When “keep it simple” turns into dangerous misconceptions: A Brazilian case study.
Stephan Paul · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2011
Communicating acoustics to naive subjects by means of the news media requires a good balance between “keep it simple” and correctness. Unfortunately in Brazil, the balance is usually not maintained and “keep it simple” is often even substituted by erratic use of terms and concepts, not only in news media material [Paul, S., Proceedings of the XXIII Encontro da Soc. Brasileira de Acstica (2010)]. The analysis of Brazilian news media material, but also folders, brochures, etc., issued by equipment suppliers, shows terrific errors regarding even simples concepts such as the definition of sound. Unfortunately it can be even shown that erratic use of terms and concepts in news media, brochures, etc., negatively affects the Brazilian legislative, causing erratic noise pollution laws. To change this specific situation in Brazil, a joint effort of the Brazilian acoustics community is required, e.g., on (1) issuing a guide on “communicating acoustics correctly,” (2) introducing a Brazilian standard that defines terms and concepts in acoustics (first proposals made by Souza and Paul: [Ferramentas para uma padronização dos termos utilizados em acxfa;stica e vibrações, Acstica&Vibrações, 42, (2010)], and (3) thorough revision of Brazilian print/online material.