Climatide

Cornelia Dean, a distinguished science author and editor, reports a variety of efforts aimed at getting scientists more involved in the nation’s social and political workings. It begins thus:

When asked to name a scientist, Americans are stumped. In one recent survey, the top choice, at 47 percent, was Einstein, who has been dead since 1955, and the next, at 23 percent, was “I don’t know.” In another survey, only 4 percent of respondents could name a living scientist.

Yet another survey (I’m assuming, since the numbers are different) found that 83% of Americans fail to name a living scientist. So, from three surveys we get estimates ranging between 4% and 30% of the population who can name a living scientist.

It’s a problem that I admit seems foreign to me. I live in a two-PhD household, as do many of my friends. Naming a living scientist is as easy as saying my husband’s name. But I am also aware that my situation is unusual.

Wikimedia Commons

Physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking is perhaps the most famous living scientist today.

To find out how unusual, I dug up some statistics. Consider this: the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 1.4% of Americans’ who are 25 or older hold a Ph.D. and a further 7.6% hold a masters degree. That’s 9% in all.

Let’s assume half of those degrees are in some field of science (i.e. not education or business) – that’s 4.5% of Americans who have completed advanced scientific training. Are they the only ones who can name a living scientist? Seems unlikely.

Let’s try something different. Assume that (unlike me) two thirds of all Ph.D.-holders go on to practice science – that is, 1% of adult Americans are scientists. If they each know 30 non-scientists, then 30% of Americans should be able to name a scientist that they know personally.

But perhaps that’s part of the problem. Recalling the name of a famous scientist is vastly different than having a personal relationship with someone who does experiments for a living.

Which is the better indicator of a person’s scientific literacy? Perhaps neither. After all, science is about facts and concepts more than people (although they’re a crucial component). If forced to pick, I guess I’d go for actually knowing a scientist, famous or not. After all, how many of us get the chance to ask Stephen Hawking what he thinks about the day’s news?

I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t one of the many ways that Cape Cod is different from other places, even those just across the bridge. The number of world-class scientific research institutions on our little peninsula is astounding. Surely more than a third of Cape residents know a scientist. Or maybe not?

So, tell me: Do you know a scientist? Do you think that gives you a better understanding of major science-related issues – like stem cell research, evolution education, nutrient pollution, or climate change?