One of my gripes about us scientists (yes, I’m also guilty) is that we seem to turn off our critical minds when we talk about teaching, women and minority issues, and about communicating with the public. Meanwhile there are all these social scientists out there doing real studies, figuring out that we should do this and not that. Let’s pay attention to them. Let’s learn how to learn about these areas. Let’s improve.
I don’t know much about Dan Kahan‘s project, or his website, but plan to learn more. In the meantime, here it is. It is worth paying attention to.And there are a lot more people working on this issue. Here is one from the historic side of the pond at Nottingham.
If we want to keep funding for science in this country, or in your country, we need to be clear with the public. We need to know what works and what does not work. We need to share process and evidence, not just sound bytes.