Tear Down These Walls

Tear Down These Walls

I’m really excited about this article I wrote for the Nature Soapbox Science blog. I outline my thoughts on the importance of science outreach, and the two things that stand in the way of public access to science; the paywall and the jargon-wall.

You can read the full article here: http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2013/08/21/tear-down-these-walls

“Open access is meaningless without a scientist to interpret the findings. Social media can be a powerful tool for science outreach because it allows a general member of the public to contact and query scientists directly. And when scientists respond, the ivory tower is torn down. This engagement is key to breaking through the jargon-wall. The open access debate is a separate issue, but I want to make the point that open access by itself is not enough to make science accessible to the public”

Thanks Laura Wheeler for making this happen! 🙂

Image credit: Scott Lewis