Comments Elsewhere

Jenn,

Interesting post, and interesting point. I was struck, though, by this phrase: “Ultimately, I think what researchers need to do is not fall into the trap of removing the science from the presentation and to remember that our goal is not to schmooze but to act as ambassadors from the scientific community to the public.”

Maybe the self-conception of popular science lecturers as “ambassadors” to an alien and benighted people is a central part of the problem. Scientists don’t think of themselves as “ambassadors” to their colleagues when giving a presentation or as “ambassadors” to their students when giving a lecture (even though in the case of the students they are working over material for people who are presumed to be more ignorant of the discipline than they are). The notion puts a lot of distance between the scientist and the “general public” and I wonder how much that distance plays a role in the temptation to present yourself as an oracle of Scientific Knowledge, rather than as someone explaining the research and methods behind the interesting conclusions you’ve been able to draw from them. Maybe scientists need to think of themselves less as ambassadors to the public, and think of what they’re doing as different only in degree from what they do when they discuss research with their colleagues or their students.