My 2 cents on the importance of science communication

Over this past summer, I read a book called The War on Science, which got me thinking a lot about how scientists interact with the public. My biggest take-away from the book was that we scientists often complain about how the public is “anti-science” and so ill-informed, when we are, in some sense, the ones to blame. After all, aren’t scientists the ones who should be informing the public and showing them why science matters? The author, Shawn Otto, says it like this: “Rebuilding public rapport [for scientific research] requires public engagement on a massive scale… It requires scientists everywhere to come out of their laboratories and talk about what they know in the public square, to adults, so the public understands not just that science is important, but why it’s important” [1].

Now, that’s certainly not the whole picture. The clashes between science and religion, or science and politics, make this situation much more complicated. But maybe, just maybe, changing the way scientists interact with the public could also help solve these other problems. Speaking from personal experience, it’s easy to sit back as a scientist and just focus on research, thinking “It’s not worth taking time out of my research to engage the public” or “They wouldn’t understand anyway”. That’s both condescending and, in my opinion, a bit lazy.

Briane Greene on his TV series, The Fabric of the Cosmos [3]

That’s not to say that science communication is easy. I’ve failed enough times at explaining my research to know that it can be tough. But I don’t think it’s as impossible as it seems sometimes. Can I explain my research without “dumbing it down”? One of favorite scientific writers, physicist Brian Greene, writes books explaining string theory to the general public, so why would I think it’s impossible to explain a bit about immune cell biophysics? And by the way, it’s too easy to hide behind jargon; science should be a process of confronting ideas and concepts accessible to anyone. In fact, that’s a core value of science and one too often ignored. As Brian Greene said so well, “Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable, a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional” [2].

My first exercise in this arena will be preparing a series of blog posts explaining my PhD research project so that anyone should be able to read and appreciate it. I don’t expect to succeed perfectly, and I welcome anyone and everyone’s feedback. I want to be a part of the solution to this divide between science and public that too often rears its ugly head. I invite any other scientists to join me and I humbly ask non-scientists for their patience and attention.

References:

1. Otto, Shawn. 2016. The War on Science, p. 398. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions.

2. Greene, Brian. 2008. “Put a Little Science in Your Life.” New York Times Opinion Piece.

3. The Fabric of the Cosmos, PBS. Image URL: http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2100418,00.html