NYT Blog Editorial: A New Kind of Big Science
Here’s a piece from the New York Times blogs: A New Kind of Big Science by Aaron E. Hirsh, a Colorado biologist and writer.
And then there’s that problem of relating to Big Science when you’re standing outside the building, looking up. The difficulty is not just that the research is recondite, but that the work is institutional, as opposed to individual. After all, not many people really understood the paper on general relativity, but many did connect with Einstein. Sure, we all pitch in our tax dollars, but it’s hard to feel a whole lot of personal involvement in the search for the Higgs boson.
But if Big Science is what it takes to gather the truly precious data, what are we to do?
Hirsh describes some of the drawbacks of a centralized system of scientific inquiry, and how citizen science could be beneficial in extending the reach of science. He even makes a call for a national initiative in citizen science, saying, “It would provide us with timely data, and it would make us better citizens.”
I have to admit, the tone of that last sentence grates on me a bit. Do people see citizen scientists as people who are going out and performing a civic duty for no pay? That’s going to be a pretty hard sell. Still, Hirsh makes some good points and I’m delighted to see the topic getting more attention.
Via Science Cheerleader.
Great point, Terry. Do you an incentive can/should be built in to any “national citizen initiative”? Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi Darlene -
Thanks for your comment!
I think of an “incentive” as something used to get someone to do something they don’t really want to do…so that’s not how I tend to think of it.
Why do we want people to do citizen science? Of course, it’s great if we have more data to increase our understanding of the world around us. But there has to be a bigger reason than that.
There’s a basic human drive to understand the world around us; to be able to have a story about why things are. If science is done by “other people” in government or academia, it takes something important away from us: the ability to help create the story.
How do you find out the truth about something you see in nature? What if I see a bird holding its wings in an odd way and wonder why it’s doing that. What do I do? Many of us would rush off find a book about it, or try to google the behavior. Now, I love books and websites. But haven’t we lost something big when we’ve lost the impulse to keep watching what unfolds before us?
I think citizen science is a way we can get that back.
-t
Virtually professional — scientist or not — consumes resources excessively, both in everyday living, and in biomedical or other laboratory waste, and in houses/cars that suffer the usual problems. We have income and wealth in the top few percent of humanity. If we have the latitude to change those workplace and consumer behaviors, great. But most do not or will not. Hence, we owe compensating efforts to redress the damage we cause using some of our leisure time. Helping develop science museum exhibits that actually teach something about science and society would be a good start. Or advising one’s community about disposal of hazardous chemicals. Or…the list is nearly infinite. Do it for free? You bet: We owe it.
I like the points both Edward and Terrie make. I do feel that it’s something we owe, even if it is to none other than ourselves. We have to start somewhere, and I think this would be a great stepping stone.