Friday, June 11, 2010

Science as art


Many people assume that to be a successful scientist you need only to be good at science, and maybe the occasional related field, like math. But the reality is far different. To be successful at science, especially the sort of integrative science that I work on, you have to be able to communicate. So much of our work revolves around being able to convey to others what it is we do and why it is important. Others meaning journal editors (who control when and where we publish which is the currency by which we succeed or fail) and grant readers (who control whether or not we get money to do the research that we want to publish on). But it also means other scientists, the public and students. The ability to write clearly is a hard won skill and not one that we learn very well in high school or even college. Same with presenting our ideas and findings orally. There is an art to being an effective communicator, and there is a minimal level of competence needed to do this job. Of course, many scientist are just barely above this minimum and can only communicate with each other (sometimes that is even a stretch). I think this is a big reason why the general public is skeptical or uninformed about science, i.e. the evolution debate. We, as a group, are just not that good and talking to others, we are as a rule a socially awkward bunch.
I'm currently working as a mentor for a group of undergraduates and that is among the hardest lessons to learn. They understand the concepts, they can do the work. The hard part is putting into words. The above photo shows one of these undergrads and a fellow mentor doing the fun and easy part of science, collecting data.