Follow your head AND your heart

[ugly_boy]

Adam Frank makes some interesting points in his NPR blog post entitled Science Deniers: Hand Over Your Cellphones! One passage in particular reminded me of an issue that I feel is often overlooked:

In [climate change deniers'] worldview the scientists are in it for the money or the fame or the power. Scientists are overstating the case. They are

Comments

[ken_roberts]

You right, in my experience, that "most scientists enjoy conducting research, and are fascinated by the systems that they study". Returning to the university environment, after 3 decades in business, has been refreshing. Many business people are also interested in problem solving, but there is a greater proportion of that behaviour in science

[ugly_boy]

I think what you're saying is that scientists often are not great at addressing the social implications of their research, and that a greater emphasis should be placed on this aspect of science. I completely agree. I think there are several factors that contribute to the problem. Some scientists may not care much about what "laypeople" think, some simply have a hard time understanding how non-scientists view the issue and why they do, and others probably value this but aren't good at participating in non-technical discussions of the problem(s).

I'm only an undergraduate, but I find myself suffering from all three problems, and they tend to reinforce one another. I generally do care about the public perception of science and the practical-political, economic, even cultural-barriers to implementing good science-based policy, but I sometimes get frustrated by the non-scientific or even denialist approach that people use to argue about issues. I try to be sympathetic to the way that people without scientific training view the issue at

[ken_roberts]

How to communicate effectively with the public (group or person) is something that can be taught, and learned. The assignment you mention sounds like an excellent exercise. I recall, from Ben Franklin's autobiography, that he taught himself to write clearly, by reading a section of an explanatory work, closing the book, and writing out his own paraphrase of what he had read -- then he compared his version with the original, and saw what he had misunderstood or had not explained well. Empathy, or something like it, is an important aspect of writing well. Also, I think it helps to have a particular reader in mind; the others who read your words are "listening in" and will make the effort to follow the conversation. People are really good at inferential learning

[ugly_boy]

Communication skills definitely can be taught, but at least in my experience almost no emphasis is placed on non-technical communication or on applying science to social issues. It's a shame. I have done some of that in college, but not enough