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zeynep's profile
zeynep tufekci
zeynep tufekci
zeynep tufekci
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@zeynep

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zeynep tufekciVerified account

@zeynep

Complex systems, wicked problems. Society, technology, science and more. @UNC professor. @NYTimes columnist. My newsletter is @insight: http://www.theinsight.org 

floating in a most peculiar way
theinsight.org
Joined August 2009

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    1. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      zeynep tufekci Retweeted Jeffrey Flier

      One problem is the people telling us to just “follow the science” rarely seem to understand the interaction between things science can and has resolved and the unknowns and trade-offs that cannot be resolved by appeals to “The Science.” They’re often using science as a talisman.https://twitter.com/jflier/status/1345417443909500931 …

      zeynep tufekci added,

      Jeffrey Flier @jflier
      Could not agree more with this statement by @MonicaGandhi9. I’ve been doing science for 45 years and find public/media use of “follow the science” to be shallow and counterproductive - deployed to suppress needed debate on issues that require it. https://twitter.com/MonicaGandhi9/status/1345297748451463168 …
      46 replies 370 retweets 1,715 likes
      Show this thread
    2. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      Germ theory of disease? Yep that’s over. Science resolved that. (Little things we can’t see can make us sick but even that is super complex!). Spacing vaccine boosters? There are people with impeccable credentials on both sides of the question, plus issues of trust & governance.

      5 replies 21 retweets 259 likes
      Show this thread
    3. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      zeynep tufekci Retweeted George Thomas

      The best ones are good at exactly that. Everyone would easily acknowledge it’s true, and there will always be disagreement on where the line is. But “follow the science” really has become a talisman that’s being evoked to hide that line.https://twitter.com/FordPrefect747/status/1345425599851061251 …

      zeynep tufekci added,

      George Thomas @FordPrefect747
      Replying to @zeynep
      An excellent point. You describe a difference that I've noticed during the epidemic that even scientists often seem unable to distinguish.
      12 replies 15 retweets 200 likes
      Show this thread
    4. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      zeynep tufekci Retweeted Jeff

      After months of being accused of being anti-science because I recommended wearing masks back in March, and many futile months trying to emphasize focusing on indoor activities and stop the beach/outdoor shaming. I love this example of "follow the science"!https://twitter.com/musicpsych/status/1345446872790552576?s=20 …

      zeynep tufekci added,

      Jeff @musicpsych
      Replying to @zeynep
      In context though, "follow the science" has meant to take measures like wear a mask, wash your hands, limit indoor activity. It's been intended to contrast with magical thinking like "it'll go away on its own" and "it's not any more severe than the flu."
      6 replies 46 retweets 346 likes
      Show this thread
    5. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      I never thought I'd personally live through such an intense period of groupthink + consensus shifts (which are not alien concepts at all for sociology!) but I hadn't realized how they'd be accompanied by this deep and immediate "always been at war with Eastasia" amnesia. Amazing.

      6 replies 62 retweets 514 likes
      Show this thread
    6. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      We spent months trying to get masks accepted as a scientifically reasonable precaution! (Now seems we can't get it across that not all masks are equal). A whole year trying to get authorities (mostly in Western nations) to emphasize ventilation and indoors as risks! lol folks.

      8 replies 38 retweets 293 likes
      Show this thread
      zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

      To emphasize: I am *completely* on the side of science—the enterprise, the method, the miracle of it all. I am in awe of what scientists have done last year. It was an annus mirabilis for science and annus horribilis for humanity. But "follow the science" has become a talisman.

      11:24 AM - 2 Jan 2021
      • 27 Retweets
      • 299 Likes
      • André Malhão nickss Lúcia 💉🐊 Julia Alice 🌷 renesmee aparecida Eloiza Botelho Leti FVM Get Hung
      10 replies 27 retweets 299 likes
        1. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021

          It's been an incredible year. Scientific achievements of past year are mind-blowing. I don't think it has completely sunk in, because just like anything we get used to, we're immediately taking the successes for granted. Appreciating that without worshiping its platonic shadow...

          4 replies 15 retweets 199 likes
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        1. Barış Büyükokutan‏ @BBuyukokutan 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          You lost me at "but."

          0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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        2. Alex Merz‏ @Merz 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          Hope you are maintaining enough skepticism to remember that being right about one thing (masks) provides absolutely no insulation against being wrong about other things (immunology).

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
        3. zeynep tufekci‏Verified account @zeynep 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @Merz

          The current immunology debate is way above my pay grade with virologists with impeccable credentials on both sides of the debate! We'll learn soon. My argument was to immediately launch a trial for what happens without an immediate booster, and we absolutely should have.

          2 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
        4. Show replies
        1. New conversation
        2. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters‏ @ellbeepea 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          So, what's a good phrase for those of us who are not scientists can use that basically means "follow the science" without the implications you note? I try to follow what scientists are debating about and what the general consensus is (understanding these change), but too wordy.

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
        3. Natanael, tech custodial engineer‏ @Natanael_L 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @ellbeepea @zeynep

          Focusing on risk management seems reasonable, IMHO. Early scientific studies are like forecasts. Predictions improve the more data comes in. While waiting, try to hedge for the broadest range of risks that are feasible.

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        4. Show replies
        1. Lydia Alix Fillingham, PhDed, JD the Obscure‏ @FillinghamLydia 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          When you reify "The Science" as a single coherent thing that will always point in a single direction, you make science more vulnerable to public critique and distrust, since it can never fit this model.

          0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
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        1. Steve Joffe‏ @SteveJoffe 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          Following the science won't always get you to the right answer, partly because of the remaining uncertainties and partly because there may not be a single right answer. But not following the science will almost always lead you astray.

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
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        2. ¡K Smith!‏ @K_Smith_MI 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @zeynep

          Is there a difference between scientists and science communicators? The scientists working behind the scenes have been incredible. Science communicators, not so much...

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        3. John Drazan‏ @Sports2STEM 2 Jan 2021
          Replying to @K_Smith_MI @zeynep

          One of the biggest challenges to science communication has been the lack of a centralized federal communication strategy. If the CDC was taking lead, scientists would be lobbying the CDC to change a given message/policy. Instead, in the void, folks are left lobbying the public.

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        4. End of conversation

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