Summary of several chapters from Taking Science To The People: A Communication Primer for Scientists and Engineers Edited by Carolyn Johnsen.

Copyright 2010 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska

“Who Is Science Writing For?” by Margaret Wertheim Chapter 2 pages 15-19

The main idea of this chapter is that the public is not going towards science so it needs to be brought to them. The writer also talks about the age and gender break down of the readers of popular science magazine. Majority of the readers of these magazines are middle-aged men with higher degrees. The amount of readers of science magazines is nothing compared to the number that read magazines like Elle, Good Housekeeping, and Vogue.

“ Translating Science: From Academia to Mass Media to the Public” by Kristine Kelly chapter 6 pages 51-58

The main idea of this chapter is that most science shows a lot of jargon and an overflow of ideas that needs to be translated and digested into something the public and mass media can understand. The author states that Simple terms and better communication makes what you’re trying to convey harder to misunderstand.

“Communicating Real Science Through Hollywood Science” by Sidney Perkowitz and Eddy Von Mueller Chapter 10 pages 81-88

The main idea of this chapter is that Science fiction (SF) films can capture a viewer’s attention and trigger an appreciation of science that can lead to a greater understanding. This can be difficult because the film industry puts more effort into dramatic scenes and emotional stories than they do in keeping their science accurate and their technology real. Despite this, there are cases of SF films being used in the classroom including at the University of Central Florida in Costas Efthimiou and Ralph Llewellyn’s class on physics in film. They have their students analyze the science in films and study how the scenario would have worked out in real life. At the authors’ course at Emory called Science in Film they begin each unit with a lecture on the science, then the film is watched, and then the students analyze what they saw. They pay special attention at how the film portrayed science and the various cultural, political, and social contexts.