台湾的科学普及运动与当务之急

台湾的科学普及运动,都透过平面出版的形式来展现,有过4波巨大的浪潮。这种经验有值得海峡两岸四地省思之处。第一波是1970年《科学月刊》创刊,高举“让科学说中文”的大旗。第二波是1983年的《牛顿杂志》登陆,标榜“开启图解科学新页”。第三波是1991年天下文化“科学文化”书系的建立,把温温热热的“典范科学家”带入冰冰冷冷的“科学典范”中,开始了科学与人文的对话。第四波从1998年起,各大出版社纷纷跨入科普出版领域,盛况空前;持续到2002年,更出现两本科普杂志《科学人》(ScientificAmerican的繁体中文版)及《科学发展月刊》(由台湾的“国科会”主办)。近乎每隔10年,科普运动的浪潮就爆起一声拍岸巨响。可是,蒙昧的岸石并不见裂痕,只是微微松动。所幸巨浪过后,余波仍然不息,继续拍打岸边,只是力道渐弱。现阶段的科学普及工作,就平面出版的领域而言,有以下当务之急。(1)重新定位“科学普及”的核心对象。是漫天撒网,遍及社会大众?或是只针对学生,而且是精英学生?还是只想跨越学门藩篱,仅供学术社群内部交流?“科学普及”的对象不同,诉求与做法就应当有差别。(2)报纸、周刊、月刊、书籍等平面媒体,性质有异,传播速度也不相同。须各尽其责,共同推动科普。(3)严守科学立场,不要宣扬伪科学。(4)重视翻译,重视写作技巧。(5)尊重美术设计、广告、行销、财务等等专业,群策群力。(6)大学出版社最靠近丰沛的学术资源,应该参与科普运动。

Setting Top Priorities for Popular Science Movement in Taiwan

In this paper the author identifies four significant waves of Taiwan's popular science movement, starting from 1970, all through print publications. However, these four waves seems unable to deliver long-lasting results. Pseudo-science is still widely perceived as facts. The author then argues that it is necessary to set the top priorities for science publishing, in the hope of further improving popular science movement. These four waves are marked by various publishing events. The first wave was made by "Science Monthly," founded in 1970, pioneering "Explaining Scientific Knowledge in Chinese". The second wave was brought by the Chinese edition of "Newton Magazine" in 1983, introducing"The New Era of Illustrated Science Magazine". The third wave arose in 1991, when Commonwealth Publishing Company launched its popular science list, "Science Culture", and started the dialogues between science and humanities communities in Taiwan. The fourth wave emerged from 1998 till now, and during this period, about a dozen of publishing houses established their popular science lists, and two popular science magazines were launched: "Scientific People"(the Complex Chinese Edition of Scientific American) and "Science Development Monthly"(sponsored by National Science Council). Although every decade a wave would exhibit some effects, altogether they failed to create continued scientific enlightenment as expected. Pseudo-science is still prevailing in Taiwan and the following concerning science publishing would require our immediate attention: 1. Re-target the audience: Aiming at high school students and adjusting the level of knowledge conveyed in the publications accordingly. 2. Choose the right media to work with. 3. Uphold fundamental scientific views: Do not publicize the pseudo-science. 4. Place emphasis on translation and writing techniques. 5. Apply publishing expertise: Production, printing, sales and marketing, logistics and finance are all critical to publishing operation. 6. Encourage active participation of university presses: University presses are easy access to academic resources and communities.