The Demand for More Science

A statistic that was thrown around a lot in the most recent class was that 70% of the American population is demanding more coverage on science and technology. Scientists discover new findings every day. It is not as if the information that Americans desire is not there. If the demand of more information is there, then why is it not being fulfilled? This is just an example of simple economics, right? If there is a demand, then why hasn’t there been a supply yet?

Some argue that the scientific community cannot communicate effectively with the rest of the country. They create journals and information not for the average American citizen, but for fellow scientists. This opinion can adequately explain part of the reason why the demand for more information is not being satisfied. Scientists that make new discoveries would rather inform their fellow peers than the press. This can be explained due to several reasons, such as the incentive system for scientists, their desire to gain notoriety with their peers rather than the nation, and, quite honestly, possibly their inability to communicate adequately with the general public. It is this last point that I would like to focus on.

The blame for the communication gap inherent between scientists and the public should not fall solely on the scientists. Scientists are extremely well educated. They prefer to communicate with those in their field, with those who fully understand them. While if one is interested in learning more about science and technology, it should be their responsibility to attempt to comprehend the intricacies of the field. However, this feat will be a difficult, if not impossible endeavor for most people.

An excellent example of this effort can be seen on the show “The Big Bang Theory”. The show focuses on two roommate scientists, Sheldon and Leonard, and their neighbor across the hall, Penny, an attractive blonde waitress who lacks the scientific knowledge of her two neighbors. In the episode, Leonard and Penny have been dating. Interested in learning more about Leonard’s work, Penny confronts Sheldon, asking him to teach her. At first Sheldon is hesitant, but he eventually accepts “one of the great challenges of my scientific career,” teaching an average person what he considers to be the basics of physics. The clip, as seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEIn3T6nDAo, shows the difficulty of explaining the rigors of science to an average person who, while interested, cannot seem to understand the complexities of the field, assuming that 2600 years of scientific knowledge can be explained and understood in a matter of minutes.

In order to help quell the demand for scientific and technological knowledge, Americans need to focus on the young. According to rankings presented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in the 2009 survey, the United States ranked 23^rd amongst the international rankings for science. This is extremely problematic for a country that supposedly the majority of its citizens are interesting in learning more on science and technology. In order to resolve this dilemma, the education system needs to focus more on science. Once the background knowledge is there for young students, as they get older, they will have the potential to understand further research.

In the beginning of this blog, I questioned why, if there was a demand for more information, then why has not there not been a supply. The answer, sadly, is that if the current findings of scientists was to be presented to the public, most of the population would be unable to appreciate the meaningfulness of the information.