Edinburgh Cafe Scientifique: Shedding Light on Science

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Dark, musty rooms lit by the glow of a Bunsen burner, a faint waft of ammonia and chalk. This, perhaps, is where you think you might encounter that mysterious breed known as ‘The Scientist’. “Not so!” retorts the Edinburgh Café Scientifique. Why not come along to the Filmhouse Bar instead for a pint and a slice of scientific know-how?

Opening up the world of science to the general public may be a difficult challenge, but it’s not one that the Café Scientifique network will shy away from. Based on the Parisian ‘Café Philosophique’ concept, the many voluntarily run Café Scientifique groups around the UK and the world provide an informal backdrop for scientific discussion within local communities. They also aid and enhance open dialogue between the specialists and scientists that come to share their knowledge with the public.

In our quickly changing, technology-driven modern lives, science is not a subject that people who want to be in the know can afford to hide from. The media, however, can distort and misrepresent the true facts behind an important issue, and trying to tackle an original research paper can be a bit much for most people. The solution? Bring the scientists behind the research out into the public forum for discussion and debate at a level accessible for everyone.

At a typical event you won’t find full lecture-style presentations, or complicated equations and graphs – just a discussion of the topic from specialists in the field. Café Scientifique positively encourages people to ask ‘stupid’ questions, as the person sitting next to you will most probably be wondering the same thing.

Bird flu, the MMR vaccine, the Big Bang and ‘making the bionic man’ are all topics previously covered by the Edinburgh Café Scientifique.

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