Science Needs a Voice

If you happened to watch the TV series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, you probably know that the charismatic presenter is Neil Degrasse Tyson. I recently had the pleasure of going to an event that he spoke at called 'An Evening With Dr Neil Degrasee Tyson'. My goodness was it an experience to remember, full of humor and wit as well as a clear message that science is vital to humanity now and into the future.

This got me thinking about the world around me and how much science plays a role. After spinning that idea for a few minutes I then hit what I believe is a fundamental question for all of science. How can science, and scientists, become better communicators?

Below is an image which pretty much summaries 6 key parts of being an effective science communicator. Being authentic, particular in a world where everything from product endorsement to politicians are as fake as a that 'genuine' Gucci Bag you bought for $20 on a beach in Italy, is critical to effectively talking about science. I think that when the public think of science they immediately construct an image men and women in white coats laboring in a laboratory. While this is true for many scientists, there are I think equally as many who want to speak about what they're doing to someone else other than their colleague. It's just about building a conceptual bridge between the public and science. Do I have an answer? If I did I certainly would't be writing about, you'd have already hear about it on the news. But I do think that the list below is a great place to start.

Image taken from Jack McMartin's post in Kuleuvenblogt

Telling a story conveniently brings me back to where I started, talking about the Cosmos TV show. This show was received by the public with so much interest, not because it had a major celebrity presenting it or the endorsement of some major company, but because it told a story. The story of us and the universe we live in. Neil Degrasee Tyson and the production team took science and turned it into a big novel that we could all follow along with. He isn't the only person doing this either. Brian Cox, Bill Nye, Michio Kaku and the late Carl Sagan have all done or are continuing to do the same thing. (Cosmos is actually derived from the original series by Carl Sagan)

What I'm trying to say is, everyone doesn't need to know all the time about how important science is in their life. Because things like the arts, sports and engineering are also  critical components of our day to day life. But when it comes to the time when science needs a voice, its important that there are those to speak, effectively, and that we listen with open ears and widened eyes.

Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or thoughts please comment below, I'd love to hear your opinion.