BS: More generally
((pause due to announcement 13.1))
BS: More generally what role does text have to play in the communication of science? And what role do physical objects?
TS: Do you mean within Techniquest?
BS: No, just more generally. I'm thinking about the way science is communicated. I'm thinking about the difference between communicating science through a written text and communicating science through an exhibit.
TS: It's something I ought to know but don't. That is, the numbers of people who say yes they read things scientific in their newspaper, and no they don't. And the number of people who habitually or occasionally watch science programmes on TV. Because they are the major media, I think.
Science figures a bit in the tabloid press. It's got to be jokey or it's got to be bad news. It won't usually be the kind of thing that we would get in the Independent or the Telegraph or the Times or the Guardian or whatever. Or the Financial Times. Which would be something which might be - something which has come out of research recently and which has some - some interest to people. Generally speaking, it won't be just because of it's scientific interest, it will be in relation to something that affects people's lives at the moment and so on.
So text - I don't know. It is a difficult thing to communicate ideas that are if you like really rather more difficult than you would want people to - feel they are. That is, to present stuff at a level where you've encapsulated - a big idea but you've done it in a way that people can cope with.