The article in the Christian Science Monitor sets up the story, the headline and tag line read:
Scientists and the public often don’t see eye to eye
Most people view scientists favorably, but the lack of scientific knowledge on controversial issues can impact policy decisions.
The Monitor’s article highlights a study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Pew Research Center.
Organizations like the AAAS are trying to encourage scientists to do a better job of communicating what they do to the general public. It’s a notion that seems to be resonating with many younger scientists, Dr. Leshner and other say, although it’s still tough to do while trying to teach, conduct research, and hunt for the grant money that will pay for the research.
As readers of this blog know, I live in the academic world. Everyone in academic has their strength a dn key skill sets. Just as I would be out of my strenghts in most clinical research labs, many of the scientist-academic-researchers I work with are lost in the world of telling their story to the public. I read grant proposals often with gritted teeth and rolling eyes and I struggle through their prose. While it is often successful at attracting grant dollars (which is the point after all) its the kind of stuff that makes any Microsoft user manual seem like a cliff hanger.
It’s a double edged sword, like any professional development. On the one edge, successful researchers feel “if its not broken, why fix it?” It the grant dollars are coming in, the scholarly papers are being written (for a shrinking audience of peer reviewers and the rank, promotion, and tenure committee) then why change?
On the other edge of the sword, as the study points out, public policy is being made without the benefit of their scholarly knowledge, which is a huge global loss.
The AAAS web site shares this insight:
As the 40th anniversary of the moon landing approaches, just 17% say U.S. scientific achievements rate as the best in the world, compared with nearly half (49%) of scientists who hold that view.
The article wraps up with this
“A very small percentage of Americans know a scientist personally,” he explains. “Scientists are just not on their radar.”
To change that, “scientists need to reach out to America,” he continues. Personal contact may not change an individual’s worldview, Mr. Mooney suggests, but it does have the potential to demystify scientists and the way they approach their world more than huddling in a lab would.
