Reading: Closing a gap

How can one close the gap between science and society?

In order to close the gap, new scientific insights should be interesting for non-scientific people. Common examples are science museums, science quizzes on television and popular scientific articles.  Popular scientific definitions are important for the general scientific understanding. Consider the following advices:

1. Start with a high-quality quote: In ‘Quantum mechanics still puzzles scientists’ Kate Blanchfield covered one of the most perplexing scientific subjects, namely quantum mechanics. Fortunately, she started with a terrific quote that sets the tone of the article, namely if you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics. So if you admit you are confused by quantum mechanics, you fully understand it?? Anyway, her quote clearly shows that scientists are also struggling with quantum mechanics.

2. Undermine the obvious: It is common knowledge that alcohol can affect the brain, causing longer reaction times, impaired memory and so on. However, Simone Munao described a study that revealed that ‘Smarter people tend to drink more alcohol’. This behavior is probably due to the increased curiosity for new substances of people with a higher IQ. This is supported by the so-called Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis. Does this mean drinking alcohol is a good thing? That scientists are still wondering is interesting for non-scientists.

 3. Ask the right questions: ‘Does modern life make us less rational?’ is written by Flora Brils. In this article, she questions Assistant Professor  Eduardo Azevedo about his research that covers the so-called endowment effect. This is a behavioral bias, which is roughly described as the reluctance of people to trade a random object (like a lighter) for a similar random object. With six sharp questions she managed to let mr. Azevedo explain why he started the investigations, why he used certain items, what he thought of the outcomes and what it means for society. In other words: her questions make the endowment effect more understandable.

4. Use science as a myth buster: Hot yoga is a trendy way to increase a person’s flexibility. Moreover, instructors claim that this 90 minute-exercise, which is done in a 45⁰C-heated room, has more major health effects, such as weight loss and a stronger immune system. In ‘5 health claims about hot yoga: True or false’ Elisabeth Buhl Thubron elucidates whether these common claims of a common phenomenon in society are scientifically correct.

5. Use a metaphor as a mighty hammer: Depression is characterized by a low mood and a noticeable loss of interest and/or amusement in daily activities for at least two weeks. It is generally considered as a mental illness, but Jamie Flexman of the Huffington Post argues that ‘Depression is NOT a mental illness’. The pinnacle of his argument is the metaphor in which he extensively describes depression as walking through water, which makes a complex disorder like depression more graspable.

6. Remind people of their childhood: Ils sont fous, ces Romains! is a prevalent quote in the famous Asterix comics. One of the obvious occasions for this quote was after beating up the Romans, which was easy after drinking the magic potion. In ‘Recipe for asterix’s drink discovered’ Chiara Civardi explains how archaeologists have discovered the ingredients of a Nordic grog. This triggers the reader’s imagination.

7. Use the life story of a famous singer: Edith Piaf (1915-1963) suffered from a crippling disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and symptoms were visible during her performances. By telling her life story in ‘Newly-found antibodies predict joint damage’, I myself tried to make the scientific findings about RA more attractive for the reader.

8. Make it visual: In ‘Maxwell equation and knot theory’ Simone Munao combines the so-called Maxwell equations with the so-called Knot theory. He explains the complicated link between these mathematical theories by adding pictures that can guide you through the article. In fact, a picture can say more than a thousand words and can thereby enhance public understanding.

9. Use terrific titles and headings: The title ‘Masculine men experience greater sexual satisfaction’ is clear and attractive, for it is short and it contains two alliterations. Furthermore, if you scan the article, written by Eva de Lozanne, the headings comfortably guide you through the article.

10.   Call for action:  Proper physical exercise is healthy for body and mind. In ‘4 beneficial effects of physical exercise on the brain’, Agnese Mariotti  mentions four benefits of physical activity for the brain. These include the advantages for the mental state and the prevention of brain-related diseases. By making a list, she emphasizes the practical value of the subject, which makes it more attractive for the reader.

11. Give examples. Many abstract concepts are learnt essentially by examples. 'The part of the visible spectrum with wavelength ranging from 495 nm to 570 nm' may be precise but hardly enough to grasp the concept of 'green-ness,' whereas 'the same colour as that of grass or fresh leaves,' although imprecise, does the job very well.

12. Use analogies. Sometimes, authors need to be prompted to come up with appropriate analogies, which serve to link the new to the old or the unknown to the known. When the Transportation Research Board offered $1000 for the best 'translation' into English of a term used in transport engineering, namely 'through-put maximization,' the winning entry (by Paul Hasse, a science writer) used an analogy: 'Car-flow on a road is like pouring grains of rice through a funnel. Pour too slowly, the flow is even but it takes longer: pour too fast, the funnel is clogged. The optimum speed is that which moves most cars per hour.'

13. Pose questions and answer them. Questions serve to focus the mind. Questions and answers form an important routine in the way children acquire language. Here is Susan Greenfield inThe Human Brain: a  guided tour: ‘Why should the sodium channel suddenly open in the first place? To pose the question in another way, What triggers an action potential? After all, it would be completely pointless and almost a paradox to have a signal that was generated completely at random. Imagine the telephone ringing at odd times throughout the night, but there being no caller on the other end of the line’. Notice how she deploys an analogy as well.

14. Indicate pronounciation and supply etymology. Isaac Asimov, perhaps the most successful and prolific science writer, often made it a point to indicate how a key scientific term is pronounced and to show how it has been derived. This tactic also helps readers to remember new terms.

15. Paint pictures with words. Using concrete words, mentioning such details as colour, shape, size, texture, and so on makes writing vivid. 'Light air, wind speed 1–6 km/h' and 'Light breeze, wind speed 7–12 km/h' are precise enough as categories in the Beaufort scale of wind force, but the corresponding descriptions, namely 'direction of wind shown by smoke drift, but not by wind vanes' and 'wind felt on face; leaves rustle' are so vivid that they launched a copy editor on a quest to find out more about Beaufort. And here is Darwin on Ficus repens: 'Ficus repens climbs up a wall just like ivy; and when the young rootlets are made to press lightly on slips of glass, they emit after about a week’s interval, as I observed several times, minute drops of clear fluid, not in the least milky like that exude from a wound. This fluid is slightly viscid, but cannot be drawn out into threads. It has the remarkable property of not soon drying; a drop, about the size of half a pin’s head, was slightly spread out on glass.’

16. Set context and emphasize significance. Whatever the initial motivation that gets scientists started on their work from analysing the chemical composition of spider silk to black holes, scientists soon forget how esoteric or arcane their research topic may appear to readers. However, to get non-scientists interested, scientists must make an effort to explain why their research is important, how it can prove useful, and where it fits in the larger picture. Scientists tend to get down to details too soon but must be cajoled into setting a proper context for their work.