No Nonsense

As a kid, I grew up wanting to be a private detective. I saw it as an opportunity to travel and discover new exotic places and solve puzzling mysteries.

Now, I must come to the sad realization that I will probably never get to wear the full body trench coat along with the matching fedora hat, scout the ground with my magnifying glass or find clues that have been overlooked by the incompetent local police. But as a science communicator, I face enigma and mysteries all the time. I may not be the one to solve them, still I get the satisfying job of explaining how scientists go about unraveling the mysteries they're faced with.

There is a little bit of science in everything we see, do and experience. Unfortunately, the gatekeepers of that knowledge, scientists, often do a poor job at making others feel as if it is of any relevance to them. Then, a study announced with much fanfare one day will meet a counterstudy with the exact opposite conclusion the next day.

News report don't always do justice to science by omitting crucial details that would give context and some explaination as to why new findings seem to contradict old ones. In addition, the competition among outlets forces them to be creative and find the angles people would want to read rather than the ones that would best describe the situation.

Quite frankly, I find people have developped a sense of skepticism towards science. It's as if the ones who have devoted their entire life to understanding a remote, isolated and insignificant process didn't know much more than the average plumber on the street about that process (mind you, sometimes it is true).

Not everyone is an expert at all things, but it is not a stretch to believe one may be more knowledgeable on its area of expertise than a simple observer. While it is still important to question the validity of new a research. It is foolish for the uninformed to reject their claims without first seriously looking into the research.

Then, and only then, it becomes possible to take the no nonsense stance on science.