Why to communicate? - ICSscience

Communication - An Overlooked Science

With the depth and prerequisite knowledge associated with contemporary science, it has become increasingly difficult for scientists to adequately communicate their work to people in different fields and the general public alike. This can be discouraging and can leave scientists feeling like their efforts are in vain; if the general public does not understand, then what's the point of clear communication? As this website aims to show, there is a point, and its importance can hardly be understated.
The reasons to come are intended to emphasize the importance of communication. These reasons are why we created this page. Trust us, communication with other scientists, the general public, and anyone else is not as difficult as it may appear. We hope that after this page, you will agree with us on this.
We've got quite a selection of tips & tricks to learn from, so feel free to browse around or to search for specific struggles you're having in communication, and how to remedy them.

Bridging the Gap

First of all, it is important for the general public to be able to understand scientists' ideas and findings. This does not have to be a full understanding, of course, such goals might take years to accomplish, but their understanding of the broad view of the topic is essential in the interest of keeping the public scientifically literate and capable of strong, independent reasoning.
Without a proper channel or means of communication between scientists and the general public, we risk misjudgements and dangerously incomplete worldviews that could seriously harm society as we know it. Moreover, in the absence of scientific literacy, the public risks being more susceptible to manipulation, be it through misrepresenting data or presenting false data altogether. This disconnect could lead to reckless, malinformed or influenced decisions that impact modern-day society for the worse, in addition to the possibility that the work of contemporary scientists might be regarded as trivial or obsolete, impeding scientific progress through a decrease in funding and/or trust.
Bridging this 'knowledge gap' in an effective manner is a means of remedying this issue. By properly informing the public about breakthroughs and insights in a manner that will help them understand and put in perspective the progress made, we increase the proximity between the scientific domain and the 'regular' world. If the public understands the work done, to however limited a degree, science ceases to be a black-box in the public eye. A transparent and understandable description of scientific progress serves to improve the trust and scientific literacy of the general public, which in turn makes them more resistant to misinformation, misrepresentation and distrust.

Funding your Dreams

In addition to the scientific literacy of the public, the ability to properly communicate is also of great importance when communicating ideas or proposals with powerful parties. These could be politicians, entrepeneurs, or fellow scientists. Regardless of their exact position, the necessity of proper communication is clear; the only way to properly convince these parties of the importance of your work is by communicating. Without the proper channels or means, you likely won't be able to convince others on why your scientific work matters or why the other party should care to, say, invest. Sometimes, you have a revolutionary idea of which only you can see the potential. It is up to you to talk to people in an effort to convince them that your insight is worthwhile. With the future of your idea in their hands, would you not want to do it justice?