Alessandro Strobbe Recoba
Science communicator known as Doctor Trónico
Hi! My name is Alessandro Strobbe and I'm a Peruvian science communicator with experience in public engagement through storytelling and creative writing. I also research topics related to science communication, critical thinking, and citizen science, with a special interest in motivated reasoning, communication models, and heuristics.
I'm currently a master's student in the Erasmus Mundus Journalism program at Aarhus University and the DMJX. If you want to learn about science and technology, you can follow me on social media.
Filmmaking
You will no longer be able to eat blueberries: A chronicle on climate change and its effects on the Andean glaciers (documentary)
Independent science communication film on global warming, its effects on tropical glaciers, and the risk that this represents in the communities of the Andes.
Special thanks to the British Embassy in Peru, the Newton Fund, the Peruvian National Institute for Research on Glaciers and Mountain Ecosystems (INAIGEM), British and Peruvian scientists financed by the Newton Fund, Germanwatch (German green NGO), Wayintsik (Peruvian green NGO), and Saúl Luciano.
My social media projects
Books and Publications
The teaching of science communication in higher medical education in Peru in the context of the COVID-19 post-pandemic (peer review article)
Alessandro Strobbe, Michelle C. Chirinos-Arias, Joe Lucero, Enrique Rojas.
AI: It is not what it seems and it does not go where we want.
The final chapter of the book: “The fourth industrial revolution in Peru”.
Creative writing columns
Which is the king of the jungle?
Lions are often called "the king of the jungle", but maybe it's time to reconsider. These majestic apex predators are at the top of the food chain and play a fundamental role in controlling the overpopulation of other species, preventing an ecological disaster. However, if we compare them with other big cats, we will find that tigers are bigger, stronger and faster. In addition, researchers from the University of Oxford discovered that their brains are larger than those of lions and other big cats. They’re not necessarily smarter, but the odds are that they might be.
Lions live in societies called pride and they are the only felines to do so. This is a great advantage because while the male lion provides protection, the lionesses are in charge of hunting and feeding the pride. This allows them to capture larger prey and better care for the cubs. On the other hand, tigers are highly skilled solitary hunters. They’re characterised by stalking their prey and carrying out lethal and surprise attacks.
The tigers have sharper teeth and a more powerful bite than the lion, but that would not be decisive in a territorial dispute with them. It would likely have to deal with a lion helped by several lionesses. This is a great advantage for life in society because even if the tiger wins, it would have to recover from its injuries in solitude. And starvation could weaken it to death if this prevents it from hunting.
However, there’s a small detail that we haven’t mentioned. Lions live mainly in African grasslands and savannahs, not in the jungle. This word comes from Hindi (and thus also from Sanskrit) and refers to any uninhabited place. Considering that there aren’t tropical forests in India, the phrase would make sense in that context. Furthermore, tigers don’t live mainly in the jungle either, so if we want to be rigorous, the king of the jungle should be the jaguar, which lives in the tropical forests of Central and South America and eats alligators, anacondas and even turtles.
At the end of the day, the lion could not be the biggest and strongest, but it just enjoys its position in the pride, spending most of the day resting, giving orders and living by its own rules. And that sounds like royalty to me!
Last interview
SAi Television Network
Science Communicator, Alessandro Strobbe, teaches scientific topics with humor
Science reports
Is Pluto a planet?
Interview made by the Colombian channel "Ciencia Café pa' sumercé".
Last conference
Spicy Science: Fun Science Interviews
Memberships and Associations