Some notes of science communication

This is one of the strangest periods that I have ever experienced. This generalized fear and suspension of disbelief. It is reminiscent of what George Orwell wrote about the Spanish Civil War, where most of the time nothing happens. But one of the things that has happened is that all my Ph. D. students are not in IISc. So, the last 6 months have been a period like none especially as regards communication. In this period, we have been communicating, using every possible device. Telephone, email, whatsapp, googlechat, skype, teams, zoom...no stone has been left unturned. But the difficulties in scientific communication stem from the fact that we have to exchange information long-distance. We have had group meetings where each of us has to state very precisely what we have done, and we intend to do. We need to communicate where we are with a particular problem and what are the techical difficulties. To this extent, each of us has had to sharped and hone our communication skills. We have had the discipline to maintain what we have been calling `balance sheets' where we note down in short paragraphs and bullet points all that the data pertaining to our research projects. And to date we have 14 of them!

While the `original' mandate of my talk was on scientific writing, I have now expanded it to cover scientific communication, partly because of the situation we are in. Whereas writing is probably one of the oldest and best and time tested forms of communication, modern technology has enabled us to communicate in a multitude of ways. Including what we are doing right here. Using electronic communication. This has opened the path to methods of communication that are audio-visual. Talks, seminars, presentations are by now part of human culture. When I began, seminars would feature people with transparancies, with several colours. In many countries shortages meant that a speaker could have only 2 or 3 transparancies. People would use every square mm of the transparency and write, with all kinds of squiggles and arrows and curves. But the times have changed. We all now have softwares to produce beautiful slides, with lots of pictures and moving elements, and emojis and little creatures sitting on them. While the possibilities are mind-boggling, the content is the important issue. There is no substitute to knowledge and being able to convey it properly.

I find that some of my students in the years they have been here have improved their communication skills dramatically. My seniormost student now has excellent communication skills, both written and oral. I am particularly impressed at the way in which my students are writing. It reflects a high level of understanding of the subject, maturity and the ability to communicate their ideas very precisely. So, the question is how do they get to this high level of writing communication? In my opinion, it comes from concentrated reading of other technical literature. To learn by reading and then expressing it through writing. To pay attention to grammar and to be state clearly what one wants to state. It is also important to use short sentences. Break them up. I did not have to explicitly teach my students any of these things. They just pick it up from the air. One of my former students, who sadly is no more, came from Nagaland. His writing English used to be grammatically ok, but the turns of phrase were a bit unusual. Probably he was translating from his mother-tongue. But within a year or two, his written English had changed and he was writing what I would call `normally'. His spoken English was just fine and face to face there was little chance of mis-understanding. The issue with writing is that you may not have a chance to explain.

Our methods of communication can now be frozen in other fora as well. Tedx talks, seminars on youtube, etc.. Each of these would be a permanent contribution. But it does not mean that everyone will have talent for such things.

On-line teaching is the new frontier in challenges in scientific communication. But I do not plan to cover it here.

Professor Patrick Henry Winston is quoted as saying “Most scientific papers are unintelligible because the authors either don’t know what they are doing or hallucinate that they are writing clearly.”

Another quote from Patrick Winston “Your careers will be determined largely by how well you speak, by how well you write, and by the quality of your ideas… in that order”.

Mónica I. Feliú-Mójer writing in Scientific American blog says, ``...science communication broadly, meaning any activity that involves one person transmitting science-related information to another, from peer-reviewed articles to tweets.''

She also says, ``Effective communication means transmitting your message clearly and concisely so that it is understood. It’s about engaging your audience – it’s about the ‘So what?’ and ‘Why does it matter?’ of your message.

When scientists communicate more effectively, science thrives. Science is increasingly interdisciplinary and the ability to communicate more effectively across disciplines fosters collaboration and innovation. Being able to communicate the relevance and impact of their ideas and discoveries can enhance scientists’ ability to secure funding or find a job. It allows them to write better and more comprehensible research papers. It also allows them to be better teachers and mentors for next-generation scientists.

When scientists are able to communicate effectively beyond their peers to broader, non-scientist audiences, it builds support for science, promotes understanding of its wider relevance to society, and encourages more informed decision-making at all levels, from government to communities to individuals. It can also make science accessible to audiences that traditionally have been excluded from the process of science. It can help make science more diverse and inclusive.

Although having more scientists who are effective communicators benefits science and society greatly, there are still relatively few training opportunities for science students and professionals to develop these skills.

Fortunately, effective communication skills are no longer perceived as soft skills. Increasingly, they are becoming part of the core professional skills every science student and professional should have.''