Gnomes, Princess Von Schweetz, and Knocking boots. An exercise in socialising science.

21st September 2021

Excerpt from article:

By 2013 it had become apparent to Professor Anna Middleton, at that time a Genetic Counsellor and Social Scientist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge England, and her like-minded colleague at Genomics England, Vivienne Parry OBE, that in those moments where complex genetic medical science intersected with ordinary people and their daily lives — most particularly in the informational materials designed to inform them of the nature of a genetic condition or a series of important genetic tests — the language of the clinician and the scientist prevailed. Though the rigour and integrity of the informational content were unimpeachable, the absence of humanity was palpable. Not only were some of the materials not particularly people powered and pub friendly – they were in fact anti-social in the purest sense — in that it could be said that they lacked consideration for the wellbeing of the reader in such a way as might cause distress.

• Full article on Medium's website

Borra JL (2021) Gnomes, Princess Von Schweetz, and Knocking boots. An exercise in socialising science. [Online] Medium: Bioeconomy.XYZ. 21st September Available at: https://medium.com/bioeconomy-xyz/gnomes-princess-von-schweetz-and-knocking-boots-f13d4aff27b3    [Accessed: 24 September 2021]