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446 comments on DrumBeat: August 28, 2006

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Leanan on August 28, 2006 - 2:37pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
A good cartoon- or song- or even bumper sticker, is closer to an effective way to spend time than a ton of applied physics, if we are really concerned  about the future.

I'm inclined to agree, at least for the U.S.  JibJab.com or Michael Moore are more likely to get the word out than graphs or scientific credentials.

That's one thing that really strikes me whenever I'm in the U.K.  The evening news there is so much more intelligent than it is here.  The stories are so much more in-depth.  And they seem to expect the viewers to have a basic knowledge of science, which is not expected on this side of the pond.

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optimist on August 28, 2006 - 3:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
It has nothing to do with lack of intelligence or education. What causes that is the fact that most people are visual learners, and that the human brain is wired to take in more information faster by imagery. The old saying 'a picture is worht a thousand words' is true, and even more so. One good picture can poignantly capture something a million words can't adequately describe.
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step back on August 28, 2006 - 4:52pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Not everyone is "visual". Some are "emotional", some are "auditory", some are kinesthetic.

Listen carefully to how people around you talk. Do they see your point clearly? Do they empathize with your feelings? Do they like the sound of your "sound' logic, or does it simply "move" them?

Often people reveal what kind of thinkers they are by the way they chime in with your music. I myself am heavily into the visual communication thing. Others march or sing to different kinds of drummers. There is no one message style that fits all.

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Dot on August 28, 2006 - 4:41pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
A good cartoon would likely add to accessibility, but also to site traffic.

I cant draw for the life of me, but I wonder if TOD and it's wonderful pool of members might be able to come up with a topical cartoon of the week.

In order to initiate this, I imagine a competition of some sort would be the best way to go. If the response is large enough, it may be feasible to institute an ongoing cartoon of the week feature, which might appear just below the "quote of the day", for example.

In addition to a cartoon, the other area I think the TOD could improve is with interfacing with journalists. It is true that the general public is unsuited to digest the information presented here. Perhaps the better route is to invite journalists to act as an interface between TOD and the public. I'm not sure how this could be achieved.

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step back on August 28, 2006 - 7:43pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The cartoon idea is a great one.
People like to have their daily dose of Dilbert or Doonesbury.

But as you imply, not everyone can draw and it is also a lot of work. Personally, I don't have the time to devote to coming up with a clever cartoon every day --that's a full time job. And then, getting community consensus on which of competing cartoons should be the toon of the day, that too is a full time job. (Ah, civilization and it's complexities.)

As for using journalists to "translate" our postings for general consumption, that is a really really bad idea. (Does not take away from your good toon idea!) Every time I read a story in the paper about an area I know something about, I see that the reporter (and his grammatician editor) got it wrong. I don't think they intentionally get it wrong. It's just that the world is complex. Certain subject areas call for a great deal of specialized education before one can understand what is going on. Journalists usually do not have that education. Certainly not in every field of specialization. So it is understandable why 98% of the time they get it wrong.

It is up to us to learn how to communicate effectively with the general public.

It would be worse than bad to delegate that job to a never-gets-it-right journalist. I can see the first wrong worded editorial now: Are we "running out" of oil?

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Kevembuangga on August 29, 2006 - 7:55am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
JibJab.com or Michael Moore are more likely to get the word out than graphs or scientific credentials.

This, unfortunately, IS the problem.
A "good cartoon" can be made about any ridiculously irrational claim.
The competition is then about who has the best cartoonists NOT best content.
A lack of intelligence CANNOT be compensated.

P.S. That's why I am getting angry at times against idiots, or worse, THOSE PANDERING TO THE IDIOTS.

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446 comments on DrumBeat: August 28, 2006

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