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Thursday 28 December 2017

Union of Concerned Scientists seeks to 'reboot its language'

Here is an interesting short article from the Union of Concerned Scientists about helping scientists enhance their ability to communicate and engage with local communities and apply scientific expertise to local community problems:  

The Penn State Science Policy Society: Filling the Gap Between Science and Community

For me, two aspects stand out:
  1. The need to 'reboot language' and free it from specialist jargon.
  2. The need for scientists to be willing and able to look beyond the usual 'in discipline' uses of their tools and expertise towards unusual and innovative 'out of discipline' uses.       
Scientists are not the only specialists who need to find ways to 'reboot their language': musicians also need to find less jargon ridden ways of communicating, not only with non-musicians but also with each other (especially when creating and performing new types of music).

I explore this a little here, where it becomes clear that simplifying language is key to not only engagement but also close collaboration.

To be willing and able to think and act beyond their disciplines and see and seize opportunities to apply their scientific expertise within local communities, scientists must become triple-thinkers with umbrella-shaped knowledge. I explore and explain these things within this article.

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