7 Geoscience in Plain Language (On-Demand Session)

Monday, 4 April 2022
6:00 AM - 11:55 PM
Online

SHOULD YOU TRUST A SCIENTIST?

Paper number: 7-1
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 6:00 AM – 6:15 AM

Authors

  • Solomon Isiorho Presenting Author
    Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW), Fort Wayne, IN

Abstract

Most scientists are experts at their fields of study. The applied scientists derive most of their methods from ‘pure’ sciences or from “esoteric” research that could be applied at later times. The layman is not privy to the training and understanding of the scientific worlds. Why can’t we say, “Trust me, I’m a scientist” to the public? Part of the problem is that most scientists have poor communication skills, especially to the non-subject matter experts. I believe most people have some basic understanding of science from kindergarten through high school. This assumption has been proven wrong with the recent world events/climate of few scientists confusing and muddling the waters regarding vaccines and global warming.

Good communication skills are required and expected from scientists generally, but that falls short when it comes to those outside the subject matter experts. False claims of Magnetism resulting from covid vaccine injection and climate/global warming being a hoax are not limited to the laypeople, but also peddled by “scientists”. This confusion or disagreement by scientists have given ammunition to the public to question science and scientists. One plausible way to convey scientific data is to use common or local everyday examples where possible. Temperature data from local wells, over a decade, has been used to show local folks that global warming/climate change is occurring. Since temperature is something most people can relate to, this approach of using plain English words along with local area examples has been proven successful allowing science and data to be understood by those less privy to scientific data and interpretation. This and other examples will be provided during the presentation.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022NC-374219

© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.