Science

Matters

David Suzuki,

David Suzuki

 

joundation

Science Education
an Ongoing
Process

Am I wasting my time? Good question. I
spent the first half of my life working as
a scientist. But, as I came to recognize the
vast and complicated array of social and
ethical issues emerging from new scientif-

 

ic and technological advances, I decided
to step back, examine these issues from a
broader perspective and help bring them
to the public’s attention.

My belief was that these issues were
set to profoundly change humanity’s role
in the world and our relationships with
each other. I believed that, by informing
people about issues such as cloning, organ
transplants, genetic engineering, and envi-
ronmental pollution as they arose, it
would not only increase people’s under-
standing of these specific issues, but also
whet their appetites to learn more about
science in general and how it affects their
lives. In the end, they would have better
information from which to make choices
and decisions.

It’s a pretty basic assumption, but one
that proved difficult to test and measure
because so many variables are involved.
However, a new analysis of 200 studies
from 40 countries presented recently at a
meeting of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science has found
that, regardless of someone’s age, nation-
ality or education, the more they know
about science, the more favourably they
will view science in general.

That’s a good start, but we still have a
long way to go bring about a broader edu-

cation of science issues to the public. I
often find myself being interviewed by
members of the media and realizing that
they haven’t got a clue what I’m talking
about. It can be frustrating, but I can’t
really blame individual
Reporters are asked to have some level of

journalists.

knowledge about everything—a very dif-
ficult task indeed. Plus, in an effort to
reduce costs, most newsrooms do not
have reporters on staff who specialize in
science issues.

Compounding the problem is the fact
that scientists don’t receive much training
in communicating their work and what it
means to the average person. Many scien-
tists are also afraid to simplify or “dumb
down” their messages for a lay audience
for fear that some of the nuances of their
work may be lost or that their peets may
disapprove. Plus, while there may be a
shortage of scientists with good commu-
nications skills, there’s no shortage of
well-financed people with vested interests
in certain areas who have the time and
money to ensure their message is heard—
regardless of its scientific accuracy.

An unfortunate result of this is a gen-
eral confusion about scientific issues such
as climate change or stem cell research.
The public ends up getting so many

 

mixed messages that people don’t know
what to believe. When that happens, trust
and respect for science in general declines.

Of course, this is not to say that we
should take the results of every new study
as gospel—quite the opposite. In fact,
having a good understanding of science
in general will help people realize that the
discipline proceeds incrementally and that
it measures only small bits of the world at
a time. There are inherent weaknesses
with such a system, but it can be a very
powerful tool. In fact, science and tech-
nology are arguably the most powerful
forces shaping society today.

That’s why science education, broad
dissemination of scientific findings, and
thoughtful analyses of the issues that arise
from science and technology are so
important. In order for us to make the
best decisions about our future, we need
to have access to the best available infor-
mation.

It’s good to know that I haven’t been
wasting my time. But it’s also a bit daunt-
ing to consider how much work we still
have to do.

Take the Nature Challenge and learn
more at www.davidsuzuki.org

 

 

 

 

  

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March 9/2005

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