Paulos,
mathematician and author |
| Fred Pearce, journalist at New
Scientist |
| Yakov I. Perelman, author |
| Steven Pinker, experimental
psychologist, cognitive scientist and author |
| Robert Pollack, biologist and
author |
| Christopher Potter,
publisher, philosopher and author |
| Magnus Pyke, author |
| V. S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist, cognitive
scientist and author |
| Matt Ridley, zoologist, journalist
and author |
| Steven Rose, biologist,
neurobiologist, broadcaster and author |
| Oliver Sacks, neurologist and
author |
| Kirsten Sanford,
neurophysiologist and broadcaster |
| Adam Savage, special effects artist
and television personality (MythBusters) |
| Simon Singh, physicist,
mathematician and author |
| Ian Stewart,
mathematician and author |
| David Suzuki, broadcaster and
environmental activist |
| Colin Tudge, biologist and
author |
| Neil deGrasse Tyson,
astrophysicist and author |
| Kevin Warwick, biomedical
scientist, roboticist, and author |
| Doron Weber, Sloan Foundation
program director |
| Robert Winston, scientist and
broadcaster |
| Lewis Wolpert, developmental
biologist, author and broadcaster |
| Carl Zimmer, science writer and
author of the science blog The Loom |
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