Twitch

Contemporary research is mostly conducted in closed laboratories and seminars, and its product is broadcasted in specialist-only for-profit journals. No mechanism exist to meaningfully relate research to important social issues, as academic fame is indexed on article productivity and mass media tends to echo a sensationalised version of scientific results. Consequently, common citizen have no visibility on the functioning on science, and feel no responsability to take scientific knowledge into account.

We recognise that science can only work as a guide for social life if people can developp the necessary tools to decrypt the meaning of scientific results. Although vulgarisation does help with the diffusion of scientific results, active participation is necessary to build engagement and enable deeper knowledge integration. The transmission of science therefore necessitates not only explaining in accessible terms, but also building spaces where open dialogue on philosophical and scientific issues is possible and encouraged.

In order to build such a space, Kairos animates a Twitch channel aiming to engage a non-expert audience with research on dynamical systems and socio-cultural evolution. We present books and articles we work on as a material for discussion, while picking each week’s topic based on audience interests. We hope to provide people an opportunity to learn more about what scientific results they think are relevant to guide themselves, and discuss what is their concrete ethical meaning.