AAAS Forum Take #2

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Another point of view of the AAAS Forum by Matthew Facciani:

I have provided scientific testimony and met with some of my local legislators, but I’ve never had any formal exposure to science policy. I was really excited to hear about the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Forum to learn more about how scientists can impact policy. The information I absorbed at the conference was overwhelming, but incredibly stimulating. Some of the lectures discussed the budget cuts and the depressing barriers for achieving science policy. However, I felt there was definitely an atmosphere of optimism at the conference and it was focused on how we can create positive change.

One of my favorite aspects of the conference were the discussions of how to effectively communicate science to non-scientists. Before we can even have discussions of funding, the general public needs to understand how science works and why basic science is so important. For example, science never proves anything with 100% certainty, but it may sound weak if politicians are only saying that science “suggests” instead of “proves.” One creative way to circumvent this problem is to use comparisons. Instead of saying “science suggests GMOs are safe” we could say “scientists are as sure that GMOs are safe as they are sure that smoking is bad for your health.” The conference was rife with these kinds of effective tactics and I left the conference with a sense of confidence that we can collectively make a difference to influence science policy.


Matthew Facciani is a sociology PhD student at The University of South Carolina. He is also a gender equality activist and science communicator. Learn more at www.matthewfacciani.com, and follow him at @MatthewFacciani.

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