About Things We Don’t Know C.I.C.

Things We Don’t Know (TWDK) is a UK-based science education company, which seeks to help improve the public understanding of science.

There are two distinct aspects to science: learning about what science has discovered, and discovering new things. Naturally, scientists must first learn what we already know before they can start their own research. We feel that scientists tend to concentrate on explaining the things we already know, and rarely explain the things we don’t.

We are dedicated to explaining the questions to which science still seeks answers.

It is the job of scientists to find the answers to questions nobody else has answered, and yet there is no place these questions are collected. This contributes to a number of societal problems; a high dropout rate amongst graduate students, restricted opportunities for collaboration between scientists, a lack of awareness of scientific issues, and a general distrust of science.

We are addressing these needs by creating an easy to browse and publically accessible online catalogue of scientific research topics, with straightforward descriptions of the phenomena being investigated and links to the institutions delving into them. By explaining the questions we know science hasn’t found the answer to (yet) we strive to increase public awareness of current research, and simultaneously provide valuable services to those searching for doctoral opportunities, science journalists, universities and researchers.

We aim to provide a detailed explanation of each topic currently being researched in science in accessible language. Our site combines proven techniques and mechanisms from publishing, social media, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding; to explain ongoing research, improve collaboration between scientists/media/industry, and fund research. We intend to establish circular relationships whereby each category of user benefits the others.

Our Founder, Ed Trollope, has always been passionate about science communications and wanted to devise a way to make a greater impact than the talks he was giving in schools. Whilst talking to university students he realised that there is a need to have a resource listing the things to which science is still seeking answers, and thus Things We Don’t Know was established. Things We Don’t Know was formally registered in June 2012, as a community interest company based in London.