Public Scientific Literacy: We Can Achieve It!

Why is the United States' population scientifically illiterate? One reason is that our society measures intellectual sophistication by one's knowledge of the arts, history, philosophy, economics, politics, and language, but excuses ignorance of basic scientific facts--such as the difference between a molecule and an atom--and the central role that science has played in bringing about improvements in the quality of life and knowledge that produces objectivity of thought and freedom from superstitions. Society often wrongly assumes that mastering the basic facts of the scientific method and the process of science is beyond many people's abilities. But science can be explained to and understood by nonscientists, and researchers should be capable of communicating so that nonscientist citizens can understand. People also are wary of science because the image of researchers as conveyed by the entertainment media has contributed to the public's negative attitude about science. Television, movies, and even comic books have created the stereotype of the scientist as a crazed fanatic. But scientists by and large are just like other people. Many chose science because of an event in their lives: A beloved grandparent, for example, dies of a disease, and the grandchild decides to conduct research on that disorder. Or a particular teacher inspires a student to enter a scientific field. Or, during a course, a student becomes fascinated by a little-understood component of the immune system, or by the reasons humans behave the way they do. Such a student may pursue a career in science--that is, if the image of scientists or the educational system does not turn off his or her interest. In the future, such students will be nurtured by the National Science Teachers Association's new, stimulating science curriculum for grade and high schools. At the university level, we must focus on nonscience majors. George Mason University, for example, offers "Great Ideas in Science," a "science appreciation course" in the tradition of art and music appreciation courses. But such courses are few. There are too few professors who are capable of, or interested in, teaching them. Individual scientists can help promote science literacy by encouraging their universities to provide science appreciation courses and reward faculty for teaching them, and by devoting more time to public education. Constance Horner, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has asked scientists to spend "one hour per week on public education--talking to community groups, helping students, communicating with legislators, writing to local media and public journals, and responding to the public's worries about science." The public, who as taxpayers ultimately pay for most biomedical research in the U.S., should be informed about their investments in science--the reasons, for example, that researchers study laboratory animals. The time has come for scientists and their universities and professional groups to explain clearly and practically how and why laboratory animals help test the safety of drugs, vaccines, and treatments; and why research to understand the mechanisms underlying behavior promotes mental health and the welfare of society. In the debate on the use of animals in research, scientists are hampered because the public does not understand the language of science, the scientific method, or the process of science. We can help create a scientifically informed and literate public by helping laypeople understand our language and our work. Without a scientifically informed and literate public, we may "lose our great venture." As Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar: "There is a tide in the affairs of men which if taken at the flood leads on to fortune; but omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea we are now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our venture." Frederick A. King, a neuroscientist, is director of the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta.

Public Scientific Literacy: We Can Achieve It!

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