A bucket of cold water | Wiener Ball der Wissenschaften 2026

I used the image of a bucket of cold water to summarize the Vienna Lecture on Science Communication on the eve of the ball, immediately after Professor Astrid Séville’s presentation. I found her remarks on kitsch and the crisis in science communication both “refreshing and sobering.” With the courage to present a concise thesis, grounded in strong theoretical arguments, Séville explained the necessity of good science communication while simultaneously warning against overloading it with well-intentioned content and the supposed compensation for deficiencies in democratic discourse.

The extremely lively discussion that followed the lecture in the ceremonial hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences demonstrated just how precisely Séville had struck a chord with the scientific community. This way to the recording of the lecture on YouTube.