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Angela Potochnik

@apotochnik.bsky.social
3.8K followers 848 following 205 posts

Philosopher of science, Director of Center for Public Engagement with Science at University of Cincinnati. Books: Idealization and the Aims of Science, Recipes for Science, Science and the Public. www.angelapotochnik.com

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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm very excited to visit northwest Arkansas to give a talk at University of Arkansas. I grew up nearby in Rogers, so U of A was my hometown university. The lecture (3pm Friday 10/2) is open to the public, so feel free to attend if you are in the area and interested! #philsci #philsky 🧪
news.uark.edu
Philosophy Department Presents the Spellman Lecture in the History of Science
Join us for the Lynne and James Spellman Lecture in the History of Science, featuring Dr. Angela Potochnik, professor of philosophy, head of the Philosophy Department and founding director of the Cent...
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide, edited by the inestimable @phieveigl.bsky.social (and me!), has 27 chapters from super-cool philosophers of science explaining how they do their thing, and is now open access! Our baby is free! #philsci direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
direct.mit.edu
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide
A guidebook to methods and methodology, encouraging deeper engagement across the philosophy of science and beyond.The last twenty years have seen multiple
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
Melissa Jacquart @mjacquart.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Very excited that *Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide* is now available open access! Lucas and I have a chapter in it on "Doing Public Engagement with Science as a Philosopher of Science" #philsci #scicomm. In our chapter we ...
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
OK, so AI can apparently solve the puzzles of the Navier-Stokes equation. But can it solve the puzzles of the universe, in the way that Einstein did? My latest news feature for @nature.com looks into the question of how far AI can go towards scientific discovery. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
The Einstein test: what happens when AI tries to rediscover relativity?
Scientists are probing whether language models trained on historical data can reproduce creative breakthroughs.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
These are on topics like how to distinguish science from pseudoscience, how to read a scientific article, experimental validity, base rates and false positives, and more. If you are interested in the textbook or videos, check out this introductory video about the book. #philsci #philsky #scicomm 🧪
youtube.com
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Recipes for Science is an introductory textbook about scientific methods and reasoning that I coauthored with Matteo Colombo and Cory Wright. For the 2nd ed (2024), my colleague Lucas Dunlap produced 17 videos on topics from the book, for use with or without the book. #philsci #philsky #scicomm 🧪
youtube.com
Recipes for Science - YouTube
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D. Hicks @danhicks.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I've been thinking about this for over a year, and here's the problem with comparing Lysenko to science under Trump/Vought: Lysenkoism was not about propaganda and ideological conformity. The Trumpist attack on universities is. Gleichschaltung is much better metaphor. (🧵)
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Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
And very many thanks for @apotochnik.bsky.social and @mjacquart.bsky.social for their thought provoking book, Public Engagement with Science ... ...which shaped how I approached my Attenborough talk, see here www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7FW...
youtube.com
The battle for reality: Why science matters in an age of misinformation | The Royal Society
YouTube video by The Royal Society
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
Metascience @metasciencejournal.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Science is now facing, "not the sort of healthy skepticism that leads to better answers, but rather an outright rejection of well-established scientific consensus. Organized Science Denial examines this broader trend of distrust in science." Gong & Potochnik's review: tinyurl.com/mr2kpche
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Paper under review; fingers crossed!
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Summary: Philosophical accounts of causation assume causation reduces to isolated direct influence. Call this billiard-ball causation. I conjecture that complex systems approaches and limitations of experimental & modeling techniques support a different conception of causation as an expansive mesh.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Great photos chronicling the first meeting of the Asian Philosophy of Science Association shared out with all participants! Here I am un-photogenically talking about how Causes Don't Push. #philsky #philsci
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Here's a link to the volume itself, which is fully open access: doi.org/10.1017/9781... This is the first volume of a new interdisciplinary series with @universitypress.cambridge.org, Elements in Public Engagement with Science. 4/4 #philsci #scicomm 🧪
doi.org
Public Engagement with Science
Cambridge Core - Environmental Policy, Economics and Law - Public Engagement with Science
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Our exchange with @rogerhighfield.bsky.social gets at important issues about how academics relate to public engagement with science. The full symposium is linked in the preview below, and here's a link to Melissa's and my reply without a paywall: rdcu.be/fAmwN 3/ #philsci #scicomm 🧪
link.springer.com
Book symposium: Public Engagement with Science: Defining the Project (Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart)
Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart. 2025. Public engagement with science: defining the project. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This book is the ...
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Many thanks to Karen Kovaka, Elis Jones and Sabina Leonelli, and Roger Highfield for their thoughtful reviews. All of the reviewers pressed us on important issues. Highfield was the most critical of our project... 2/ @sabinaleonelli.bsky.social @rogerhighfield.bsky.social #philsci #scicomm 🧪
link.springer.com
Book symposium: Public Engagement with Science: Defining the Project (Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart)
Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart. 2025. Public engagement with science: defining the project. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This book is the ...
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Who counts as a scientist, who gets to decide what counts as scientific, and are academics relevant to public engagement? Check out this Metascience symposium on Public Engagement with Science: Defining the Project. 1/ @mjacquart.bsky.social @metasciencejournal.bsky.social #philsci #scicomm �
link.springer.com
Book symposium: Public Engagement with Science: Defining the Project (Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart)
Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart. 2025. Public engagement with science: defining the project. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This book is the ...
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
AAUP @aaup.org · 26/08/2026
Faculty of the South! Please take a few moments to fill out the 2026 AAUP Faculty In The South Survey:
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Recipes for Science is an introduction to scientific methods and reasoning, with historical case studies and case studies across natural and social sciences. Here's a link to the original English (2nd ed.): doi.org/10.4324/9781... #philsci #philsky #scicomm 🧪
doi.org
Recipes for Science | An Introduction to Scientific Methods and Reason
Scientific literacy is an essential aspect of any undergraduate education. Recipes for Science responds to this need by providing an accessible introduction to
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Recipes for Science, coauthored with Matteo Colombo and Cory Wright, will have a Japanese translation coming out in a few months! Here I am with Ryota Morimoto, the translator, at the recent meeting of the Asian Philosophy of Science Association in Singapore. #philsci #philsky #scicomm 🧪
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Oh right! Yes, I also have this problem on iOS Mail! It is bonkers. These all seem like really basic coding issues. Not that I know anything about coding email programs...
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
...but a quick internet search does not suggest I can update this setting in Outlook. :(
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Weird! I just checked on my Mac Mail, and it replies to the other party/ies instead. I wonder if this is actually a setting one can control?
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A few years back, I finally jumped ship from Mac Mail to Outlook in the face of continuing institutional pressure and also Mail's increasingly poor search capabilities. Outlook is mostly okay, but why on earth does clicking "reply" to one's own reply in a thread go to oneself?
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Wonderful conference, congrats @eugenechua.bsky.social and everyone else who brought this together. #philsky #philsci
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Very interesting!
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Here's my response to Lawrence Krauss lambasting the humanities for the "ideological corruption" of science back in 2020. We need ideological awareness precisely so we can recognize illegitimate influence, like the proposed political control of our nation's research agenda. 4/4 #philsci #scicomm 🧪
scientificamerican.com
Awareness of Our Biases Is Essential to Good Science
Ideological, social and political values have always influenced research
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Now the White House has proposed a rule change where political appointees rather than scientists will select what scientific research receives federal funding. This, not humanistic perspectives and a focus on marginalized populations, is what deserves the name "ideological corruption." 3/
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
...and a report commissioned by two prominent universities accuses the humanities of political capture. Yet these are instead what I have called "ideological awareness," uncovering how scientific research is subtly shaped by values, which is essential to doing better science. 2/
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
U.S. science is once again subject to a basic confusion between the *observation* of how values shape science versus the *improper influence* of values on science. Federal grant agencies have banned research mentioning gender, equity, and many other politicized topics... 1/ #philsci #scicomm 🧪
scientificamerican.com
Awareness of Our Biases Is Essential to Good Science
Ideological, social and political values have always influenced research
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
scientificamerican.com
Scientists overwhelmingly against rule change that would give political appointees say over science grants
Hundreds of thousands of scientists, including Nobel laureates, warn that changes to the way federal grants are approved would greatly damage American science
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Check out Qianrong Gong's and my Metascience review of Bruni and Lefsrud's collection, Organized Science Denial. This link offers free access to the review: rdcu.be/fs0Uq #scicomm #philsci 🧪
Purely decorative image, of a succulent plant
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
Sabina Leonelli @sabinaleonelli.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
And it’s out - our homage to the inimitable John Dupré, a giant of contemporary philosophy, from his loving colleagues and a stellar cast of contributors link.springer.com/book/10.1007... : #philsci
link.springer.com
Life Beyond Human Boundaries: John Dupré’s Philosophy and the Interdisciplinary Study of the Life Sciences
This open access book is self-standing as the only substantive anthology of writings centered on John Dupre’s work.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Put the public at the heart of science! This is well done: www.nature.com/articles/d41... #scicomm 🧪
nature.com
Six ways to put the public at the heart of science and policy
Trust in elite institutions is on the wane globally. Building public participation into research and government advice can turn the tide.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
This is super interesting. I’ll also mention that most (not all!) discussion here focuses on one-directional sci comm by individual scientists at a distance (via internet or text). I’m not convinced that’s the best approach to public engagement with science.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Awww thanks Elmo. You made my day.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
...also the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Cincinnati Ethics Center, all of which are led by faculty in @ucphilosophy.bsky.social. This is a great opportunity to gain experience with interdisciplinary initiatives and authentic public engagement. Application review begins on May 31.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
We're hiring a postdoc with research interests in AI explainability, ethics, and trustworthiness who is also interested in public engagement with AI and AI ethics. The postdoc will work with the UC Center for Humanities and Technology (CHaT)... #philsky #philsci
jobs.uc.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow in AI Ethics, College of Arts and Sciences
Postdoctoral Fellow in AI Ethics, College of Arts and Sciences
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
...also the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Cincinnati Ethics Center, all of which are led by faculty in @ucphilosophy.bsky.social. This is a great opportunity to gain experience with interdisciplinary initiatives and authentic public engagement. Application review begins on May 31.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
We're hiring a postdoc with research interests in AI explainability, ethics, and trustworthiness who is also interested in public engagement with AI and AI ethics. The postdoc will work with the UC Center for Humanities and Technology (CHaT)...
jobs.uc.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow in AI Ethics, College of Arts and Sciences
Postdoctoral Fellow in AI Ethics, College of Arts and Sciences
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Oh, also UC's Cincinnati Ethics Center has lots of ugrad and grad internship/co-op opportunities, also in its outreach.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Our department has also had past interns with the mayor's office, a political campaign, and assorted other placements. In general, we've found that our increasing public engagement creates lots of opportunities for ugrad and grad philosophy students. That's about all I know!
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
University of Cincinnati places a big emphasis on co-ops (paid internships), and our philosophy major now has a "co-op track". Melissa had a co-op student work with her in her ethics and science fairs 5th-6th grade outreach this spring...
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Review of postdoc applications begins 4/30, please share the opportunity with anyone who might be interested. #SciComm #philsci 🧪
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
The UC Center for Public Engagement with Science @ucpews.bsky.social is hiring a postdoc! Anyone who will earn a PhD in a related discipline with interest in public engagement is encouraged to apply. Please share widely! More details and apply here: jobs.uc.edu/job/Postdoct... #SciComm #philsci 🧪
jobs.uc.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Public Engagement with Science
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Public Engagement with Science
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Erol Akcay @akcay.theoretical.bio · 07/04/2026
I am glad Trump is backing down but a line was crossed when he explicitly called for a genocide. This is not tolerable, and there is a constitutional remedy. Impeach and remove now.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Check out this nice review of the Element (short book) @mjacquart.bsky.social and I coauthored. A PDF of the Element is freely available from @universitypress.cambridge.org, here: doi.org/10.1017/9781... #philsci #SciComm 🧪 jcom.sissa.it/article/pubi...
jcom.sissa.it
Public engagement with science: a practical guide
Public engagement with science has gained institutional prominence while remaining conceptually fragmented and difficult to operationalise. This review evaluates Public Engagement with Science by Ange...
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Reposted by Angela Potochnik
Catarina Dutilh Novaes 🟥 @cdutilhnovaes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Great guest post at @dailynous.com (Full disclosure: one of the authors is a former student whom I admire greatly.) One of the many ways in which academia systematically excludes people from the Global South is by hosting prestigious events only in rich countries-> dailynous.com/2026/03/10/h...
dailynous.com
How (and Why) to Organize a Conference in the Global South (guest post) - Daily Nous
Conferences provide valuable opportunities to academics and can influence disciplinary agendas. But scholars have unequal access to conferences, often owing to where such conferences are held and the ...
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
They then offer science communication strategies based on these insights for science communicators, mothers, and other caregivers. This original research demonstrates the value of understanding stories and identities in mobilizing mothers for both science skepticism and science advocacy.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
explores the obstacles and opportunities for public engagement with scientific topics. After an overview of the nexus of science communication, stories, and identities, the author applies insights from these topics to the case study of motherhood in the climate change and vaccination controversies.
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Angela Potochnik @apotochnik.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Mothers as Science Storytellers explores how scientific meaning and decision-making are filtered through the stories we tell about science and through our social, cultural, and personal identities. Focusing on mothers as a prominent and important identity in science communication, this Element...
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