Sunday, March 31, 2013

Confessions


         I have a confession: I hate Fox News. I cannot turn it one without cringing at every word that is uttered by one of the old white guys or young gorgeous women each of whom wear a pound of makeup. Where does this burning hatred stem from? Simple. Fox News’s blatant bias.
          Seriously, no matter what topic is being discussed, Fox cannot help but scream “conservative bias”. I’m not actually angered by their conservative viewpoint though. Instead, my fury comes from the fact that Fox advertises themselves as “fair and balanced”. This means that the people watching Fox believe that they are receiving all sides of the story, when, in fact, they are only getting a very narrow perspective. This results in a very misinformed, unknowledgeable audience. These misinformed people then make decisions, like who will be our next president, based on the bias, sometimes even wrong information they received from the news, therefore affecting the rest of us.
         Now, Fox has two ways it diminish my hatred. The first way is fairly simple. Just change the slogan. Saying Fox News is fair and balanced is a lie that directly leads to a misinformed society. If changing the slogan is too difficult though, Fox can always take the second option, which is to truly make the news fair and balanced. This does not mean they have to get rid of their bias. It simply means that they have to provide their audience with the facts from each side, which they can then comment on as they wish. Providing the facts at least gives the people a base of which they can form opinions and make well-informed decisions.
         

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Fair and Balanced?


In the mid-1990’s Fox News was created as an alternative to the popular liberal media. Murdoch and other creators advertised the new station as the news source that was “fair and balance”. Setting aside the fact that Fox is actually completely bias, this slogan raises the question: should news always be balanced? Your first response to this question is probably “of course! News should report all the facts and sides of every story.” While this style of reporting is great for some stories, it actually is very problematic in science media.
         The issue of balance in science media arises from the fact that no matter how certain a scientific discovery is, there will always be a small group of individuals that oppose it. Take global warming for example; even though the connection between the emissions of green house gases and rising temperatures has been proven time and time again, there are still a few people that adamantly deny it. Even though these deniers are usually few and far between, the balance aspect of news requires that their ideas receive just as much media coverage as the ideas of the majority. This balance leads to the public taking sides, when, in reality, there is only one side that science and the majority of experts support. Therefore hindering the scientific literacy of the public.
         As a science writer myself I am not fully against a balance story, but I do believe you have to go about it with great tact. We still have the obligation, just as other reporters, to report all sides of the story. Where our jobs differ though, is that we have to make sure to address the validity of each side. We must make it known that even though some people oppose the science, these people do not have any really ground to stand on. By explaining all sides of the issue, the readers will be more likely to accept the true science and also be able to decipher what the true science is in the future, which would increase our nations scientific literacy. 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Old White Guys


As much as I like to consider myself as individualistic and an “out-of-the-box” thinker, I sadly failed to be original when drawing my stereotypical scientist. Before I even picked up a pen, I knew that I was going to draw an old white male with crazy hair and scarily curious eyes just like the majority of people, from children to adults to my own peers. Even though my actually drawing looks more like a stick version of bozo, the notorious stereotype was still present.

            The stereotype of scientist, along with all other existing stereotypes, has several negative consequences. One of the noteworthy consequences is the fact that the stereotype may deter young scientist, especially women and minorities, from continuing on the path of discover.  As young children, many of us are amazed by the world around us and are determined to discover more through experimentation. Sadly though, we quickly learn that the only people who actually do this in life are white males. This is never blatantly said, but we still quickly pick up on it through snide comments from peers, lack of encouragement from teachers, and the media’s and textbooks constant barrage of white male scientist. This discourages minorities’ and women’s love for science and indirectly forces them into a non-scientific field therefore further perpetuating the stereotype along with further reducing the world’s scientific literacy.

            Along with discouraging potential scientists, the stereotype also amplifies people’s hatred for science. The majority of people in the world are not white males. So, by making the face of science a spitting image of Albert Einstein we are making most people feel like the science is irrelevant to their lives since they cannot personally relate to the person behind the science. In addition to not being able to relate, most people also do not have the literacy needed to understand science’s complex jargon, which results in people turning away from science and goods science writing and towards non-scientific, overly personable sources, like celebrities.

As both a female scientist and a science writer, I believe that I have the duty to eliminate the prominent scientist stereotype from society, beginning with myself. This can be done by showing the world that the science community is not only made up of old, crazy white men. Even here at Ursinus, we have an array of scientific students and teachers, from the typical old white guys all the way to young, minority women. By getting this fact out there, we are not only providing scientific role models for everyone in the world but also bringing science from a remote, incomprehensible subject to one that much more personable and accessible therefore increasing the world’s scientific literacy potential.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Santa Clause is Real


December 15, 1999. Christmas morning at my grandmother’s house in Springfield, Mass. While kids around the country were tearing wrapping paper and joyously playing with their new toys, my six year old self was laying in my bed devastated. I had just found out Santa Clause was not real.

I laid there angrily crying for a few minutes until me dad entered the room. He quickly swept me up, sat me on his lap, and gave me a big hug. As I started to calm down he began to explain to me in a very hushed tone why he had lied. He told me that even though Santa wasn’t a real person, his spirit still existed in our hearts. People around the world chose to keep him “alive” because he represented joy. My dad  ended his explanation by telling me that even though it wasn’t the real truth, I should continue believing in Santa in order to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Little did I know, but my dad at that moment was explaining to me something much more than the belief in Santa Claus: he was explaining to me the difference between truth and truthiness. Truth is accepting the unquestionable proof that something is the case not matter what the consequences of it may be. Truthiness, on the other hand, is not fully acknowledging the truth and instead going with the gut feeling in order to benefit yourself and others around you.

As a scientists, I struggled with this distinction growing up. I had been taught in all of my classes that, as a scientist, I must search for the truth by objectively examining the world. Only by knowing the truth will our society be able to make the right decisions. When ever I tried to employ this life strategy though, the idea of truthiness became stuck in the back of my mind and I would begin to question if finding the truth was the right thing to do.

After many years of pondering this issue, I came to the realization that I, along with other scientists, should never give up on searching for the truth. If we did than people would miss out on many potential benefits that could possibly make the world better. Instead we as scientist must understand that truth is equivalent to power. Therefore scientist must be tactful with how they use the truth. They are obliged to spread the actually truth as much as possible. If the truth does need to be twisted in truthiness though, the scientist must ensure that the media, politicians, or even individuals are twisting it for the good of all people, not just a few