engaging scientists in public discourse

        Science is a method of discovery and source of insight that everyone should be able to easily embrace, however modern discourse has many questioning the motives and expertise of scientists. Groups have grown that center around concepts like the flat earth or autism from vaccines and it is scientists duty to correct the misinformation that exists. While it would be ideal to assume all scientists are benevolent with their intentions many may be motivated by money or power to lie and falsify their findings further confusing the public. Because of this scientists should attempt intellectual outreach to fix any problems that have risen about facts.
        The Group that spoke to us in the seminar was a great example of the dialogue that scientists should have with the general public. They demonstrated their passion with Dr. Bellemer particularly standing out in this regard as anything he said regarding his research was genuinely ecstatic. They also demonstrated a willingness to discuss ideas as Dr. Marshall pointed out that you should not dismiss ideas as ridiculous rather argue against them. I think many scientists have an elitist attitude and are quick to dismiss those with less information then them leading to a divide between the scientific community and the general public. This can come about because many ideas are hard to trivialize to a basic level but its a skill that every scientist should be equipped with to defend his findings. Not once did the panel address their expertise with technical information making it easier for the audience to relate and understand.
        Scientists relating to people should somehow be incorporated into the college curriculum so that the field is better equipped to defend itself against lies and misinformation. In the same way it should be encouraged for the general public to attend scientific talks or have these talks be broadcast over mainstream channels every so often. It is a scientists duty to eradicate harmful lies related to their field through communication for the betterment of society.
image source:www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/talking-about-climate-change-how-weve-failed-and-how-we-can-fix-it-180951070/
Illustrator: jon kudelka

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 9, 2018 at 12:04 PM

    Very good article, highlights many points that I didn't even consider in how scientists interacting with the public is a good thing. If I were to make any correction, it would only be to add commas where it would appear they go, but that's just a tiny grammatical nit-picky point of mine. Good job either way, keep it up.

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    Replies
    1. Marta ToranOctober 21, 2018 at 8:12 PM

      No, it's not being nit-picky, I'm about to make the same comment on the commas...

      Delete
  2. Marta ToranOctober 21, 2018 at 8:19 PM

    Barrett, this is a great reflection and you make some really important points, however, the lack of grammar (primarily the lack of commas- there is only one in the entire blog post and even that one is incorrect because it should be a period) makes the content difficult to understand at times.

    You really need to proof read your work or have someone else do so to make sure your writing is as professional as possible, because the actual content is really good. The Writing Center which is located in the library can also help with the proof reading.

    For example, the sentence that starts with "Groups have grown..." needs punctuation, otherwise it is very hard to understand. You also need to specify which groups you are referring to (political? special interest? non-scientific? concerned citizen?)

    Other edits needed:
    -Add an introductory statement, a couple of sentences is fine, providing some context for the panel (list all five scientists who participated, their disciplines and what the purpose of the scientist panel was).
    -Capitalize the first letters of all the words in the blog post title, in all blog posts.

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