Instead of the reasoned and civil conversations that arise in most threads, when it came to climate change the comment sections became a battleground. While evolution and vaccines do have their detractors, no topic consistently evokes such rude, uninformed, and outspoken opinions as climate change. Some issues, however, are particularly contentious. ![]() When a user strays from such decorum, they are kindly warned and, if necessary, the comment is removed. That is, there are always numerous links to peer-reviewed science to support positions, people don’t deliberately mislead or misrepresent content, and there is a basic level of respect shared regardless of position. Given that our users are mainly academics (and all are nerds), the discussion generally resembles any scientific debate. In essence, it is a window into the Ivory Tower. Importantly, it provides the same window for those who are not scientists, who do not regularly talk with PhDs, and who may be unfamiliar with how science is discussed by scientists. ![]() I consider it a microcosm, representative of the vast range of views that can be supported by empirical evidence. On our little page, scientists and nonscientists can connect through discussions on everything from subatomic particles to interstellar astrophysics.Īs a moderator of this discussion, I’ve observed scientific discourse across a wide variety of disciplines. This puts us (along with /r/AskScience) on the front line of the science-public interface. The forum, known as /r/science, provides a digital space for discussions about recent, peer-reviewed scientific publications. By comparison, that’s roughly twice the circulation of The New York Times. The science forum is a small part of reddit, but it nonetheless enjoys over 4 million subscribers. In addition to my career as a PhD chemist, I am one of a select few who enjoy the privilege of moderating content on ’s science forum.
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