How To Make Science Sexier

[chad_tukes]

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i got this on TIME (yes, call me boring but i do read time articles). this particular article talks about Chris Mooney's book, "Unscientific America" and the dumbing down of the american society when it comes to Science...

IMO, the fact of the matter is, the whole world is dumbing down.

here's the link...

Q&A: How to Make Science Sexier - TIME

DISCUSS....

[vern]

The whole world is dumbing down, but the US dumbing down is more troubling for the world. That is why I have said many times in this forum in so many ways that there is a NEED to involve those who might not be interested in science instead of just interacting with our own closed social groups.

[rodsky]

That is why I have said many times in this forum in so many ways that there is a NEED to involve those who might not be interested in science instead of just interacting with our own closed social groups.

Which is why I constantly "waste my time" trying to teach kids about astronomy. Why astronomy then, of all sciences?

a) It's exciting. Everyone loves a story about rockets, planets, comets, galaxies and the like

b) Ancient civilizations always had astronomy (or astrology) as a sort of precursor to their discovery of the scientific method. I even remember Sid Meier's game, "Civilization", where astronomy had to be discovered first, before humans could invent navigation, and hence, establish trade routes via sea.

c) It expands horizons, considering it talks about something larger, and immense, than what we, as Dawkins refer to, "middle worlders" live in and are exposed to on a daily basis.

Which is why, even though people out there might think of my little efforts as "in vain" or "wasting my time", at least I feel good knowing I'm sharing something that the more receptive of the crowd can understand and appreciate, and perhaps even use, to further their understanding and appreciation of the world we live in, and perhaps inspire the development of some technology to improve the human condition.

-RODION

[chad_tukes]

science has become more and more alienating as we progress. i guess if only science was more "friendly" to the public, then a lot more people would be interested.

the amateur sciences are a good start.

[vern]

Which is why I constantly "waste my time" trying to teach kids about astronomy. Why astronomy then, of all sciences?

Which is why, even though people out there might think of my little efforts as "in vain" or "wasting my time", at least I feel good knowing I'm sharing something that the more receptive of the crowd can understand and appreciate, and perhaps even use, to further their understanding and appreciation of the world we live in, and perhaps inspire the development of some technology to improve the human condition.

You don't waste your time teaching. You waste your time and people's hope by painting a nice spring picnic but forgetting to tell them that hey science takes time and money. People need to be involved with science not because they are going to discover the next big thing. They need to be involved so as a society, we can dictate to the government that ... yes we value the advancement of science. Yes we value research that could cost billions of dollars and have nothing to show for. This is the real important need to educate people in the sciences. Only big science funded by big government is going to make any noticeable advancement. The days of lone researchers and mathematicians are long gone.

[grovestreet]

do you guys think the dumbing down is intentional? I'm not being paranoid here.

[chad_tukes]

do you guys think the dumbing down is intentional? I'm not being paranoid here.

yes and no.

with the advent of the TWITTER and FACEBOOK, people spend lesser time nailing their heads with astronomy, geophysics, biology, etc. and would very much love to spend most of their day updating statuses on facebook instead, or perhaps drain their energies with xbox/ps3.

like vern said, gone are the days that we have great scientists who spent most of their time discovering things. in today's modern world, not much can be accomplished just by laying RAW and untarnished knowledge on the table. basically, pretty much anything in science today is a product of what was discovered back in the days.

[handsoff241]

So you guys were never in the field?... hmmmm.. what you are seeing are the superficial society, the end-users, they are the ones dumbing down. you guys should explore more... their is still hefty amount of projects being fueled even for other purposes but rest assured scientific knowledge is a sure by-product (medicine, electronics, weapons, genes etc).

all we need is make them interested, and me too

[Fern]

hmmmm generally all normal thinking people thinks that science/engineering is a field for nerds/geeks/weird people. people right now find these professional s jobs for people that are almost crazy

too bad.. hotchick scientists are very rare now.

well you know people right now.... they always judge the book by its cover.

the world only cares if we made something out of it.....like

they dont care how we make or innovate the technology of ipod.... all they care is the iPod and buy that thing.

[fritzd]

Here's an attempt by some physicist's to make Semiconductor Physics more appealing to their students!

Britney Spears' Guide to
Semiconductor Physics
Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics - Lasers and Optoelectronics

Guess what, many other scientists around the around are even using their work as reference even my professors! hahahahah

here's a famous photo from their site which my professors adapted in their powerpoint slides. hahaha

too bad.. hotchick scientists are very rare now.

hehehe! I've met some hotchick scientists in EU. hahahaha