Developing a Science Culture

It's incredible how something as prevalent in today's society as science can still seem distant and
incomprehensible to many. We don't need to read history books to look for evidence of this; all we
need is to scroll a little further down our social media news feeds to late 2020. When COVID-19
vaccines were first made available, science seemingly received the long overdue appreciation it
deserved... but not when examined using Merton's Four Basic Norms of science.

To be fair, there was a certain degree of communalism and disinterestedness. In the race to produce
effective COVID-19 vaccines to enable the world to return to normalcy, scientists around the world
shared their knowledge about the disease and put human lives before personal gain. But there was
no universalism; people distrusted COVID-19 vaccines during the initial testing phases, especially the
ones manufactured in China and Russia. And there was no organized skepticism; people were
certainly skeptical, albeit for reasons less grounded on science and more on conspiracy theories.

Perhaps more than any other event in recent history, the COVID-19 pandemic showed us just how
little Philippine society appreciates science. Science is not like chismis; it's not as easy to understand
and even less easy to communicate. Scientists may easily recite the Laws of Motion in their sleep but
may not as easily explain them to a Fourth Grader. So why is knowledge not always easy to put into
words?

In "Made to Stick", authors Chip and Dan Heath reintroduced the concept of "The Curse of
Knowledge": the more knowledge Person A has, the more difficult it is for him/her to communicate
this to Person B, because Person A can no longer put him/herself in Person B's shoes. That's where
science communicators step in – that’s us!

On us falls the responsibility to narrow the gap between scientists and the wider public by
promoting appreciation for science, increasing awareness about research, engaging scientists with
one another and utilizing information and communication technology – the tasks of a science
communicator as identified by Antonio Moran in “Communication of Scientific and Technical
Information.

I can help my country in nurturing a science culture by developing the qualities of a good science
communicator, which Gelia Castillo discusses in detail in “Defining Excellence in Science
Communication”: passion for science, intellectual honesty, and focus and persistence on science
issues. Among the qualities she discussed, which I also consider my strengths as a professional
writer, are the ability to choose interesting angles and to produce quality writing without distorting
the facts.

To increase our society’s appreciation for science, we must first start with our youth, fostering good
morals, honesty and integrity among students instead of simply drilling them with academic
knowledge. Second, we must encourage a love for lifelong learning among our workforce by
supporting companies who invest in learning and development programs for their employees. Third,
we must use social media to raise awareness on “bad” science, even if it means calling out politicians
and celebrities who proliferate false ideas.

References:

 Castillo, G. Defining Excellence in Science Communication. Retrieved from 

http://sntpost.stii.dost.gov.ph/frames/OcttoDec05/Defining_Excellence_in_Science_Communica
tion.htm
 Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2010). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. Random
House.
 Moran, A. (2005)  Science Communication. In Communication of Scientific and Technical
Information. University of the Philippines Open University.