Publicizing Science! To What Purpose? (Revisiting the notion of public communication of science and technology)

<正>Without an informed public, scientists will not only be no longer supported financially, they will be actively persecuted. Asimov, 1984 A[1]common lament in the realm of science and technology culture(SL and PCST[2])is the scant regard for publicizing science and technology. Similarly decried is the chronic lack of knowledge of science and technology by a high proportion of the general public, who are said to be de facto deprived of the right to speak on issues concerning them since they cannot grasp the real impact on society of the spinoffs from science and technology development. PCST actors reiterate that the real challenge is to maintain our individual and collective capacity for intervention in a knowledge society that is ever more complex to decipher and master. A constant theme in France, as elsewhere, is the plea to recognize and value the publicizing of science and technology(S&T), to acknowledge its need and support the means its mission requires.