Astronomers should engage the public more often. It’s tremendous fun, and it’s useful. We sometimes have the illusion that it’s something we do in isolation; a public lecture here, a school visit there; or something better left to those who have an interest in it. Wrong answer. There is much more to it than that.
The first thing to realise is that we are not alone. There are journalists and teachers out there who would love to carry the astronomy message beyond the guest lecture. It’s their profession and they do a great job of it.
So here are some thoughts for the reluctant astronomer-communicator.
Note: In the text below, feel free to swap journalists/teachers and news story/knowledge. Both are the what gets your science to the public of all ages.
Astronomy is a science with pop stars. Famous astronomers and scientists (Einstein, Carl Sagan, Jocelyn Bell, etc.) have a presence to be reckoned with in pop culture(1). New media and social networking brings people closer and the success of astronomers’ blogs(2) or twitter feeds(3) sometimes has nothing to envy some celebrities’ online presence. This does not mean that every astronomer should have a blog or a facebook fan page, but it does demonstrate the interest in astronomy of the general public.
In fact, to young astronomers, I would say: It is not because they are related to you that your family wants to know what you are doing, it is also because it is a fascinating subject for everyone and you have one of the coolest jobs in the world.
The best messenger makes the best news
The science is one thing, but the scientist who communicates it, the face and voice of a discovery is possibly equally important. Be human, be approachable, be relaxed. There is a risk that showing discomfort when talking to journalists/teachers is misread as attitude. Attitude that sends a message saying ‘we are different from ordinary people’ is not what you want. People feel closer to the science when they feel close to the scientist who talks about it. And it goes even deeper than that. In the words of Jameson Wetmore (4)
If scientists are going to be citizens, they need practice in not just communicating their ideas, but having a two-way dialogue with policy-makers and the public.
…and the media is one of the most important gateways to the public.
It’s a dialogue, not a lecture
Take the time to engage journalists and science writers. Try to establish a collaborative relationship with them so that you are working together on getting each science story out to the public in its best form. Volunteer additional explanations when a piece of news is reported from elsewhere. Your openness will be highly appreciated and a huge asset for you.
Approximation is OK. Yes it is.
Remember how sin(x) ~ x when x is small is useful sometimes?…
Sometimes scientists are reluctant to deal with journalists because of the potential inaccuracies in the subsequent coverage. My message to the scientists is “be tolerant“.
Three tricks to remember:
1) The most important is not to be accurate but to transmit the idea.
Incompleteness is not the same as misinformation and sometimes even a little approximation is perfectly tolerable if it does a better job of telling the astronomy news story.
2) Talk about one scientific concept at a time, not one subject at a time!
Your role is to communicate so that people don’t need to know everything on this topic to understand why your piece of astronomical research is newsworthy.
3) Work on metaphors or simplified explanations together with the journalist/media professional.
This will avoid misunderstandings, misconceptions and both will be happier for finding a suitable description of the science. If you need three sentences to clarify something the journalist has misunderstood, they might be able to find the one word that expresses exactly what you mean. That is their area of expertise.
Believe it or not, engaging lay people in communicating science will make you a better communicator and teacher. You will have a better grasp of what people understand and it is sometimes a refreshing reminder that you were also like that before you acquired all that specialist education!
References:
(1) Nice links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein_in_popular_culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking_in_popular_culture
(2) If you haven’t got these in your favourite RSS feeds, you’re missing out!
Quantum Diaries
Cosmic Diary
(3) Twitter hosts a vast number of astro and space tweeps. Follow one and you’ll find many more to follow:
@Astro_Mike
@BadAstronomer
(4)“Scientists: Listen up!”, Jameson M. Wetmore, Letter, Science 17 April 2009. Vol. 324. no. 5925, p. 334
