Close your eyes and imagine a scientist. Who comes to mind? Is it a stuffy professor hunched in front of an ancient chalkboard? Or perhaps a geeky guy with glasses poring over a heavy textbook.
Science is often typecast as a discipline rooted in dense, complex theory, where to be truly good at it you need the innate ability to memorise countless facts and equations. While this may be useful in some respects, pure memorisation is only a tiny fraction of what science actually involves. Schools, however, tend to overemphasise the importance of this by smothering students with endless notes and readings, all culminating in a final exam. This perpetual need to always have the right answer means that one small bump in the road can quickly derail someone’s interest. The automatic association between science and textbook learning often makes it seem inaccessible and curbs passion before it even has a chance to grow.
The reality is that science is everywhere, underpinning everything from the weather when you get up in the morning, to the tea you make before you go to bed. Even the interactions we have with others are rooted in science (though at times it may feel like all logic has gone out the window). By acknowledging this, we can harness our existing passions to promote curiosity and encourage more people to start seeing the world through a scientific lens.
Even just reflecting on my own hobbies, it isn’t difficult to notice the innate connection between the mundane and the scientific. It’s all about asking the right questions. Like, why is it that when I’m baking, sometimes I have to use baking soda, but other times baking powder is fine? Or when I’m crocheting in a circle, why do I always increase by six stitches? (I’ll give you a hint – it has something to do with 2πr). Even something as mindless as going for a run is built upon gradual improvement through countless, iterative adjustments to diet, pace and landscape.
So, if science is everywhere, then how do we actually start seeing it? Well, it starts by challenging ourselves to experiment. Start by asking yourself, “What will happen if I do this?” From there, test, learn and evolve. Push yourself to reflect on the “why”. Young children are often amazing at this, but quickly lose the skill as they come to encounter the concept of ‘one right answer’. By focusing on the process of learning, rather than the success of the outcome, the pressure to be ‘right’ goes away, and we can expand our questioning even further.
This can seem daunting at first, but by harnessing existing hobbies, passions and regular routines, we can weave scientific thinking throughout our everyday lives. Soon you’ll be doing it without thinking.
Science supersedes simply rote learning complex equations and niche terminology. It is about passion, creativity, adaptability, and above all, curiosity. These are skills that are not only important for formal research and investigation but also crucial throughout life.
A curious mindset is the first step in fostering a passion for science. This can easily be achieved by taking our existing passions and learning to think critically about how we can analyse and explain them through a scientific lens. Newton’s Laws, evolutionary theory and the dreaded quadratic formula can all come later. What is most important is learning to ask “why?”
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