What are the disadvantages of popularizing science and popularizing it in general? What do we lose by simplifying something to such a level that everyone understands?
Of course, there are more advantages in popularization, but if you overdo it, it can lead to the following problems::
when listening to any material in a popular presentation, you can gain confidence that in 30 minutes you have become an expert in something that in fact you have not even begun to understand;
constant oversimplification can lead to a reluctance to return to a more complex, but still more correct picture of the world.;
in the group of people who came to a popular lecture, it is difficult to identify those who are really interested and willing to work hard to understand the topic more deeply;
too popular presentation of scientific material attracts all sorts of pseudo-scientific figures, who are sure to hear in your story only what corresponds to their beliefs;
by popularizing science, it is easy to instill in your audience the belief that science can explain everything, and the scientific method has a certain “copyright to the truth” (and it is quite likely that this is not the case at all).
Of course, there are more advantages in popularization, but if you overdo it, it can lead to the following problems::
when listening to any material in a popular presentation, you can gain confidence that in 30 minutes you have become an expert in something that in fact you have not even begun to understand;
constant oversimplification can lead to a reluctance to return to a more complex, but still more correct picture of the world.;
in the group of people who came to a popular lecture, it is difficult to identify those who are really interested and willing to work hard to understand the topic more deeply;
too popular presentation of scientific material attracts all sorts of pseudo-scientific figures, who are sure to hear in your story only what corresponds to their beliefs;
by popularizing science, it is easy to instill in your audience the belief that science can explain everything, and the scientific method has a certain “copyright to the truth” (and it is quite likely that this is not the case at all).