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It is a good form of communicating sciences. Seriously, more professors should do it as their contributions to community. Perhaps starting from more reddit AM
by jxy 10y ago
It is a good form of communicating sciences. Seriously, more professors should do it as their contributions to community. Perhaps starting from more reddit AMA?
- johan_larson 10y agoThat's a big ask. Scholars tend to be rewarded for their contributions to advancing the field itself, not for improving relations with outsiders. Heck, these people can barely be bothered to deal with undergrads, never mind the general public. And really, they have little to gain from doing so. The general citizenry doesn't judge research output (publishing), and they don't directly provide the means of carrying it out (funding), so any attention directed their way is basically a waste for working scholars.
- nitrogen 10y agoIt is a big ask as you say, but failing to do so is costing science the trust of the lay public. A public that doesn't understand science will vote to burn all the oil, give measles to all the children, and try to mine the moon for cheese.
- thansharp 10y agoTragedy of the commons. It definitely benefits everyone if some people stood up, but it's in no one's specific personal interests to be at a comparative disadvantage due to this.
- rjsw 10y agoCharles Simonyi has funded the post of Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University [1]. There are a few other similar posts elsewhere. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonyi_Professor_for_the_Public_Understanding_of_Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonyi_Professor_for_the_Publ...
- mkehrt 10y agoCheck out /r/askhistorians, if you aren't familiar with it.