UNB Prof calls on academics to provide clarity on public issues

CANADA – In an opinion piece for Maclean’s magazine, Matthew Sears, associate professor at the University of New Brunswick, is calling on academics to speak up on issues in their field. The problem lies with so-called experts weighing in on topics that are outside their field of study. For example, if Neil de Grasse Tyson were to speak as an expert on of mathematics instead of astrophysics.

In the piece, he ponders whether the importance of accurate, factual answers are lost to controversial topics that are often emotionally driven. Sears also critiques the media’s representations of issues, saying it often looks for the shocking angle that can sometimes give flawed ideas like flat earth theories and holocaust deniers undue attention.

“There really is no reason, publicly or intellectually to give space or airtime to these ideas, and to do so, gives this false sense of balance,” he said.

Sears points out that the call to action is not just for his fellow academics. His hope is to change the manner of public debate from yelling matches into something more thoughtful and measured so that complex issues aren’t lost in the emotional noise.

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