User:Jpurkis1

Wikipedia is the largest ever repository of human knowledge.

So, why in this age of information, is fake news so prevalent? Such attitudes aren't limited to just the 'Twittersphere' or social media; indeed, the rise of dis- and mis-information threatens all aspects of information, including the sciences, which I am in some way a small part of.

My name's Jamie Purkis, and I'm a chemistry PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, working with uranium and the other 'nasties' at the bottom of the periodic table.

That's why I decided to create this (very new!) profile: to help people understand the often arcane and 'impenetrable' world of chemical science. A recent report by the body responsible for representing UK chemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry, suggested that in a survey of more than 2000 adults in the UK, roughly 60% felt at best disengaged from the world of chemistry (but don't just take my word for it: here's the report! http://www.rsc.org/globalassets/04-campaigning-outreach/campaigning/public-attitudes-to-chemistry/public-attitudes-to-chemistry-research-report.pdf).

In a world dominated by science and with the rise of 'fake news', etc., EDUCATION IS KEY to understanding it, and helping people become more inquisitive, and therefore more engaged, citizens! After all, in the words of Professor Dame Anne Glover, former Scientific Advisor to the European Commission, "Research not communicated is research not done"!