Science

=== Education and awareness ===
{{Main|2 = Public awareness of science|3 = Science journalism}}
[[File:Dinosaur exhibit - Houston Museum of Natural Science - DSC01881.JPG|thumb|250px|left|Dinosaur exhibit in the [[Houston Museum of Natural Science]]]]
[[Science education]] for the general public is embedded in the school curriculum, and is supplemented by [[YouTube in education|online pedagogical content]] (for example, YouTube and Khan Academy), museums, and science magazines and blogs. Scientific literacy is chiefly concerned with an understanding of the [[scientific method]], units and methods of [[measurement]], [[empiricism]], a basic understanding of statistics ([[correlations]], [[Qualitative research|qualitative]] versus [[Quantitative research|quantitative]] observations, [[aggregate statistics]]), as well as a basic understanding of core scientific fields, such as [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[biology]], ecology, geology and [[computation]]. As a student advances into higher stages of [[formal education]], the curriculum becomes more in depth. Traditional subjects usually included in the curriculum are natural and formal sciences, although recent movements include social and applied science as well.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Benneworth |first1=Paul |last2=Jongbloed |first2=Ben W. |date=July 31, 2009 |title=Who matters to universities? A stakeholder perspective on humanities, arts and social sciences valorisation |journal=Higher Education |volume=59 |issue=5 |pages=567–588 |doi=10.1007/s10734-009-9265-2 |issn=0018-1560 |doi-access=free|url=https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/47901538/Benneworth2010Who.pdf }}</ref>

The mass media face pressures that can prevent them from accurately depicting competing scientific claims in terms of their credibility within the scientific community as a whole. Determining how much weight to give different sides in a [[scientific debate]] may require considerable expertise regarding the matter.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dickson |first=David |date=October 11, 2004 |title=Science journalism must keep a critical edge |url=http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/science-journalism-must-keep-a-critical-edge.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621053624/http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/science-journalism-must-keep-a-critical-edge.html |archive-date=June 21, 2010 |publisher=Science and Development Network}}</ref> Few journalists have real scientific knowledge, and even [[beat reporter]]s who are knowledgeable about certain scientific issues may be ignorant about other scientific issues that they are suddenly asked to cover.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mooney |first=Chris |date=Nov–Dec 2004 |title=Blinded By Science, How 'Balanced' Coverage Lets the Scientific Fringe Hijack Reality |url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2010/01/15/blinded-by-science-how-balanced-coverage-lets-the-scientific-fringe-hijack-reality/ |url-status=live |magazine=Columbia Journalism Review |volume=43 |issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117181240/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2010/01/15/blinded-by-science-how-balanced-coverage-lets-the-scientific-fringe-hijack-reality/ |archive-date=January 17, 2010 |access-date=February 20, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McIlwaine |first1=S. |last2=Nguyen |first2=D.A. |year=2005 |title=Are Journalism Students Equipped to Write About Science? |url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8064 |url-status=live |journal=Australian Studies in Journalism |volume=14 |pages=41–60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801163322/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8064 |archive-date=August 1, 2008 |access-date=February 20, 2008}}</ref>

[[List of science magazines|Science magazines]] such as ''[[New Scientist]]'', ''[[Science & Vie]]'', and ''[[Scientific American]]'' cater to the needs of a much wider readership and provide a non-technical summary of popular areas of research, including notable discoveries and advances in certain fields of research.<ref name="pmid24312943">{{cite journal |author-last=Webb | author-first=Sarah |title=Popular science: Get the word out |journal=Nature |volume=504 |issue=7478 |pages=177–9 |date=December 2013 |pmid=24312943 |doi=10.1038/nj7478-177a |doi-access=free }}</ref> Science fiction genre, primarily [[speculative fiction]], can transmit the ideas and methods of science to the general public.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilde |first=Fran |author-link=Fran Wilde (author) |date=January 21, 2016 |title=How Do You Like Your Science Fiction? Ten Authors Weigh In On 'Hard' vs. 'Soft' SF |url=https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/how-do-you-like-your-science-fiction-ten-authors-weigh-in-on-hard-vs-soft-sf/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404025029/https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/how-do-you-like-your-science-fiction-ten-authors-weigh-in-on-hard-vs-soft-sf/ |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |access-date=April 4, 2019 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Recent efforts to intensify or develop links between science and non-scientific disciplines, such as literature or poetry, include the ''Creative Writing Science'' resource developed through the [[Royal Literary Fund]].<ref>{{cite web | first= Mario | last= Petrucci | url= http://writeideas.org.uk/creativescience/index.htm | title= Creative Writing&nbsp;– Science | access-date=April 27, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090106015539/http://writeideas.org.uk/creativescience/index.htm | archive-date= January 6, 2009 }}</ref>