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Why does a scientific magazine have an Opinion section in the first place? Has it always? I would guess the number of Opinion pieces has gone up dramatically in the last decade.

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davorak 7 days ago | parent | next [-]

Probably because opinions are interesting to most people and people who read pop sci magazines want to read opinions that have more of a science/evidence bent then what they can get out of other magazines and/or newspapers.

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taeric 7 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It provides a valuable path to outside perspective? Generally you would expect some credentials and vetting in what opinion you post. But the idea seems fine? Good, even.

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insane_dreamer 7 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> Why does a scientific magazine have an Opinion section in the first place?

Nature has an Opinion section. New Scientist does too. Most magazines do.

> I would guess the number of Opinion pieces has gone up dramatically in the last decade

Did you do any research on this or just throwing out random guesses?

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crackercrews 7 days ago | parent [-]

> Did you do any research on this or just throwing out random guesses?

As I said, I said it was a guess. I tried chatgpt, but no help there. I was hoping that people here who are more regular SA readers than me would have a sense of this.

It is well-known that people do not discern reporting and opinion coverage. IMO this barrier is exacerbated in scientific publications, where science-like language is used throughout. It gives the sense that "science" is behind the opinion.

This may not sway science-savvy readers of the magazine, but when it is reported elsewhere ("Scientific American magazine says XYZ"), it surely misleads people. I'd rather science magazines stick to science, but that's just me.

	▲	warmcompress 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		> As I said, I said it was a guess. I tried chatgpt, but no help there. "We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas"