Being Scientifically Literate April 30, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , trackbackSeed magazine is running an essay competition with the topic ‘What does it mean to be scientifically literate?’ and as I’m planning on starting a part-time journalism course in September, I think it will be good practice, so expect a few blogs around the subject as I get my thoughts together.
I think I’m scientifically literate with a BSc in Maths and Computing, and a Diploma in Earth Science, bolstered by reading the occasional science magazine and popular science books. But what does it take to make that claim?
First of all, there should be an understanding of the basic workings of science. The scientific method of formulating a hypothesis, then experiments to test that hypothesis, predicting the outcome that would prove the hypothesis and then discarding it if the experiment doesn’t provide that proof is important, along with an idea of how the ‘conversation’ which runs through scientific journals works, and the need for results to be reproducible. How might experiments be biased? The way science tends to build up piece by piece, and often to dismantle a few pieces too, as well as how hard it is for science to be absolutely certain of anything. There are really only more or less likely theories, and more or less reliable sources of information.
Mathematics and statistics provide the language of science, and without a reasonable feel for number and an understanding of basic statistical concepts, it is very hard to come to grips with any science and harder still to understand when the wool is being pulled over your eyes.
And then there are fundamental scientific ideas which shape our view of the world today and which any well educated person should be able to describe, at least in general terms. This is the stuff of pub debates, but my top ten would be:
- Plate tectonics, including the major plates and what is happening around formations such as the Andes mountains, the Great Rift Valley, the Himalayas and (if you’re British) the terranes of Scotland and how and when they were formed.
- Newtonian mechanics, the stuff of billiard balls and endless school physics experiments. Why is a headon collision so much worse than a nose-to-tail? Why does the earth orbit the sun?
- Basic circuit theory, and the relationship between watts, volts and amps. Why does electrical resistance happen and how is it measured?
- The properties of water, the stuff of life. How does the polarised nature of the H2O molecule influence the way it behaves in the presence of other elements? What happens as water cools and heats, and where are the critical points?
- Evolution and basic genetics. How are characteristics passed from parent to child and, if a mutation occurs, how might it become prevalent in a population? How do species differentiate?
- How the greenhouse effect works and why an increase in greenhouse gases leads to a temperature increase in the atmosphere
- Why is the periodic table organised the way it is, and what are the properties of the various groups within it? Why do the elements in those groups have those properties?
- The structure of cells and the functions and origins of components such as mitochondria and cell walls. How do these vary between animals and plants?
- The structure of the atom.
- The major biomes, where they occur and why, what species characterise them and how they may change. Ecological succession.
I suspect this list may show my bias towards earth sciences, and the fact that my biology is limited to one first-year university course. Should optics or general relativity come in here? What don’t I know I don’t know?
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Comments»
Interesting list, and a tough question. The twin pillars of 20th century physics were general relativity and qunatum physics. Basic scientific literacy couldn’t really include either (because I couldn’t then count myself among the literate, and that would never do!), but an appreciation of what they mean would be included in my list.
I’d also be tempted to include something about cosmology, perhaps including things like the scale, age, and evolution of the universe.
Showing my physics bias, I might also include something about radiation, since it seems to be an eternal cause of conern, and perhaps an appreciation of the conservation of energy, and how we “generate” and use it.