Burr under my saddle

I just sat through a talk about linking science research and primary and secondary education*, and all this communicating science to the public bullshit really gets me worked up. For the record, this particular talk was about the project that involves bringing a bunch of 7th graders to the lab to do an experiment with seagrass and actually measure photosynthesis. I have absolutely no beef with this project. Seventh graders should absolutely learn about photosynthesis. I’d like to limit the degree to which I’m the one responsible for teaching it to them, but I’m glad that somebody is doing it, and I’m glad that they’re trying to do it right. However, whenever we talk about this program, or any other outreach program, there’s always the same old rhetoric about scientists needing to be willing to communicate our work to the public, and I’m calling BULLSHIT. Being that many of us are publicly funded, it’s true that the continuation of our work rests on the will of the voting public to support decisions that bring money into science. I also understand that most people do not have advanced degrees in science. I get that I’m going to have to bring things down a notch. But are they really not expected to bring anything to the table? Like a high school level understanding of biology, perhaps? Or maybe an understanding of the basic workings of the body of water that they claim is so “central to [their] Bay culture and heritage”? Do they really not get how absolutely frustrating it is to be asked to explain your entire life’s work in 15 minutes in which you must also pack the definition of every third word, explanations of the 38 processes that you’ve considered, and the basic philosophy of science? There’s a rather reclusive senior faculty member who’s office door is near enough to my desk that I regularly hear him shout “Why are you always wasting my damn time?!?” at anyone who dares to knock on his door. It’s really not that hard to figure out how he got to be this way. And so, I have a few suggestions for the general public:

1.If you’re going to expect explanations of science from scientists, educate yourown self. I’m sorry that your education was crap, but that is not going to be my problem.

2.If you are not willing to educate yourself, then you must unquestioningly accept what I tell you as fact without background explanation.

3.If neither #1 or 2 works for you, you need to remove yourself from the decision making process.

End rant.

*I’m about sick of the seminars around here being geared to the public, but that’s a rant for another day. Or maybe it’s part of the same problem. Whatever.