Atractiva entrada al Chemistry World: Am I really a scientist? on es comenta el que significa ser científic, i la discriminació existent entre els joves pel que fa a la consciència de ser científic, de tenir conductes científiques, i d’esdevenir científic.
Hi ha el problema de la síndrome de l’impostor:
Looking wider and more objectively than this impostor syndrome, the idea of who is and isn’t a scientist is a constant source of argument.
Són científics aquells professionals investigadors que un moment donat van passar al món de la comunicació de la ciència? Bona pregunta! Diu aquest post:
My friends who have left bench science for editorial or science communication positions are sometimes the most conflicted. After dedicating years to meticulous training in research, they have left the lab, while still using many of their honed research skills every day. I can’t offer any advice beyond that if they want to be called a scientist, they’ve certainly earned it. How people perceive themselves has powerful effects on confidence and personality, and using one neat, descriptive word greatly simplifies the thinking.
En general, es creu que els científics són així… una mica “frikis”? Però que porten molt d’esforç al cim, segur:
scientists live odd lives, in which we generally have to move around the country and get international experience in our early careers, often don’t have especially high job security, and regularly attend multiday conferences, and it’s not difficult to see where the anger stems from
Però existeix el científic pur? (m’hi incloc)
I certainly identify as a scientist, and that’s partly because I also identify as a nerd. But I don’t end up feeling pigeonholed. I work in a very diverse role – some days I now wonder whether I’m actually an engineer, or a seriously untrained computer scientist.
I m’agrada, finalment, el que s’hi diu:
What matters is when we identify ourselves as scientists in public, where listeners may not know any scientists. We end up representing scientists as a whole, whether we would like to or not.
Quan algú diu “sóc científic”… una mica està representant una forma d’entendre el món, una voluntat de tenir una societat oberta, tolerant, crítics, constructiva… un món basat en la raó i on la discussió i el diàleg basats en arguments sòlids siguin els que sobresurtin.