Communication
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emiT foyrtsHBA gnikwaH n a i n v n e a L Black Hoeus J p. 41 » D ata V is u alis atio n A n d y K irk e t f u T . R d r a w d E The V isual DpyofQntveIrm e f i W s i H k o o t s i M n i w r a D A Shor o h s W ie n c a e p M S e t f took h His o s k or a Hat c ho Mis a e f er S W v if li O T n W O l i v e r S a c k s i His he Man ig selpicnrPT r fo Vri gol y or O t e h T of N y rly E ea . M a t r t i d v n e a L x e l skaerbtuO yldD A Suffering in Academia Against unnecessary pain in higher education v er t y ing ehT oH enoZ t h NeuroScience p. 24 » Wait, but Neuralink? The story of communicating a dense topic Communication 10 p. cns a newsletter brought to you by the International Graduate Program Medical Neurosciences Medical Program Graduate International the by you to brought newsletter a » Science Volume 13 • Issue 1 Issue • 13 Volume How to Visualize Data A go-to guide for picking the right graph MARCH 2020 MARCH Charité We first floated the combined theme of data visualization and science communication in late 2019, but we ended up choosing another theme we were excited about: music and the brain. At that point, Corona was still just a beer we drank only for reasons of nostalgia and only on a hot summer day, preferably by a lake. The sudden, rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 did not make science communication important; but it has certainly highlighted its importance. To make the findings of science accessible to the public, responsibly, without exaggeration but without understating the point, to communicate clearly to non-expert audiences what can and cannot be interpreted from the results of rigorous research — this turns out to be slightly more complicated than stating a p-value. As of this writing, in the wake of this pandemic, many people are stuck at home, voraciously consum- ing an overload of information propagating their screens. A large number of the news stories about the pandemic are based on preliminary, not-yet-peer-reviewed study results. With emotions running high and rumors running rampant, misinformation and pseudo-information spreads faster than the virus itself. However, disseminating useful information in a timely manner remains important. In this setting, we present to you: scientists on science communication and data visualization. Learn the dos and don’ts of displaying your data properly (p. 10), why it might be important for scientists to do some proactive PR (p. 21) and then see p. 16 for some nice data visualization tools. You can read a non-virus-related piece on medical communication (p. 18). The truth is, our theme came about because we are a big bunch of nerds. Don’t believe me? See our reviews of neurosciency TV, film and books (p. 38, p. 39, p. 57), including classic German childrens’ science shows (p. 28). Wondering how the pros do it? Start with p. 6, p. 8, and p. 24. Up for a longer read? This memoir/opinion piece gives academia a thorough dressing down (p. 41). There is plenty more where that comes from: Browse the rest of our on-theme articles, career and campus sections for our regular sources of wisdom. We’re excited to introduce our new layout team for this issue: Jana Quismundo and Demi Lee, and Editorial the new member of our editor-in-chief team: Lorena Sganzerla. And if your goal is to take your mind of everything, I can assure you that for the rest of this issue, “going viral” refers to something that happens to a cute picture of a dog on social media. Bettina Schmerl Like Alex Masurovsky what you see? Ioana Weber Interested in contributing? We are Lorena Sganzerla always looking for new authors and submission on anything related to the topic of neuroscience and Contest Co-editors in chief beyond. Send us an article, some beautiful shots from your microscope, poems, short stories, critiques, re- views, anything! The best contribution will be re- warded with the book Welcome to Your Brain by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang. Come on and write like there’s no tomorrow! Send your contribution to [email protected] to win. This issue’s winner is Katharina Heine, who wrote an informative piece on how to pick the right graph for your data (p. 10). Congratulations, and thanks to everybody for their contributions! www.medical-neurosciences.de CONTENTS FOCUS Credibility in Science CAMPUS The struggle for scien- tists to communicate At the EDGE of Neu- their work in the face of Book Review: roscience and art...4 disinformation...21 Helix...38 Building a Portfolio The Struggle of The essentials of sci- Moving On ence communication as a A review of Eternal Sun- profession...6 shine of the Spotless Mind...39 On the Bound- aries of Science Opinion: Suffering is Communication...8 Not My Standard. Why I refuse to perpetuate the normalization of suffer- Cover modified from Ardea-studio on Adobe Stock Ardea-studio modified on from Cover How to Choose the ing in academia...41 Right Graph for Your Wait, but Neuralink? COVER Data How a blogger man- Effective visualization is aged to clearly explain Hearing Walls key to enable scientific Neuralink...24 Correspondence from the discourse...10 COVER 36th Chaos Communication COVER Congress...56 Scientific Children's Science Journal- Shows...28 ism vs Science Communication...15 Interview with David Puder Data Visualization Insight into science pod- Tools...16 casting from the creator of Psychiatry and Psychother- Medical apy Podcast...29 Communication How a science communi- cator responds to a Parkin- CAREER sons Disease diagnosis...18 Netflix and Brain Column: Dr Brown Netflix's 'The Mind, Ex- The value of networking plained' teaches neurosci- and how to get started...32 ence on demand...58 Career Finding The March for Day...14 Science...59 Interview with News In Brief...61 Radhika Patnala The Maestros of the A conversation with the Brain...19 founder of Sci-Illustrate...34 WhazzUp?...62 March 2020 CNS newsletter 3 FOCUS At the EDGE of Neuroscience and Art In this corner, a skeptical, How did EDGE get started? How, again, do art and neuro- data-driven approach to The core concept that we came from science connect? understanding the originally was that there is so much art We study natural processes that have brain, with a tradi- in neuroscience that it would be nice to this natural aesthetic. That’s where tion of doing every- share it. We [the founders of EDGE] art as a field really excels — how do thing possible to re- were impressed by what our colleagues you convey complicated or invisible move subjectivity; and friends do in their free time. topics? Historically, it focused on how in the other, an expressive Through the art we are seeing each you convey emotion, philosophy, his- medium, where the feelings of the artist other’s perspectives on neuroscience. tory and documentation, and now, real and the viewer are of chief importance. That ranges from photos of lab setups scientific knowledge and understand- to paintings of personal experiences ing. How do you get people who don’t Are these two disciplines on the same with different psychiatric disorders. Ta- study neuroscience to understand what team? tiana and Amy made this hologram of we know about the brain? the brain. There is this human side to Ian Stewart at EDGE seems to think so: the scientist that really came through in At the AI music workshop we had, the “I think more and more we are appre- their work. idea came up that music is a way to ciating the idea that you can take your probe the brain, or to probe us. Music is own subjective experience as a valid Historically we’ve had one big exhibi- written around these intrinsic rules that starting point for data collection, that tion per year, the annual exhibition in are hard to quantify, so we explore mu- it’s worth paying attention to. I think a late summer. The one in 2018 was the sical space from our own subjective ex- lot of artists would consider themselves first ever. It was a few days, open to perience. In cognitive neuroscience, this scientists in that sense.” the public, with exhibitions, Q and A’s, is taken as a valid way to dive into and talks and tours integrated as well. disentangle anything about psychol- He is not the only one. Ian is joined by ogy or neuroscience. The whole point three others who are heavily involved To get people involved who’s work we of neuroscience, in a way, is to study in both neuroscience and art as the appreciated, but who didn’t necessari- the brain, which is fundamental to life founders of EDGE, an organization ly want to be part of an exhibition, we and our experience of it. There’s a bit of that bills itself as “an interdisciplinary started doing these workshops once or neuroscience in everything. and multinational collective and educa- twice a month at this space in Neu- tional platform focused on the unique kölln called Top. That’s typically 20-30 We think art is nice because it has this fusion of neuroscience and art” [1].