Question: Why do you think you can inspire other kids wanting to be scientist one day?

I think there’s a lot of unnecessary mystique surrounding science and scientists; part of that is due to a lack of visibility in the community, and part of it is due to the sensationalism of science fiction (which I quite enjoy). I think that, by taking part in events like this one and communicating directly with the public (and, in this case, school students), we can knock down some of those barriers, and make science less mysterious and more accessible, as a career and in general.

It’s not just about inspiring kids to become scientists though, it’s also about creating a more scientifically literate society. Science is very close to you, in many aspects of your daily life, and if you don’t understand, or have the ability to think critically and make rational decisions, you might end up making unwise decisions. This is bad for you, but also bad for society – a good example is the fear that a lot of people seem to have regarding vaccinations. People say don’t vaccinate, it causes autism, it’ll give you the flu, it’s better to let the immune system build up naturally, etcetera. All of these fears are groundless; there is hard scientific data refuting every one of those claims. So many people lack the ability to recognise reliable sources of information from unreliable, however, that society has fallen into the trap and as a result vaccination levls for whooping cough (for example) are way down, and so there is an increased risk of an outbreak.

So trying to improve the level of scientific transparency, trust and literacy; that is why I’m here.

(Also, being a scientist is fun; if you want to be one, I highly recommend it.) 🙂