Hi All
On 10 Dec 2010, at 10:06, David Ansell wrote:
> snip
>
> There is definitely a place for centralisation of outreach in
> departments, but I think there should still be something in it for
> researchers really good at outreach or it will just be a case of the
> outreach officer spending all their time bullying people into doing
> outreach against their interests.
>
> Dave Ansell
>
>
Yes, but if you're a really good researcher who's also a first rate
communicator there's a potential problem that the communication
distracts from the research. This is not a new problem: Galileo was
reckoned to be a brilliant lecturer both to students and the general
public (however that term is to be understood in late renaissance
Italy), but hated doing because it distracted from his researches. He
actually cited not having to give lectures as being one of the
reasons he abandoned university life for a post as a court
mathematician and natural philosopher.
And why is it the job of the outreach officer to bully unwilling
academics into doing outreach?
Surely if the outreach specialist is actually good at, well,
outreach, then THEY should be doing the bulk of outreach,
interpreting the work of their research-based colleagues for the
various audiences they are tasked to reach. No bullying, just
stimulating conversations over coffee or something stronger...
Cheers
Richard
Richard Ellam
L M Interactive
Science Shows and Hands-On Stuff
[log in to unmask]
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