Abstract
Science and technology is the primary productive force, the most important driving force of economic and social development, and the decisive factor in the competition of national strength. Modern science originated from Greece. Through its continuous integration with social and economic development, science and technology has spread into different civilizations and developed into different forms of science culture. The traditional Chinese culture believes in the beauty of diversity. Culture is splendid because of diversity, and is prosperous because of communication. This is also true for science culture. Science cannot develop without social context. The production of scientific knowledge is a lively process of integrating human nature and local culture, rather than an absolute truth sitting in the corner, waiting to be discovered. It is these real circumstances of knowledge production that contribute to the diversity of global science culture, a concept that is gaining increasing recognition, attention and appreciation.
In this context, the National Academy of Innovation Strategy (affiliated to the China Association for Science and Technology) successfully held the Science and You International Conference in Beijing on 15–17 September 2018 together with Université de Lorraine. Under the theme of ‘knowing, sharing, caring: new insights for a diverse world’, the conference calls for a new perspective to explore this diverse world, to understand, share, advocate and promote the spirit of science, and to build a scientific outlook that features the transition from knowledge to culture and from global unity to pluralism and diversity.
The topic of this issue is ‘diverse science cultures’. Under this topic, we have collected the special report delivered by Academician Han Qide at the Science and You International Conference and other academic papers, which explore the topic from different dimensions, such as science culture, science communication, public understanding of science, cultural authority of science, and science and society. From multiple perspectives and positions, the papers depict science as a polyhedron with changeable forms when viewed from different angles. Through an exploration of science culture in China, West Africa, Japan, and Canada, they not only present to us the diversity of science culture, but also seek to establish the pattern of science culture and set the direction for its future development.