Sunday, June 28, 2020
By:
Hello, all!
A few weeks ago, I talked about listening where I told a story about, what? Yeah, that one. The story reinforced the importance of active listening and listening to understand. While thoughtful listening is incredibly important, especially for those in public service, it’s equally as important to communicate effectively. This is important for public servants and politicians to keep in mind, but in many cases, it’s even more important for scientists.
The sciences are full or jargon. Little technical terms and procedures specific to individual disciplines can make communication between scientists in different fields hard enough. Those translation issues are exacerbated when it involves the non-scientific public. I can remember struggling to explain my own research to biology and math students, but I can assure you it was much harder for me to explain it to my dad, the finance guy.
Couple technical jargon with a need for public policy solutions and you have a real problem. As scientists, we need to improve how we communicate science with the general public. Of course, I have no metric for confirming this feeling, but I get the sense that the public has an implicit distrust of the scientific community, at least to some extent. It’s hard to say if this distrust is growing larger or smaller. Regardless, the scientific community needs to do something to change this narrative.
Whether we right this wrong through outreach-based activities, innovative science education, or some other novel solution, so long as we try our best to address the divide between the scientific community and the public, I'll be optimistic about the future. To that same end, to all my scientists out there, don’t be afraid to venture outside your discipline and explore opportunities outside the lab. There are some great SPS internships that let you do just that (*shameless plug*). Similarly, non-scientists, don’t be afraid to dive into the technicalities behind what your company produces or to read that fun article on the basics of quantum computing or climate change. I can’t speak for all scientists, but I don’t want you to take my word for it when I present results. My hope is that I can present my information to you in such a way as to ensure you understand my premises and can subsequently challenge me and ask the tough questions.
Stay well,
Kyle Blasinsky