You are browsing the archive for Science in plain English Archives - The Plainspoken Scientist.
4 March 2019
So, you wanna start a science blog?
By Shane M Hanlon I’m not the type of person who’s always thought that I’ve had something to say (at least anything that people would listen to). Back in my grad school days, while I saw the value in science outreach, the “communication” part of that was a little tricky for me. “Who cares what I have to say?” Turns out, some people did. Back in…2013 (2012, maybe?) realized that …
14 February 2019
Happy Science Valentine’s Day!
In which we offer you a series of valentines to scientific fields of study.
4 February 2019
Conveying Science through Art: An Alternative Way of Communicating about Earth Observation research
In the Americas, We Use Satellites to Sow Dreams in the Soil is a three-part poem that was presented at the 2018 fall session of American Geophysical Union (AGU). The poem was an alternative – perhaps unconventional – way of presenting about three Earth Observation (EO) initiatives that I and colleagues at NASA’s SERVIR Science Coordination Office and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) are involved with.
14 January 2019
The Science of Our Stories, Part II: Moving the Needle on Effective Science Communication
By Sunshine Menezes Young scientists-in-training face a variety of communication challenges, from writing their first lab report to drafting their first proposal, perhaps culminating in their dissertation. All along this part of the career spectrum, students are taught—too often implicitly—what “good” scientific communication looks like. Unfortunately, most corners of academia still emphasize a narrow definition of science communication that focuses on communication with scientific peers. This leaves early career scientists …
8 January 2019
The Science of Our Stories: How Communication and Training Bridges the Gap Between Scientists and Journalists
All of our lives are made up of stories that help us make sense of the constantly changing world around us. Stories help us understand what is happening, why it’s happening, and the ever-important-question of what can be done about it; They often provide us with the familiar narrative elements – an introduction, plots, main characters, setting, climax, and conclusion – that our brains readily accept as the way the story should go. But when it comes to the story of science, sometimes things get more complex, messy, and completely non-linear.
3 January 2019
AGU18 debrief: Y’all love scicomm…and that makes us happy
Yes, I know. Fall Meeting was last month (and year), so what took us so long? Honestly…we were exhausted, but for the best reasons. Turns out that y’all love scicomm so much and helped to make AGU18 one of most successful for Sharing Science yet!
28 December 2018
Drawn to Geoscience: Really, though…what was the OG paleo diet?
By Shane M Hanlon At our annual meeting early this month, researchers presented new findings that brings insight into the diets of Neanderthals. Here a good summary of the work via Eos. AND, we were fortunate enough to have our old friend JoAnna Wendel draw a comic describing the findings! Check it out below. Shane M Hanlon is a Program Manager in AGU’s Sharing Science Program. Follow him @ecologyofshane. JoAnna Wendel is a freelance science …
17 December 2018
Drawn to Geoscience: Tornadoes form from…wait, the ground up?! Seriously?
At our annual meeting last week, researchers presented new findings showing that contrary to popular views, tornadoes may (might) form from the ground up versus from clouds down. Here a good summary of the work via The Washington Post. AND, we were fortunate enough to have our old friend JoAnna Wendel draw a comic describing the findings!
19 November 2018
Having “The [Climate Change] Talk” with your family
By Shane M Hanlon Thanksgiving can be a time for food, football, and family. And sometimes…uncomfortable family chats, especially around science. We live in a nation where there are disconnects between understanding and acceptance of major scientific issues such as GMOs, evolution, vaccinations, and (especially relevant to AGU scientists*) climate change. With climate change specifically, politics plays a role. Over half of Americans accept human-induced climate change, as well as …
16 November 2018
Register for scicomm workshops, Open Mic Night, & more at AGU18
AGU18 is…oh wow…less than a month away! We in the Sharing Science program are busily putting the final touches on all the content, logistics, swag, and more to make this the more Sharing Science-y meeting yet!
The Plainspoken Scientist is the science communication blog of AGU’s Sharing Science program. With this blog, we wish to encourage scientists to reach out to non-scientists and to do so with plainspoken discussion.
Recent Comments