Gina Errico

We live in a world where over 7,000 languages are spoken, but even within the same language, we still have trouble communicating. One of the most difficult things to communicate is science.

Scientists are not formally trained to communicate with non-scientists. And more often than not, those who are not formally trained scientists don’t understand science jargon just as it is.

In college, scientists are taught how to research a topic, formulate hypotheses, and report findings. Having been formally trained as a scientist during my undergraduate and graduate studies, I rarely found myself having been assigned a project that involved explaining complex concepts to non-scientists.

At the same time, scientific innovation felt almost pointless if it didn’t leave the same bubble of academia. I never understood why we, as scientists, would not want to share our findings with the broader community, especially when it could be useful knowledge for them to have.

This is what started me on my journey to becoming the science communicator I am today.

Pivoting from a career in scientific research into science communication helped me truly understand just how difficult it is to get science from the lab and the field, into the real world.

In the world of science, it is often easy to forget how our research and findings impact those outside of our world. We have the amazing opportunity to ask questions about the world around us and devise experiments as part of our everyday life, fueling our innate curiosity. But the way that the world of science is organized, sharing scientific research to the outside world requires an extra step that a lot of scientists actively avoid.

Breaking it down.

I remember sitting in a room at a professional science conference listening to a presenter go on about their research and couldn’t help but wonder, “How many people in this room actually understand what this person is saying?”.

Maybe people in this person’s direct field of study understood, but probably not many others. The sad fact is, that it is often frowned upon in academia to speak about your science without using complicated jargon. There’s an established hierarchal stigma in the science world, that the complexity of your explanations are associated with your intellect– and that needs to end.

Personally, I believe scientific intellect should comprise not only of your ability to conduct research but your ability to share this work with others. To have the capacity to not only understand, but successfully educate others about science is a difficult skill to master and should be more appreciated within the field.

As we have learned from the miscommunications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine scares, there is no better time than the present to help ensure that science can be properly disseminated and understood by the entire public.

Since I have started a career both as an educator–teaching biology courses at Hawaii Pacific University– and a communicator–writing for the Los Angeles Times this past summer and now as a freelance science writer– I have really learned the importance of giving people the opportunity to engage with the world of science. To have the ability to connect people with amazing research and innovations is extremely gratifying and creates an environment where science is not exclusive or elite.

Looking ahead, I can’t wait to continue my work and have the opportunity to not only share my love for science, but teach others how they can share their science with the world around them. If this is something you may be interested in pursuing or learning more about, feel free to reach out and connect!