rockstars?

[Technomancer]

In a recent interview relating to his upcoming movie, Morgan Spurlock had the following to say:

We've started to make science and empirical evidence not nearly as important as punditry--people using p.r.-speak to push a corporate or political agenda. I think we need to turn scientists back into the rock stars they are.

What do you think? Is it possible for this to happen, and how could it be done? What can be done to excite the public about science?

[Kaori]

In the long run, the most effective way I can think of is to have good science teachers, since students often base their likes and dislikes of subjects largely on their teachers. For example, the main reason that I like physics is because my physics teacher in high school was excellent.

Other than that, it just seems that some people are naturally more interested in science than others, as with any subject.

[GhostontheNet]

In a recent interview relating to his upcoming movie, Morgan Spurlock had the following to say:

What do you think? Is it possible for this to happen, and how could it be done? What can be done to excite the public about science?

And this is a new phenomenon? To be sure, it at least predates rock and roll music. The fact of the matter is that the common people pretty much every field of knowledge and experience that is important. In general, most people I meet know very little about science, philosophy, theology, ethics, politics, art, music, etc., and what they do know is what is filtered to them through pop culture. Frankly, the instruments for disseminating this stuff to common people is already quite well in place. If anything, the best bet right now would be to attempt to create a new Renniasance defining itself against the corporate pop culture if we want people to actually bother to use the tools at their disposal to learn these things.

[Technomancer]

And this is a new phenomenon? To be sure, it at least predates rock and roll music.

This is true, but no one is saying that the problem is rock music or rock stars per se. The problem is that science has little or no place in popular culture. We accord musicians and movie stars a place in the popular imagination that is far beyond anything they actually do, while by comparison science is perceived as uninteresting, nerdy, scary, something that only some kind of freak would like. How can science capture the public imagination?

[mitsuki lover]

Einstein was as close as a scientist got to being a rock star.
Remember all those posters showing him sticking out his tongue that were in vague.

One thing though is to make science more understandable to us normal people who get lost in all the technobabble.

[Shinja]

i think the biggest problem with sicence is that it has become so ordinary and mundaine that most people are truned off to it, when you think of sscience today you imageing someone in a lab hunched over tubes and peering into computers full of equations, just 60 years ago scientist like enitsiten and tesla were bulding huge machines that glowed with electricity and spoke of amazining devices to be had from thier experiments, and in a time without even basic electricity these things seemd extramly facinating and ccurious. its the same thing with aircraft, at one time pople would have traveled miles to witness a pilot take to the skys in a flying machine while today nobody looks up when a plane flys by, rock stars are popular becuase they exemplyfy extreams and decidance things that unfortunatly will all ways draw crowds to stand and gawk becuase they are entertainers, its theur sole act in life to be a performer and make people want to look, thats how thay make money, while most of the more sierous minded scientific musicians while making great music and delighting small crouds will never them selves beconsidered rockstars.
the only way to make scientist rock star material would destry the nature of being a scientist. science is about laws not breaking them.

[Agent Anderson]

One thing though is to make science more understandable to us normal people who get lost in all the technobabble.

If you can't follow our technobabble, that's your problem. :P

[GhostontheNet]

If you can't follow our technobabble, that's your problem.

No, I think he has a point. Every field of study I have ever encountered (not merely science) has created its own sub-language for shorthand among those within the field that is generally not understandable to those outside of the field. It is my own speculation that even among academics this is one reason individuals within a particular field will not quite have a grasp of what's going on in other fields. For this reason, scholars taking time out of writing for their own ingroup for writing on the popular level is one of the best and most far-impacting things academics can do.

[supa dupa ninja]