SbS Chapter 2

Reading this chapter, I went through a range of emotions. In the beginning of the chapter, it seemed to me like the author was trying to convey the idea that science requires a lot of work to understand (an idea I will return to), when he writes about the jargon and terminology of science. However, when he gave the example of the Project FeederWatch, I understood his purpose in including the earlier idea of the difficulty of science. It contrasted nicely and helped get his point across. However, when he wrote about the strands of science, it began to seem a little unrealistic to me. Some of the strands are very difficult and require a lot out of the casual science learner who would like to learn more about science but doesn’t want to do a lot of work to do so. For example, strand 3 is “Engaging in Scientific Reasoning,” which would involve a lot of effort and time be put in by a casual science learner. Perhaps the casual admirer of science wouldn’t like to sit and discuss his findings. Perhaps he would be intimidated by the jargon and complexity of what he found. Strand 5, “Using the Tools and Language of Science,” discusses this. It says that the learner would begin to understand the language and jargon, which might be too much work for him/her. Strand 6, “Identifying with a Scientific Enterprise,” was the one that seemed most unrealistic to me. It gave an example of an amateur gardener hypothetically doing a lot of his own research and volunteering in a greenhouse or botanic garden. I just don’t think that anyone who is just casually into science would go through all that trouble, nor do most people have the time to invest in something that is just a hobby. Perhaps I am being cynical and perhaps I’m underestimating the success that strand 1 “Sparking Interest and Excitement,” would have to bring people to do all this just for the sake of a hobby. I believe some of the main aspects that made Project FeederWatch so successful was that it was anonymous, easily accessible, and quick. I think that it was anonymous was important because there was no pressure on the birdfeeder to look good or bad in front of anyone and he felt free to be honest with what he or she observed. I think it was important that it was easily accessible and quick because it didn’t ask a lot out of the birdfeeder to go online and submit their observations. I do like the idea as a whole of getting people more involved; I just think the way the book went about it was a bit impractical.

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