A modest proposal for an outreach section in scientific publications

The idea for this column started with a tweet. Both of us are active on Twitter, the social media website where users can share messages, or tweets, of 140 characters or less. While Twitter has swept around the world, a small but growing fraction of scientists are using it to establish collaborations or exchange information. More importantly, side effects of Twitter include a narrowing of the gaps between academic or industrial scientists, a burgeoning movement of science communicators, and a public very interested in science and technology. As the saying goes: we're here to help. We propose that scientific publications include a short section, akin to the acknowledgments at the end, which lists several outreach activities related to the paper. These could be new resources that the authors have created, or existing resources that are related to the paper's subject(s) - the goal is to reach out across that gap and help non-expert readers understand the work. Yes, we know that writing a paper is hard enough. But if publishing scientists don't continue to help non-scientists (or even non-specialists in our areas) engage with our work, then disturbing trends will continue. Right now many of us bemoan the lack of science coverage in mainstream media - if we don't constantly work to translate our science, the coverage will continue to disappear. In addition, we will fail to give non-experts the tools and resources that will help them understand research and fact-check suspicious claims. Publishing scientists will also be increasingly unable to compete successfully against other demands for either governmental or philanthropic funds. Engagement even allows us to understand our own work better. If scientists can't summarize their work in a one-minute elevator pitch or in a phone call to their family, our experience suggests they'll have a harder time keeping pace with their peers. Increasing numbers of grant proposals require a section on education or outreach; our proposal could help you find the materials - or inspiration - you need for your next funding application. Finding material for this section will not be as difficult as you might think: many scientists may not be aware that the past few years have seen an explosion in high-quality, multimedia resources in science communication. Consider the 2012 Flame Challenge, hosted by the Center for Science Communication in NY, USA and the actor Alan Alda. Participants were challenged to explain with scientific accuracy, but speaking to an 11-year-old, what exactly a flame is. Entries included written text, videos, graphics and animations (viewable at http://flamechallenge.org/). The winning entry is definitely worth a watch and ends with a rocking chorus of "pyrolysis - chemiluminescence - oxidation - incandescence" in front of both molecular-block diagrams of the process and a guitar-playing Lucifer. Not exactly a paper in a high-profile journal, but scientifically accurate and more likely to be retained in the mind of an 11-year-old.