The Museum of Doubt: A Modest Manifesto by a Science Curator

If one wants to paint a realistic picture of the scientific practice, one cannot only parade success stories and easily digestible results. But how to present the beauty and complexity as well as the vulnerability of science without jeopardising its credibility? In The Museum of Doubt Marjan Doom looks for an answer to that question. The opening of the Ghent University Museum (GUM) provided her, as curator, with the opportunity to reflect on the role of science museums in the 21st century. She delivers a passionate plea for a better dialogue between science and art, but also for a revaluation of doubt. Like science itself, a museum is an ideal sanctuary to let go of false certainties and give doubt its rightful place again. AUTHOR: As a veterinarian at Ghent University, Marjan Doom did research into animal anatomy, specifically of the vascular system. As the director of the Ghent University Museum she explores the interfaces between science, art, and society. SELLING POINT: . A passionate plea for a better dialogue between science and art, but also for a revaluation of doubt