Arko Olesk: Science - Simple or Complicated?

People often say the only understandable parts of scientific texts are the conjunctions. There is no question that science has an image of something difficult, inaccessible and strange. The field of science communication first started from the efforts of researchers and journalists, who tried to show people it is not like that. Arko Olesk, a science journalist and a PhD student at Tallinn University, looks into the tools people use to communicate science more effectively.

“Translating” difficult terms and definitions is just one, albeit a very important part of a science communication specialist’s skills and occupation. Another role – one that is more efficient in forwarding the message – is finding and telling stories. Science offers many stories. For instance, did you know how the researchers at Manchester University discovered graphene? They took a piece of pencil led and started peeling off layers with adhesive tape, until they were left with a layer just one atom thick. This layer has wonderful properties and the scientists received a Nobel Prize. Or what about the time when Martin Järvekülg accidentally discovered a new material?

Behind the complicated words lies important knowledge about ourselves and the environment around us. Knowledge about our health, our future and the planet we live on – all vital to know and keep up with. We would understand all this better, if we knew which questions the researchers asked to achieve these results. It is the big questions that propel the researchers – finding answers to these is what made them choose their field.

Behind the complicated words lie simple, yet vital principles about how knowledge is born, what is viable and what is not. If we know these rules, we can think and act more effectively. We can understand whether a news item on a glass of red wine being as good for you as an hour of working out is science, has a point to it, or is plain fiction.

Researchers call this scientific literacy. Whereas once upon a time this term referred to the person’s knowledge of the Ohm law or the construction of an atom, now we see it as general knowledge about how science operates, and the ability to use the same principles to make better personal decisions.

Researchers need complicated words to communicate among themselves with great levels of precision. Sadly, sometimes these very words build a barrier when communicating with people who are not researchers themselves. This is where the science journalist steps in – to show the stories, important subjects and principles behind the difficult words. Scientists themselves increasingly understand that the skill of explaining things to the public is vital to them. Albert Einstein once famously said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

A mere translation might not help us understand science. Being scientifically literate and perceiving the role and possibilities of science in the community will help that along much more. And this is what today’s science communication is working on.