• Question: Are you ever worried that your work isn't effective because people don't listen?

    Asked by smashingmide94 to Ed, Hayley, Jason, Nathan, Sophie on 10 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Hayley Evers-King

      Hayley Evers-King answered on 10 Mar 2013:

      I think this is something that most scientists have worried about during their work. If your science makes you realise that people are being hurt or the environment damaged, it can be frustrating that people don’t listen to what you have to say, especially if you feel like you are trying to help them.

      But something I try and remember is that science isn’t really about about telling people what to do, it’s about explaining how things work and I think if we can be really good at teaching things, listening to peoples concerns and getting them involved in science then they will start to listen and that will go a long way towards solving problems.

    • Photo: Jason King

      Jason King answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      You’re right, discovering something that could change the world is no good if no-one knows about it! Communicating science is also really important, and something that a lot of people get into, rather than directly doing the experiments. Sometimes making people listen is tough, but most people (like all you guys) are interested in science and how things work at some level, so it’s really up to us to make it interesting!

    • Photo: Nathan Green

      Nathan Green answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Sort of. I dont worry about it but i do try and do something about it. ive written in the newspaper and online and i give public talks and go into schools and record podcasts so that people might know some more.

      things like climate change are really important to get the science heard and understood. theres a difference between people who arent listening and who wont listen because they might loss some money, say!

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