Accounting for explanation in popular science texts—an analysis of popularized accounts of superstring theory

Bibliographic Data

ID20403226
AuthorsJon Turney (Penguin Press in London, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume13
Issue4
Pages331-346
Publication date2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Understanding of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0963-6625 • E-ISSN: 1361-6609
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0963662504044909
OpenAlexW2060292813
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited12

This paper argues that explanation is central to much science communication and seeks ways of describing explanation through text as it is achieved in popular science writing. It is suggested that a framework elaborated by Ogborn et al. (1996) for analyzing the explanatory performance of science teachers in the classroom may be adapted for analysis of popular texts. The suggestion is elaborated through an extended case study of popular works on superstring theory, notably Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe (2000). It is concluded that Ogborn’s scheme is useful, but the demands of this theory expose some of the limitations of the framework, and perhaps of textual— that is, non-mathematical—explanation in general

Epistemology · Mathematics education · Popular science · Science education · Scientific theory · Sociology · Superstring theory · Computer Science · Evolution and Science Education · Mathematics · Philosophy · Science and Climate Studies · Science Education and Pedagogy

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