Post by bewildered on Oct 4, 2013 2:07:46 GMT -6
I've been thinking about kicking off a thread concerning science in general, but typically couldn't settle on where to begin (or where to post it). To be completely honest, I still wasn't sure as I started this one, but then something rather important occurred to me as I decided upon the thread's title: what's the primary barrier preventing many Americans from possessing an essential understanding of what science is really about?
The average person is very bright and inquisitive, so it certainly has nothing to do with not being "smart enough." Our school system might play a role, but when you stop and consider just how many dedicated and knowledgeable teachers are instructing our children (and taught us when we ourselves were in school), the role that youth education plays is pretty minor. The media is often a favorite target of mine in this area, but that is something I have been re-evaluating recently. While I can identify some popular press articles that woefully misrepresent the findings of a peer-reviewed study (usually via exaggeration of results or quoting scientists out of context), it really isn't that widespread.
I think the root of the problem has been under our noses the entire time. The primary barrier preventing a healthy interest and understanding of science in America at large are scientists.
Is this intentional? For the most part, no...but in some cases, ego and the desire to belong to an exclusive club might be contributing factors. Scientists love their jargon; this jargon constitutes a distinct language complete with its own rules of grammar, steeped in customs and traditions that - in the United States at least - find their roots in the post-Enlightenment culture of the 19th century.
Knowledge was more difficult to acquire in that day and age, and usually the only ones who could secure a comprehensive education were the wealthy and otherwise exceptionally privileged. This conspired to spawn an intellectual bourgeoisie that eventually organized within the fastness of a number of Ivory Towers...strongholds of the elite who fancied themselves guardians of a sacred trust. This functioned as the root of American academia, and it has survived mostly intact to this very day.
Scientific jargon has its place. That place, however, is limited to discourse between scientists. Science is a human endeavor; because of this salient truth which many of us acknowledge, knowledge acquired through scientific endeavor is not the exclusive property of the scientific community. It is to be disseminated and shared with every human being without prejudice, and to this end the advent of the internet and subsequently the world wide web makes this imperative very possible.
Here's another essential truth that many may not be aware of: you don't have to be a scientist to understand science. Who are scientists, anyway? Are they a separate species from the rest of us, and do they dwell in a different universe? What's the deal, really?
Scientists are first and foremost human beings...and because they are human beings, they are capable of sharing their experience in meaningful ways with other human beings, even if many don't understand how to do so. Some people love to garden; others enjoy cooking; and some people live and breathe insanely tedious mathematical equations (math itself is not actually "complicated," it is really just tedious at times). Your love of playing the piano is another's love of watching sub-atomic particles collide; both are equally fascinating and important. Science, like bowling the perfect game, is a passion and an activity that human beings engage in. When you understand it this way, you might begin to see what I see: a significant language barrier exists between scientists and those who aren't scientists. It is this language barrier that prevents many Americans from developing what Neil De Grasse Tyson calls "basic science literacy."
I'd like to ask a question of anyone interested in answering. Here it is:
What does science mean to you? That's what the essential reality is...not "Do you understand science?" There isn't a wrong answer to my question, so I hope no one refrains from answering because they believe they'll be criticized for sharing their thoughts. What you think is important. Don't allow anyone to convince you otherwise.
The average person is very bright and inquisitive, so it certainly has nothing to do with not being "smart enough." Our school system might play a role, but when you stop and consider just how many dedicated and knowledgeable teachers are instructing our children (and taught us when we ourselves were in school), the role that youth education plays is pretty minor. The media is often a favorite target of mine in this area, but that is something I have been re-evaluating recently. While I can identify some popular press articles that woefully misrepresent the findings of a peer-reviewed study (usually via exaggeration of results or quoting scientists out of context), it really isn't that widespread.
I think the root of the problem has been under our noses the entire time. The primary barrier preventing a healthy interest and understanding of science in America at large are scientists.
Is this intentional? For the most part, no...but in some cases, ego and the desire to belong to an exclusive club might be contributing factors. Scientists love their jargon; this jargon constitutes a distinct language complete with its own rules of grammar, steeped in customs and traditions that - in the United States at least - find their roots in the post-Enlightenment culture of the 19th century.
Knowledge was more difficult to acquire in that day and age, and usually the only ones who could secure a comprehensive education were the wealthy and otherwise exceptionally privileged. This conspired to spawn an intellectual bourgeoisie that eventually organized within the fastness of a number of Ivory Towers...strongholds of the elite who fancied themselves guardians of a sacred trust. This functioned as the root of American academia, and it has survived mostly intact to this very day.
Scientific jargon has its place. That place, however, is limited to discourse between scientists. Science is a human endeavor; because of this salient truth which many of us acknowledge, knowledge acquired through scientific endeavor is not the exclusive property of the scientific community. It is to be disseminated and shared with every human being without prejudice, and to this end the advent of the internet and subsequently the world wide web makes this imperative very possible.
Here's another essential truth that many may not be aware of: you don't have to be a scientist to understand science. Who are scientists, anyway? Are they a separate species from the rest of us, and do they dwell in a different universe? What's the deal, really?
Scientists are first and foremost human beings...and because they are human beings, they are capable of sharing their experience in meaningful ways with other human beings, even if many don't understand how to do so. Some people love to garden; others enjoy cooking; and some people live and breathe insanely tedious mathematical equations (math itself is not actually "complicated," it is really just tedious at times). Your love of playing the piano is another's love of watching sub-atomic particles collide; both are equally fascinating and important. Science, like bowling the perfect game, is a passion and an activity that human beings engage in. When you understand it this way, you might begin to see what I see: a significant language barrier exists between scientists and those who aren't scientists. It is this language barrier that prevents many Americans from developing what Neil De Grasse Tyson calls "basic science literacy."
I'd like to ask a question of anyone interested in answering. Here it is:
What does science mean to you? That's what the essential reality is...not "Do you understand science?" There isn't a wrong answer to my question, so I hope no one refrains from answering because they believe they'll be criticized for sharing their thoughts. What you think is important. Don't allow anyone to convince you otherwise.