Comments on: Scientific Literacy http://www.refscan.info/2007/02/19/scientific-literacy/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging news, information, and journal club, with minimal spin. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:39:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Aziz http://www.refscan.info/2007/02/19/scientific-literacy/comment-page-1/#comment-27 Aziz Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:35:19 +0000 http://www.refscan.info/2007/02/19/scientific-literacyhttpwwwrefscaninfowp-adminpost-newphp/#comment-27 Nice post, Rebecca. I agree, Kevin - there is a lot of effort involved in talking to the layman, and it's not exactly part of our job description either :) There are policy people out there but theres very little deep interaction with the scientific mainstream. Its like policy and public relations operate in an isolated bubble from the daily practice of science itself. There are places like the NIH that try to bridge the gap but again, it costs money to do effectively. If anything I think the solution is to create more science blogging. If we do it ourselves from the ground up we can make an impact. We have to talk about what we know and make our own case. Nice post, Rebecca.

I agree, Kevin – there is a lot of effort involved in talking to the layman, and it’s not exactly part of our job description either :) There are policy people out there but theres very little deep interaction with the scientific mainstream. Its like policy and public relations operate in an isolated bubble from the daily practice of science itself. There are places like the NIH that try to bridge the gap but again, it costs money to do effectively.

If anything I think the solution is to create more science blogging. If we do it ourselves from the ground up we can make an impact. We have to talk about what we know and make our own case.

]]> By: Kevin http://www.refscan.info/2007/02/19/scientific-literacy/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Kevin Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:41:10 +0000 http://www.refscan.info/2007/02/19/scientific-literacyhttpwwwrefscaninfowp-adminpost-newphp/#comment-26 Well written. Scientists sometimes shun scientifically interacting with the public, maybe because it takes too much effort. The public is often interested in science, but scientists need to be willing to speak with them in a way that the lay person comprhends. Of course, this will require that scientists understand their topic well. As Albert Einstein said, "You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." Well written. Scientists sometimes shun scientifically interacting with the public, maybe because it takes too much effort. The public is often interested in science, but scientists need to be willing to speak with them in a way that the lay person comprhends. Of course, this will require that scientists understand their topic well. As Albert Einstein said, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”

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