post-normal science
Post-normal times
Because of the covid-19 pandemic, the Post-Normal Science (PNS) symposium 2020 was transformed in a digital event: Here I share my closing words!
goverance
The politics of certainty in a context of uncertainty
The covid-19 pandemic is a clear example of the need to govern within uncertainty, because decisions cannot be delayed until more knowledge is available on the spread of the virus, its possible developments, long-term health sequels, re-emergence, or the development of a possible vaccine. Yet, the covid-19 is also shaping Read more…
complexity
Ethics of algorithms and the posthuman
In the last seminars I attended, I heard more and more talks about the ethics of algorithms. At Jerome Ravetz’s 90th birthday celebration, Urmie Ray made the case for introducing ethics in the curriculum of mathematicians – a field traditionally alien to humanistic concerns such as ethics. Ray used the Read more…
complexity
Numbers as the interface between science and policy: what is at stake?
Before I get to the subject matter, a little bit about my background. Since my PhD, I have been studying the use of quantitative evidence in the context of complexity, uncertainty and pluralism. My work has been greatly influenced by Post Normal Science, by the fossil joke and the realisation Read more…
measurements
My key note on uncertainty at the EFSA/BfR Conference
In this post you can watch or read my key note at the Joint EFSA/BfR International Conference on Uncertainty in Risk Analysis!
measurements
Uncertainty beyond the data
How one theorizes uncertainty is central to how uncertainty is analysed. If uncertainty is conceptualised as incomplete knowledge, uncertainty analysis will focus on describing knowledge gaps. If uncertainty is conceptualised as the challenge of predicting the future, uncertainty analysis will focus on describing how present variables may change in the future. In this post, I argue that a theoretical understanding of uncertainty is necessary to guide decision-making, and that the analysis of uncertainty must be theoretically informed and not only solution-oriented.
complexity
Towards governance in complexity
How to provide good science advice to policymakers, under conditions of scientific complexity and uncertainty?
There are three points that I would like to make. (more…)