Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.

 
Matt Nisbet has tried to defend his attacks on PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins with a posting that promotes Paul Kurtz as a "reasonable" atheist [Paul Kurtz: The Local Leader Who Happens to Be an Atheist].

He followed it up with a posting on his comment policy where he notes that he has been forced to delete some of the comments from people who defend PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins [A Note On Comment Policy]. In that comment thread, Matt Nisbet defends his position on framing ...

I've been very active in communicating why my research is worth the money and I have done it very effectively.

-->I've done close to three dozen presentations over the past year and talked face-to-face with several thousand scientists, policymakers, other academics, students, and lay citizens.

-->I regularly post here on the relevance of framing to a range of topics. The top tabs of the blog explain in depth the nature and application of research to science communication.

-->I've done about 40 media interviews on issues related to science communication and/or framing.

-->I followed the Science article with an article at the WPost, a longer cover feature at The Scientist, both articles I link to as PDF copies free for reading. I have also done extended interviews on the topic at the Point of Inquiry podcast.

-->I advise and consult with a range of nonprofits, organizations, and government agencies.

-->I engage almost every serious minded blog post and comment with a respectful, and usually detailed reply.

Here's the problem. Matt Nisbet is promoting the concept of framing science. This is his field and he has every right to do that. I don't buy it and neither do many other scientists who think that framing is too close to "spin."

But that's not all that Matt Nisbet wants to do. Not only does he want scientists to adopt framing as a means to communicate science but he also wants to dictate the frame! In other words, he sets himself up as not only an expert in communication but also an expert in what should be communicated in the rationalism vs superstition debate. He can't tell the difference between the concept of framing, which many scientists reject, and his personal opinion, which is that vocal atheists are hurting the cause of atheism.

Matt want to have his cake and eat it too. He will get neither.

---

[Photo Credit: Worst Birthday Cake .. Ever!]