For this week’s TL;DR Shorts episode we are once again joined by George Dyson, an American historian of technology and science who is best known for his work in the history of computing and his exploration of the intersection between science, technology, and society. As an author and communicator of research, we asked him how he feels this field has changed over time.
George reminisces about a time when the sharing of research was a big and prestigious event, full of celebration and wonder. While access to cutting edge research was minimal back in this era, George feels that its exclusivity led to higher engagement with the latest goings on, with lectures being delivered by the researchers themselves.
This is something that George values, as he feels that hearing about the outcomes of research and the journeys taken to achieving such results are most effective in achieving their goals of engagement when delivered by the person that has done the research. He goes on to say that, while we are blessed to live in a world full of information, and an army of people creating research related content, he feels that the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming to the general public, who may not know where to start consuming it all.
George would also like to see more researchers doing more communication work. Many of our previous TL;DR Shorts contributors have said that until we change our incentives and professional evaluation systems to reflect the importance of communication and engagement with research, no value will be placed on this important task and researchers will continue to overlook this step. This reduced visibility and understanding could result in plenty of research being overlooked when it could hold the key to unlocking many solutions to society’s challenges.
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