Comments on: Scientific Stereotype

By: BobB

BobB — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:49:14 +0000

Very interesting discussion. It seems to me that the emphasis on “what scientists look like” is quite misplaced. I would propose that when children are exposed to science itself through age appropriate, interesting science experiments, and when they see real “scientists”, i.e., the educator or parent performing the experiment, then the image of what a “scientist looks like” will be informed. Asking a child to draw a scientist seems not unlike asking her to draw a picture of authors. Asking children to draw anything implicitly suggests that what they are to draw is at least a little bit significant. In the cases of authors or scientists that significance is inappropriate. Responding to the question “what a scientist looks like” should be short and simple: just like everybody else. “You look like a young scientist.” Perhaps that discussion should include the errors of stereotyping a scientist (or most any other profession). There is little to be learned beyond that. Finally, I wonder if “drawing a scientist” is just easier for some educators than the effort of “doing” interesting science.
My limited experience with a number of teachers leads me to think many such teachers are generally uncomfortable with the mess and effort that often is a part of a science experiment. Especially with large classrooms and easily distracted students. If the teachers I refer to were as uncomfortable with literature as they seemed to be about science, I suspect they might ask students to draw author pictures and avoid reading books.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:05:13 +0000

Interesting list of rules Chris. Those addressing the Twitter generation will, of course, will only have access to a limited timeframe and character limit within which to get their message across.

By: Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:03:47 +0000

Three steps to making scientists more attractive

Unless we suddenly discover a science pheromone, it is up to us scientists to create new and relevant ways to overcome our stereotypes. Any scientist can work toward this by adopting the three steps of Be Relevant, Be Concise and Listen.

1. Be Relevant: Most people, and that includes scientists, will not have the remotest idea, let alone interest, in the area that you are researching or working in. Furthermore, their interests are mainly with themselves, their families, lives and jobs. If you can establish a link between your work and their lives, you have at least a chance of progressing from just being an “egghead” to becoming “Jo/Joe who works on …”. Therefore find a practical, or humorous, outrageous or even tenuous link between what you do ad how it could impact on others.

Be Concise: Imagine yourself at a bar and someone you really want to engage in a longer conversation comes up to you and ask what you do. Prepare and practice an answer in no more than 27 words, taking on board the point of Being Relevant. Above all, you want your partner to be able to respond with “Really? And what does that mean” .

Listen: Meet people and talk with them, socially, on business, by chance. Listen to what they say and what their concerns, interests and aspirations are. Many people talk, few really listen and are therefore appreciated all the more. By listening you learn a lot about the person you are with. Your responses can be tailored and, because you are a scientist, your knowledge and rational science ethos will perfuse your conversation.

Take a good luck around your colleagues and peers to see who are the successful ones and you will find that they unconsciously or deliberately adopt several of the above points; because ultimately, the way science is funded is through convincing non-scientists of its relevance, whether in research or a commercial environment.

I’ve moved from being a scientist to running my own one man business with little connection to the science world. Quite frankly, its a brash, emotional and often irrational world out here! However, through acquired good communication skills I’m accepted for what and who I am. People know and respect the science background but do not find it intimidating.

So go out here and Be Relevant, Be Concise and above all, Listen to non-scientists.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:50:24 +0000

Of course there are several scientists who positively play on their image as being stereotypical, my good friend Martyn Poliakoff at Nottingham University has taken to Youtube like a fish to water and definitely promotes his “hairstyle” as a positive ;-)

By: Johnx

Johnx — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:50:48 +0000

The caricature of scientists is unfortunate. However, adult scientists even display this “lab coat, in front of scientific equipment” upon other adults, in order to get investment money. For example see http://www.valcent.net/i/misc/Vertigro/index.html. This man, just a few hundred miles from where I am doesn’t really wear a lab coat, day to day. But, he put one on to make the tape, just to get investment money from adults. I am not critical of his work and that of his company, in fact I find it fascinating. But give adults a break (or maybe not), do we really need to see the “geek-in-a-coat” to make an investment decision? This guy thought so, I thought not.

Maybe the children see what we adults see, and they have few, if any, alternatives to park in their brains for future career decisions.

As an alternative, we could point adults and children to the likes of Lisa Randall, physicist at Harvard University. Damn good looking (if I may say so, and I say so even if I may not), smart scientist, on the forefront, doesn’t wear a lab coat unless required, which I doubt is seldom, if ever.

Then there is Pamela Gay, an astronomer, who, among other things, contributes to Astronomy Cast. In real life, an ordinary person, pleasant. No, she does not wear a lab coat, does not have hair flying off her head. A real person.

I have a personal lady friend who is a cosmologist. She works on all kinds of interesting projects. She likes to party, she is also damn good looking (I may say so in this case, since I’ve known her since she was born). Very real person, likes sports, drives like a maniac (she’s a driver at heart), and will sit down and have a drink with you and talk about movies, books and her fling. Doesn’t own a lab coat.

One of my friends is a black female mathematician. We went to college together, and high school before that (oh so many years ago). She’s damn good at her profession (better than I ever was). But she can sit down and have a beer with another and nobody would ever know what she does for a living.

We adults first need to get over the “Frankenstein” picture in our brains, and stop infusing our children with the misconceptions many of us harbor.

There are so many rather regular people out there that could be mentors, or at least examples, to our generations following. We need to show them that they are regular people, men, women, black, etc.r