Dec 31, 2025 08:25 PM
Science has always been marketed, from 18th-century coffeehouse demos of Newton’s ideas to today’s TikTok explainers
https://theconversation.com/science-has-...ers-267707
EXCERPTS: Scientific theories do not simply reveal themselves; they compete for attention, credibility and uptake. [...] In this view, science is not outside the market, but inside a public arena where claims vie for audiences, resources and belief – and where power, persuasion and social position shape which ideas are heard, trusted or forgotten.
[...] Although Newton himself was a recluse, a circle of zealous Newtonian men of science, described by historians as devoted disciples and even evangelists for Newton’s natural philosophy, took his new theories on the road...
[...] Historian of science Jeff Wigelsworth showed that Newton’s evangelizers built what today might be called a brand: experiences, artifacts and emotions that linked scientific authority to Enlightenment ideals of reason and progress, and to their own personalities.
My own research finds that these men of science also used a suite of early marketing activities. Besides developing products to sell to promote Newtonian science, they came up with promotions that targeted different audiences, adjusted their pricing and used varied distribution strategies.
[...] Three centuries later, the marketing of science is more visible, and more complicated, than ever... (MORE - details)
https://theconversation.com/science-has-...ers-267707
EXCERPTS: Scientific theories do not simply reveal themselves; they compete for attention, credibility and uptake. [...] In this view, science is not outside the market, but inside a public arena where claims vie for audiences, resources and belief – and where power, persuasion and social position shape which ideas are heard, trusted or forgotten.
[...] Although Newton himself was a recluse, a circle of zealous Newtonian men of science, described by historians as devoted disciples and even evangelists for Newton’s natural philosophy, took his new theories on the road...
[...] Historian of science Jeff Wigelsworth showed that Newton’s evangelizers built what today might be called a brand: experiences, artifacts and emotions that linked scientific authority to Enlightenment ideals of reason and progress, and to their own personalities.
My own research finds that these men of science also used a suite of early marketing activities. Besides developing products to sell to promote Newtonian science, they came up with promotions that targeted different audiences, adjusted their pricing and used varied distribution strategies.
[...] Three centuries later, the marketing of science is more visible, and more complicated, than ever... (MORE - details)