An interesting little flurry of opinions and I think I agree - or at
least sympathise - with all of them. There is, however, one
important attribute of PhDs that has barely been touched on. They
are accepted as part of the scientific community and therefore they
tend to be regarded with a greater respect by scientists than is
accorded those with lesser or no formal scientific qualifications.
They have done the hard stuff.
We have adhered to this principle since 1988 when selecting people
for our science communication degree courses. We insist on good
scientific qualifications. Graduates from these courses are now
increasingly influential both within and without the scientific
community in Australia. Further, over the last five years, three of
us (with PhDs in chemistry, physics and biology, respectively) have
been conducting science communication workshops for practising
scientists across Australia. This mix of scientific credentials has
been an important element in the success of the workshops. We are
accepted as belonging to the culture of science and the participants
in the workshops are therefore more ready to accept advice than if it
were offered by people outside it
So don't despair if you feel your PhD is making you a great expert on
very little. You are at least part of the culture!
cheers
Chris
--
Emeritus Professor Chris Bryant AM
Centre for the Public Awareness of Science
Faculty of Science
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200
Australia
tel. (02) 6125 4815
fax. (02) 6125 8991
Homepage http://www.cpas.anu.edu.au
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