JLVernonPhD presents "American SciCo"

This morning, I stepped into the echo chamber that is the blogosphere and heard a loud clanging sound.  There seemed to be some sort of disruption in the system.  I turned to my trusty Tweet Deck to get the “dirty.” 

Apparently, there are some science communicators who don’t like the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back Rock Stars of Science (Rock S.O.S.) campaign.  To summarize, the Rock S.O.S. campaign pairs notable scientists with pop music’s top performers in an attempt to make science look cool.  Don’t get it?  Me neither.  But, I’m not here to complain about the campaign.  I’m here to complain about the complaining.

Chris Mooney, who joined Rock S.O.S. earlier this year, has been promoting the campaign on his blog.  Unfortunately, Mooney now finds himself in a tangle with popular British science blogger Martin Robbins (one of my faves).  The two are battling over whether this campaign really makes science look cool.  Martin feels that science IS cool so why do we need the rock stars?  Chris says, “…most Americans don’t think science is cool. It isn’t even on the radar.”  I suppose that Chris believes pairing scientists with rock stars is an effective way to get Americans excited about science.

I’m a fan of Mooney’s work, so I don’t wish to condemn him, quite yet, for joining the campaign.  Afterall, it has a worthy mission of delivering science to the public, which I fully embrace.  Perhaps, this may be an effective way to draw attention to science, but honestly I think our cynical youth are going to see right through it.  Who really cares if B.O.B poses with Stephen Baylin, M.D.?  Personally, I feel like it’s as awkward as the day my father donned his letterman jacket grabbed a beer and tried to join me and the boys in a game of Guitar Hero.  It just didn’t work.  However, I do not assume the project is a failure.  Americans are funny people.  Shit!  Almost 50% of voting Americans were willing to have Sarah Palin as the Vice-President and almost 50% of Americans don’t believe in man-caused climate change.  So, I’m willing to give Mooney the benefit of the doubt.  He may be onto something that I’m unaware of.

So, I guess my complaint is directed at Martin.  As much as the campaign seems silly, it serves each of our purposes by getting the faces of scientists out into the public domain.  Granted as “gimpyblog” pointed out, the magazine hosting the campaign GQ doesn’t exactly represent the demographic I’d hope to target.  But, the campaign isn’t necessarily hurting the “Science” brand, unless scientists posing with misogynistic, womanizing, drug users is all of a sudden taboo in America’s eyes.  But, hey, that’s Rock ‘N Roll, BABY!

Ignoring the character of the rock stars, I think we can move forward with this campaign.   In my opinion, if you want to put scientists with rock stars, perhaps the next stage should be actually putting the science on display rather than unrelated scientists.  I’d like to see the actual scientists behind Rock ‘N Roll represented in the ads.  What is the science of electric guitar?  Who invented the amplifier and what kind of science is necessary to put on a rock show?  Who are the scientists behind Bret Michaels’ youthful looks?  These are things people can relate to and which can easily put the science on display.  A shadowy figure dressed in black with a menacing facial expression isn’t my ideal image of a scientist. 

But, hey, let’s wait for the data.  Mooney has promised “there will be attempts at follow up and impact assessments.”  In the meantime, let’s all try to stay friendly while trying to deal with the much bigger problem of an “Unscientific Earth.”  And, don’t get me started on this Science Cheerleader thingy.  Besides, animosity might disrupt my fun at Science Online 2011.

Now, let’s all eat some turkey and make up.

Happy Thanksgiving!