What are the consequences of rejecting scientific knowledge? Why do researchers’ findings so often lose out to ideology, vested interests or social beliefs - and how does this affect our lives and the functioning of the modern world? We aim to answer these questions as part of the series ‘The less I know, the better I sleep...’ - a discussion on the disastrous consequences of disregarding science. The third edition of the event will take place on 8 August 2026 at 6.00 pm at the Creative Work Centre of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of the PAS in Czarlin-Skoczków (Kościerzyna district) on Lake Wdzydze.
The aim of the event is to create a space for open discussion between researchers from various disciplines and the public on the crisis of scientific authority in the modern world and the consequences of ignoring expert knowledge. Once again, participants will gather in a forest clearing by Lake Wdzydze to discuss the challenges facing contemporary science and society.
This year’s event will address three issues: the contemporary questioning of the theory of evolution and anti-evolutionary movements; the consequences of marginalising the voices of women researchers in the history of science; and the role of expert knowledge in urban management processes.
The following speakers will take part in the debate:
- Prof. Paweł Golik from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw,
- Prof. Beata Możejko from the Faculty of History at the University of Gdańsk,
- Prof. Iwona Sagan from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdańsk.
The event is organised by: the PAS Council for the Dissemination of Science, the Faculty of History at the University of Gdańsk, the PAS Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, and the PAS Institute of Oceanology. Dr Wacław Kulczykowski is responsible for organising the event on behalf of the University of Gdańsk.
‘The third edition of the debate shows that the issue of the relationship between science and society remains highly topical. This year, we will examine it from the perspectives of biology, history and socio-economic geography. We want to create a space for discussion not only about scientific discoveries themselves, but above all about why expert knowledge is sometimes rejected and what consequences this may have for us all,’ says dr Wacław Kulczykowski. ‘As we do every year, we invite you to a forest clearing by Lake Wdzydze, a place that has been fostering the popularisation of science and the free exchange of ideas for over two decades.’
The debate ‘The less I know, the better I sleep...’ is a continuation of the Summer Meetings with Science, a series of popular science events that has been organised for over 20 years and takes place in a forest clearing at the Creative Work Centre of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of the PAS on Lake Wdzydze. The series was honoured with the 2012 Science Communicator of the Year Award, and in 2022 it reached the final of the Science Communicator of the Year competition.
Link to the event’s Facebook page