📘 Part 3: Science

This episode's vocabulary

Relevant (adj.) - connected with what is happening or being discussed.

Association (noun) - a feeling or thought that relates to someone or something.

Disparate (adj.) - different in every way.

To put someone off (something) (phrasal verb) - to take someone's attention away from what they want to be doing or should be doing.

Outlook (noun) - a person's way of understanding and thinking about something.

Prima facie (adj.) - at first sight (= based on what seems to be the truth when first seen or heard).

Literate (adj.) - having knowledge of a particular subject, or a particular type of knowledge.

Breakthrough (noun) - an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem.

Detrimental (adj.) - causing harm or damage.

Prestige (noun) - respect and admiration given to someone or something, usually because of a reputation for high quality, success, or social influence.

Questions and Answers

M: Is it important to study science at school?

R: That's an interesting question. I used to think it wasn't since understanding maths and language seems more important and relevant to most people. But science allows us to see the knowledge and skills connected to maths and language in action and make connections as well. Assuming it's taught well, of course.

M: Why don't children like learning science at school?

R: Well, you'd probably have to ask them. But if I were to guess I'd say they have some kind of negative association with the subject or fail to see the relevance. It could be it's just never been explained well to them. And all they see is a bunch of disparate facts with no meaning that would be enough to put anyone off.

M: Which science subject is the most important for children to learn?

R: Well, that depends entirely on their outlook on life. I mean, biology does a good job bringing together things that are connected with how we function as people, while physics is like applied maths. And it's also useful for working out how to use it in real life. Chemistry... Well, that's a hard one to say the prima facie value of. So maybe not that one. But for the other two, you can see the value straight away.

M: Should people continue to study science after finishing school?

R: Well, if they want to out of interest or wanting a career in it. Why not? It's part to say what will be useful in the future. But we will need people to develop solutions to problems and try to understand those solutions and the problems. So being science literate will be helpful.

M: How do people get to know about scientific news?

R: I think most people rely on the regular news to find out about breakthroughs. But there's a number of scientific journals and magazines they could sign up to with relative ease. And I think most news sites now also have a science-specific section.

M: Should scientists explain the research process to the public?

R: Assuming it's not detrimental to national security, then why not? Especially if public money is being used, then people almost have a right to know if they want to.

M: Can science change our society?

R: Well, I mean, the obvious answer is yes. But it's not just because the discovery made. Actually, I just finished reading a book that highlighted key features behind social change and technology. And some of them included having a, or at least the discovery, having a relative economic advantage, prestige value, and the support of vested interests and the resources to sustain the use of the technology. So if all of those are in place, then change can happen. But it can fade fast if those factors disappear.

M: Which is more important, science or social studies?

R: Well, I think they're of equal value since one is about understanding the world which we live in. So that's important. And the other is about understanding people who we share the world with. So that's also rather crucial. I mean, if you had one without the other, then things would be pointless.

M: And do you think science will be more popular in the future?

R: I think it will probably just grow proportionally. So, as the population increases, there'll be a greater number of people and of them on average, the same number would be interested.

M: Thank you, Rory!

Discussion

M: So we study science at school or do we study science subjects or scientific subjects?

R: Science subjects is the more common one.

M: We study science subjects. And what are science subjects? For example, mathematics or maths, biology, chemistry, astronomy, and physics. Science allows us to see the knowledge and skills connected to mathematics. Okay? In action.

R: So if something is in action, you see it being used and you can see it working. And if you make connections between them, then you make connections between maths and how it's used in science.

M: Yeah, but you say like maths and language, but isn't learning languages, not science?

R: No, I think it is actually, I was talking about language in general. And the vocabulary that we use to describe science is part of language.

M: So you think that learning a language is science?

R: No, not necessarily learning a language, like a foreign language, but using your own language. You know, a demonstration of understanding of anything involves you using the vocabulary that's associated with it.

M: Interesting.

R: That means Maria's bored. Shall we move on?

M: Yeah. Some children don't like learning science. Okay? And then Rory uses our favourite strategy. If I were to guess I'd say that, blah, blah, blah. So children may have some negative association with the subject. So I may have some negative emotions, or negative memories about a teacher who taught chemistry at school. And that's why I don't like chemistry.

R: Is that why you don't like science? Because all of your teachers were rubbish?

M: No, maybe just, I didn't understand science. So I didn't understand mathematics or chemistry. So I just, I don't know, if it were the teachers or if it was my brain.

R: It's definitely the teachers, it's always the teachers' fault.

M: Always the teachers, yeah. Blame the teachers.

R: Blame the teachers for everything.

M: Children failed to see the relevance. So how relevant science is? So science is relevant to my life, to what I'm doing in life, for example. The relevance. Rory, explain the relevance.

R: Yeah, the relevance is just, I don't know, how appropriate it is or how strongly connected it is to your life and you and your circumstances. So for example, if you want to be a biologist, then, well, studying biology at school will be very relevant to you, it will have great relevance.

M: Or maybe this subject, like science subject, was never explained well to children. So it wasn't explained, that's why they didn't like it. What did you mean by disparate facts?

R: Well, if things are disparate, then they're not well connected to each other.

M: So kind of random facts. Yeah? With no meaning.

R: Yeah, it's important to say it's desperate, not desperate, but disparate.

M: Disparate facts with no meaning.

R: Yes, I am desperate for people to understand the meaning of disparate.

M: So children were given disparate facts about chemistry, with no meaning. So this put them off chemistry. So put somebody off?

R: Just to, well, make them lose interest.

M: Like the teacher was not great. The teacher was boring. And that put me off chemistry.

R: Talking about science puts Maria off the conversation.

M: Which subject is the most important? Depends entirely, wholly on their outlook on life. Outlook? My view on life. It depends on children's outlook on life. And then Rory gives us examples. Biology could be the most important because it brings together things that are connected with how we function, and how we work as people. And then, while physics, in contrast, physics is like applied mathematics or maths.

R: And then I tried to talk about chemistry, but it's difficult for me to talk about that. Which is ironic, because one of my favourite teachers at school was my chemistry teacher. And I didn't do anything with the subject of chemistry. Sorry, Ms. Connolly.

M: And we can say that different science subjects teach us how things work in real life, for example. And we can say that everything in our life is physics. And mathematics is everywhere, for example. Is chemistry everywhere? I don't know.

R: Well, I mean, we just recorded an episode where we talked about tea and coffee, which is a, well, which is produced through numerous chemical reactions. So yes. But I just couldn't see the value immediately.

M: What did you mean by the prima... Something value?

R: Well, prima facie just means when you first encounter something, or when you first see something. So the prima facie value is you see something and you recognize how valuable it is. So when someone says, tell me how valuable or how important chemistry is, it'd be like, well, it's difficult for me to just do it. I can't because I don't know enough about it.

M: We finish school, but we graduate from university, dear listener, okay? And when people study science, they have to develop solutions to problems.

R: Or develop solutions for problems.

M: And they should be science literate. What does it mean to be science literate?

R: That just means to have a reasonable understanding of how science works. It doesn't mean you have to be an expert, but you do have to know, well, a little bit about it.

M: An interesting question about scientific news. Okay, how do we get the news about science? Yeah. How do we get them?

R: How do we get the news about science?

M: Oh, Google, Google, the internet almighty. Just Google it. Yes, we get the news. We get it, dear listener, careful. And we can say that most people rely on the regular news on the internet to find out about breakthroughs. And when we talk about science, we usually talk about breakthroughs. Some breakthroughs in what? In biology.

R: Or computer science these days with AI.

M: Also, there is a number of scientific journals or magazines. So with specific papers. So scientific journals are really formal ones. Magazines are kind of, they may include some fun articles, but journals, are very specific, and very formal with serious and boring things. So you can sign up for scientific journals or magazines or read them online. And most news sites have a science-specific section. So you can say, oh, we usually Google some news. And some people prefer visiting news sites and reading a science-specific section. Rory, do you do that?

R: Yeah. It's very easy. I look at the BBC every morning, and there's a specific science section. I think it's science and nature, but it's definitely there. So it's easy to find.

M: The research process. So scientists do research, okay? Or they carry out research, or they conduct research. And this research process, should they explain it to the people? How it works. And Rory says, it's not detrimental to national security.

R: Well, assuming it's not.

M: Detrimental? Like damage?

R: Yeah. I mean, you wouldn't want to share the process for making nuclear bombs on... Well, making nuclear bombs with ease on live television. That seems counterproductive.

M: Yeah, there are some secrets. And if scientists reveal this information, so they tell people about it, it could be damaging to national security. So it could be detrimental to national security. And if not, so yes, they can talk about it. Robotics is also science, right?

R: I think so, yeah. I mean, it's probably the general field. I imagine there are lots of different ways that you could use it.

M: And what do you call this sphere of medicine that studies the brain?

R: Oh, neuroscience, that's what it is.

M: Oh, there we go. Neuroscience is really popular. So neuroscience, genetic engineering. Yeah. And robotics.

R: Lots of things to talk about.

M: Yeah, maybe you should do some reading, dear listener, you know? About science. Science can change our society, or science can change society, no article, not "the society". No, no, no. We can talk about breakthroughs. But also we can talk about discoveries. So a discovery is made or scientists make discoveries. What are vested interests?

R: It's where the power is located, usually. And also where someone has a specific interest in something. So for example, the reason that certain products do so well is because people have a vested interest in them. Like, if we talk about smartphones, for example, then people have a vested interest in seeing or using smartphones in order to access information and entertainment. But we could also talk about vested interests in the sense of people who have the money and the power in society.

M: Change can happen. Or science can make changes.

R: But it can't do it alone.

M: And also it can fade. Fade? Disappear. So change can fade away, or change can fade. Science or social studies. Social studies? Sociology. Sociology, yeah?

R: Yeah.

M: Psychology. What else do we have? Social studies.

R: Well, political science for example. We already talked about sociology and psychology. I think social work and education also fall under social studies.

M: And you can say that they are both important. So they are of equal value. Science and Social Studies are both of equal value. Science is about understanding the world. Social Studies are about understanding people, and understanding how to live with people in this world. And both of them are rather crucial, are rather important. Dear listener, how are you doing? Are you okay? Oh, it's like a tough topic, dear listener. So if you have...

R: It's not tough, it's fun.

M: Yeah, but it's like it's specific. And usually, I think most people have little to say about science. Huh, dear listener? So maybe study the answers carefully. Read Rory's ideas and also do some research online. Google some like science in 2023. Or maybe read a couple of articles in your mother tongue, in your native language. Okay?

R: Or just ask Rory.

M: Just ask Rory, yeah, on Instagram. Yeah, so reading about science in your native language helps you to get ideas. Okay? And then maybe you can translate some of the major ideas, and you will feel more confident about this topic. Okay? Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode! Bye!

R: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi